Austin Peay rolls past Southeast in opener

Austin Peay put the baseball in Lee Ridenhour's hand as the Governors tried to snap their longest losing streak since 2009.

It probably came as no surprise that Ridenhour delivered, helping the two-time defending Ohio Valley Conference regular-season and tournament champion Govs rolled past host Southeast Missouri State 9-4 Friday night in the opener of a three-game series at Capaha Field.

Ridenhour pitched seven shutout innings to remain undefeated and he got plenty of offensive support -- much of it late -- as the Govs snapped their four-game losing streak.

"It was a good feeling out there. I just wanted to go out there and compete," Ridenhour said. "I was just commanding my fastball on both sides of the plate."

Ridenhour, a hard-throwing 6-foot-5, 226-pound junior right-hander, improved to 6-0 and lowered his earned-run average to 2.20. He allowed six hits, struck out three and walked two.

"They're a good ballclub and we knew he was going to come in throwing good stuff," Southeast junior left fielder Derek Gibson said. "We understand Friday guys in the OVC have great stuff."

Ridenhour has proven to be quite a workhorse in his first season at Austin Peay. He threw 103 pitches Friday, his second-lowest total of the year, after firing more than 120 pitches in his previous four starts. He almost certainly would have gone longer than seven innings Friday but was taken out with the Govs ahead 9-0.

"Having that lead helped. It allowed me to sit a little earlier than usual," said Ridenhour, who had struck out nine in each of his previous two starts while working a total of 17 innings.

Ridenhour has battled back to again become an elite pitcher. He spent last year in junior college after missing 2010 and 2011 due to injury. He was the No. 3 starter for Kansas as a freshman in 2009, when he went 6-3 with a 4.65 ERA.

"Getting back to pitching at a high level is a real good feeling," he said.

Austin Peay 26th-year coach Gary McClure appreciates the boost Ridenhour has given the Govs in replacing graduated ace Zach Toney.

"He's got a lot of ability and he knows how to pitch. He has a great arm and great presence on the mound," said McClure, who recently became the OVC's career leader in wins with 777 entering Friday's action. "He's a true No. 1 guy. He's done a great job. We were fortunate to get him."

Gibson, who came into play as the OVC's second-leading hitter with a .368 average, was the only Southeast player to consistently solve Ridenhour.

Gibson singled in his three plate appearances against Ridenhour. He wound up 3 for 5 as he extended his hitting streak to 15 games.

"Against a guy like that, you don't want to try to do too much," Gibson said. "He's throwing so hard, he's going to supply the power."

Southeast had 11 hits, the lone extra-base hit a one-out double in the seventh inning by sophomore right fielder Dalton Hewitt.

Four of the hits came in the ninth inning, when the Redhawks scored all their runs. Junior center fielder Cole Bieser had a two-run single while sophomore second baseman Jason Blum and junior first baseman Matt Tellor added RBI singles. Hewitt and Tellor both had two hits.

"You have to give him [Ridenhour] credit. He threw the ball outstanding. We really didn't have many good opportunities against him," Southeast coach Steve Bieser said.

Southeast had a runner reach third base just once through the first eight innings, although the Redhawks did have some chances.

The Redhawks were retired in order just once, in the second inning. Southeast placed two runners on base in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings but could do no damage.

"A team like that, you have to get ahead early," Gibson said.

Senior left-hander Zack Smith gave Southeast a chance with an effective if erratic start that featured six walks.

Smith threw up four scoreless innings before allowing two runs, one earned, in a fifth inning that included just one hit along with two walks, two wild pitches and a key error.

Smith (2-3), who allowed five hits, came out following the fifth inning after throwing 110 pitches.

"We wanted Zack to keep us in the game, give us an opportunity. He did that," Bieser said. "The six walks, and he had to work so hard on so many batters, ran his pitch count up."

The Govs pulled away against Southeast's normally reliable bullpen. The Redhawks used four relievers.

Austin Peay went ahead 4-0 with a two-run sixth inning. Junior right fielder Rolando Gautier's two-run homer highlighted a three-run seventh inning and junior first baseman Craig Massoni's two-run blast in the eighth inning made it 9-0.

Massoni, a junior college transfer who has already established himself as one of the OVC's premier sluggers, went 4 for 4 with three RBIs to lead the Govs' 12-hit attack. He entered play batting .500 in conference games.