Redhawks drop third straight

~ Southeast's defense committed three errors in nonconference loss.

Temperatures barely above 40 and a biting northwest wind made for perfect baseball conditions.

At least for Missouri State's Kyle Paul.

That's not so surprising when you consider Paul is from British Columbia, where such conditions are common in the spring.

"I get kidded about that a lot, every time it gets a little bit cold," Paul said Wednesday as his batting average continued to rise with three RBI singles in the Bears' 9-5 victory over Southeast Missouri State at Hammons Field.

"This is not as nice as when it's hot out, but I guess I'm a little bit more used to it than everybody else," Paul said.

He increased his average to .333 with a 3-for-4 day.

Ryan Mantle had two hits, two runs and two RBIs, as Missouri State (17-12) completed a two-game sweep of the Redhawks (19-10). The Bears won 16-3 on Tuesday night.

Bears coach Keith Guttin said it was good to see his team deal with the difficult conditions, especially in the field. Missouri State had only one error in the two games, both played in windy conditions, while Southeast made six errors.

"Defensively we played well and we did what we had to do on the mound," Guttin said. "Offensively we chipped away inning by inning. Overall, a pretty good mid-week performance."

The Bears scored in 12 of the 16 innings they batted in the two games.

Missouri State broke a 4-4 tie in the fourth against Southeast starter Lance Rhodes (1-1) as Dallas Hord singled, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on a throwing error following Ben Woodbury's single.

Paul had another RBI single in the Bears' three-run fifth that broke the game open.

Austin Todd (2-2) earned the victory with 2 1/3 hitless innings of relief.

The Redhawks took the lead in the third inning with four runs. Daniel Schuh got the inning started with a single to left and Robby Moore followed with a single to right. Daryl Graham loaded the bases with a walk. Nick Harris continued his torrid pace with a two-run double down the left-field line. Asif Shah answered with a single to center to drive in a pair.

Southeast's only other run came in the eighth when Moore tripled to right field and came home on Graham's single to left.

The Redhawks, who have dropped three straight, return to Capaha Field on Friday for a doubleheader with Jacksonville State. The first game starts at 1 p.m.