Redhawks suffer OVC baseball sweep

Southeast Missouri State's impressive baseball season finally hit a speed bump.

The Redhawks were assured of suffering their first Ohio Valley Conference series defeat of the year after being swept by host Tennessee-Martin in Saturday's doubleheader.

UTM pulled away late to roll 12-4 in the nine-inning opener, then won 6-3 in the seven-inning nightcap. The three-game series concludes at 1 p.m. today.

Southeast fell to 20-14 overall and 7-4 in OVC play. The Redhawks have dropped four straight, their second-longest losing streak of the season. They lost five straight in early March.

The Redhawks began the twin bill leading the nine-team OVC by one game. They ended the day in a virtual three-way tie for first place, having the same conference record as Jacksonville State and trailing Murray State (6-3) by percentage points.

Southeast is 17-3 at home but just 3-11 away from Cape Girardeau, including 3-9 in true road games. The Redhawks have played three straight road contests during a stretch that features 10 of 11 on the road.

UTM, which had lost seven straight to Southeast, improved to 18-16 overall and 3-5 in the OVC. The Skyhawks started the day tied for last place but now are deadlocked for sixth. They have won six of seven.

"It's very disappointing for us, but today they did a nice job on us," Southeast coach Mark Hogan said. "It was a good day for them. It kind of gets them back in the hunt. Their backs were to the wall."

UTM's pitching staff held Southeast's explosive offense in check for one of the few times this year.

The Redhawks lead the league with a batting average that entered the weekend fifth nationally at .355. Southeast was hitting .398 in OVC play.

"Today wasn't a good day offensively for us," said Hogan, whose club was averaging nearly nine runs per game. "I think you have to give their pitching credit."

UTM, which came into the day batting .298, outhit Southeast 27-19. The Skyhawks also had nine extra-base hits compared to five for the Redhawks.

"They've got a good offense," Hogan said.

Junior first baseman Brett Russell had three of Southeast's 12 first-game hits, including a home run and a double.

Junior right fielder Louie Haseltine and junior left fielder Michael Adamson both added two hits.

Senior catcher Jim Klocke doubled twice in the nightcap while sophomore shortstop Kenton Parmley also had two of the Redhawks' seven hits. Parmley homered.

Haseltine, Klocke and Parmley all finished the day with three hits to match Russell, who drove in three runs. Klocke hit safely in both games and now has a 22-game hitting streak, the longest by an OVC player this year.

Senior catcher Ty Nelson had a huge day for UTM, going 7 for 9. He had four of the Skyhawks' 18 first-game hits and three of their nine second-game hits.

The Skyhawks scored three first-inning runs in the opener off senior Kyle Gumieny and pretty much had the upper hand all day.

Southeast rallied for a 4-4 tie after four innings but UTM went back ahead for good at 7-4 with a three-run fifth. The Skyhawks pulled away with two in the seventh and three in the eighth.

Trailing 7-4, the Redhawks missed a golden opportunity in the sixth when they loaded the bases with nobody out but failed to score as freshman Dan Tobik escaped the jam.

Tobik, who entered as the OVC's ERA leader with a 2.50 mark, shut out Southeast over the final four innings. He allowed just two hits.

Gumieny was knocked out before retiring a batter in the third inning. He allowed seven hits and four runs.

Junior Corey Harness (1-3) took the loss, giving up four hits and three runs in 3 1/3 innings.

Southeast grabbed its only lead of the day in the first inning of the nightcap as Parmley led off the game with a homer.

But the Redhawks managed only two more runs the rest of the way.

UTM went ahead for good with a four-run third inning, the only real rough spot for junior Logan Mahon (2-2), who allowed seven hits and five runs in 4 2/3 innings to suffer the loss.

The Redhawks pulled within 4-3 in the fourth but the Skyhawks added single runs in the fifth and sixth to round out the scoring.