Southeast Missouri State baseball team drops 8-4 decision to Billikens

A baseball team as good as Saint Louis University doesn't need any help.

Southeast Missouri State aided SLU's five-run second inning with a key error, paving the way for the Billikens' 8-4 win on a cold Tuesday evening at Capaha Field.

The Redhawks fell to 6-3, having lost three of their last four after a 5-0 start.

SLU improved to 5-2 after a sensational 2012 campaign that saw the Billikens go 41-18 to set a school record for wins, capture the Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season title and earn a No. 30 ranking by Collegiate Baseball.

The Bills, who returned eight position starters and nine pitchers, are the preseason A-10 favorites.

"They're a very solid team, very talented up and down the lineup. They do all the little things right," junior left fielder Derek Gibson said. "A team like that is always going to take advantage of mistakes."

Southeast, which lost both meetings to SLU last year, put pressure on the Bills Tuesday by grabbing a 2-0 first-inning lead, with one of the runs unearned. But the Redhawks failed to score over the next five innings as SLU built a 7-2 advantage.

"They capitalized on their opportunities and we didn't," Gibson said.

SLU did its most damage in the second inning, scoring five times on five hits. All the runs were technically earned but none would have crossed the plate were it not for a throwing error to first base after one out was recorded at second base on a routine double-play ball.

The Bills, as most good teams do, took full advantage of the miscue.

An RBI triple by senior Mike Levine, a two-RBI double by freshman Michael Bozarth and an RBI single by senior Alex Kelly -- all with two outs -- followed the error.

"That's why they win games. You can't give this team extra outs," said Southeast first-year interim coach Steve Bieser, whose squad and SLU will complete their annual home-and-home season series March 19 in St. Louis.

A two-out, two-run double in the sixth inning by junior Danny Brennan put the Bills up 7-2. One of the runs was unearned.

Southeast made things interesting in the seventh inning, pulling within 7-4 on a two-out, two-run single by junior first baseman Matt Tellor. But the Redhawks left the bases loaded.

SLU added some insurance when Kelly ripped a long home run over the left-field fence with two outs in the eighth inning. Southeast did not threaten over the final two frames.

"They're good," Bieser said. "We know they pitch, they get their timely hits. They did those things tonight. We didn't have an answer for it."

SLU outhit Southeast 15-8. The Bills had two doubles, a triple and a homer. The Redhawks' only extra-base hit was a double. Both squads stranded 10 runners.

Gibson and Tellor led Southeast with two hits apiece.

Sophomore third baseman Andy Lennington had an RBI single in the first inning, extending his hitting streak to 11 games. He leads the Ohio Valley Conference with 12 RBIs.

Kelly went 3 for 4 to pace the Bills.

"I thought our offense plugged away," SLU coach Darin Hendrickson said.

Senior left-hander Ryan Kendall (0-1) was the losing pitcher. He worked the first 1 2/3 innings and was charged with three runs on four hits.

Six hurlers followed Kendall to the mound. Senior Tony Zerrusen, senior Bobby Hurst and freshman Alex Siddle all worked a scoreless inning. Siddle has not allowed a run in 2 1/3 innings spanning three appearances.

Junior Brett Vanover (1-0), who missed all of last season with an injury, notched the win on the mound for the Bills.

Vanover, the first of six SLU pitchers, allowed four hits and two runs, one earned, in four innings. He struck out six and walked one.

"It was a tough night to pitch," Hendrickson said of the rough weather conditions. "I thought our guys did a good job, a lot of strikeouts [11]."

Southeast committed three errors during a performance that disappointed Bieser.

"It just wasn't a very good game by our guys," he said.

The Redhawks conclude their nine-game homestand this weekend when perennial national power Oral Roberts (3-4) visits for a three-game series. Starting times are 3 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.

ORU, in its first year in the Southland Conference, won the past 15 Summit League championships to earn NCAA regional berths each season.

The Golden Eagles' 15 consecutive league championships is the second-longest streak in NCAA history. ORU's 15 straight NCAA Regional appearances is the fifth-longest active streak in the nation.

"It doesn't get any easier for us," Bieser said.