~ After defeating Austin Peay, Southeast was eliminated by Eastern Kentucky.

PADUCAH, Ky. -- Southeast Missouri State avoided elimination once Friday, but later the Redhawks met a virtually inevitable fate as their season came to a close.

The Redhawks did not let their campaign end without some serious resistance.

Southeast bounced back from Thursday's loss to top-seeded Samford in a winners bracket semifinal of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament by beating fifth-seeded Austin Peay 10-9.

Fourth-seeded Eastern Kentucky then bounced the sixth-seeded Redhawks from the six-team event with a 14-10 decision after Southeast threatened to wipe out all of a 10-1 deficit.

"We couldn't ask for anything more from anybody," junior outfielder Dustin Pritchett said after seven hours of baseball on a sizzling hot day. "We gave it all we had. We just came up short."

So Southeast is done for the year after going 2-2 in the tournament and winning six of its final nine games. The Redhawks (23-33) unofficially finished fourth, following their tie for sixth in the OVC's regular season.

"The Samford game was really the crucial one in a tournament like this," Southeast coach Mark Hogan said. "Once we lost that game, realistically, it was going to be really tough to win the tournament.

"But our guys have nothing to hang their heads about. It was a long, hot day and we were at the park for probably close to 10 hours. We were really close against a very good Eastern Kentucky team.

"We had a chance to overcome a 10-1 score. We really battled."

After Thursday's loss, the Redhawks faced the monumental task of needing five straight victories to win the tournament.

Southeast took care of one-fifth of that formula by holding off Austin Peay (32-27) after the Redhawks built a 5-0 first-inning advantage and led 8-2 after six innings.

The Governors tied things with a six-run seventh, but the Redhawks surged back ahead for good with two runs in the bottom of the seventh.

Junior left-hander Asif Shah gave Southeast a strong starting pitching performance, firing a one-hit shutout through five innings and holding the 8-2 lead through six innings.

Shah finally wore down in the seventh and did not figure into the decision after Austin Peay tied the contest off Josh Parham.

Shah was charged with six runs in 6 1/3 innings. He allowed five hits, walked seven and struck out three.

"Asif really pitched well when we needed it," Hogan said.

Parham, a junior left-hander from Jackson High School who saved Wednesday's first-round win over Eastern Illinois, was credited with the victory. Parham (2-2) allowed three runs -- two earned -- and five hits in 2 1/3 innings.

Senior right-hander Jamie McAlister earned a save by striking out the final batter in the top of the ninth with runners on second and third.

Senior shortstop Jordan Payne hit two home runs and drove in five runs. Payne, who went 3-for-5, finished the season as the Redhawks' home-run leader with nine -- seven coming in the final three weeks.

Junior outfielder Brent Lawson went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, while junior second baseman Omar Padilla added two of Southeast's 11 hits.

Payne's three-run homer in the bottom of the first sparked the Redhawks' five-run uprising.

After Austin Peay forged an 8-8 tie, Lawson singled home junior third baseman Daryl Graham with the go-ahead run in the seventh. Graham led off the inning with a walk. Padilla, who also walked, scored the 10th run on a wild pitch.

An hour later, the Redhawks were back at it.

They again grabbed an early advantage with a first-inning run, and trailed just 2-1 after four innings.

But the hard-hitting Colonels (29-25) took command with eight runs in the top of the fifth to grab a 10-1 lead.

Still, the Redhawks did not go down easily. They pulled within 10-4 in the sixth, the big blow being Pritchett's two-run homer, and made it 10-6 in the seventh.

Trailing 11-6, the Redhawks threatened to make things really interesting in the eighth. A run was already in and they had the bases loaded with one out.

Lawson bounced a high chopper that looked like it might get into left field, but freshman third baseman Matt Davis leaped to field the ball and started an impressive 5-4-3 double play.

"If that ball goes over his head, who knows what happens?" Hogan said.

The Colonels added three runs in the ninth for a 14-7 lead, but the Redhawks had one more threat left in the bottom of the frame.

Southeast scored three times with two outs and had runners on second and third when the game ended.

"Playing two games in this heat takes a toll," Payne said. "But we really battled."

McAlister, who pitched 6 2/3 innings in relief in Thursday's loss to Samford before recording Friday's final out against Austin Peay, took the mound as the starter against Eastern Kentucky.

McAlister (4-12) was solid through four innings before understandably wilting in the fifth. He allowed five runs -- four earned -- and 11 hits in 4 1/3 innings.

"Jamie gave us every ounce he had," Hogan said.

Junior left-hander James Hibbard, Southeast's third of four pitchers, worked three-plus innings with just one earned run allowed to give the Redhawks a chance to rally.

Senior catcher Levi Olson went 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Graham had two hits and three RBIs, while Padilla and Shah each added two of Southeast's 13 hits.

The Colonels had 19 hits.