Hayes pitches shutout for Southeast Missouri State baseball team

For Southeast Missouri State starting pitcher Travis Hayes, his performance on Saturday at Rudy Abbott Field ranks high on his list of the best of his career.

Hayes (6-1) pitched a complete-game shutout and allowed just three hits while recording six strikeouts to secure a 1-0 Southeast win over Jacksonville State in Jacksonville, Ala.

"I can't really think of any time that I've thrown and had a game that finished as well as this one," Hayes said. "It's probably right up there at number one just because it's the highest level of competition I've ever pitched at. I threw well today and the team played well behind me, so it's got to be right up there at number one."

The Redhawks plated the only run of the game in the fourth inning.

Matt Tellor and Derek Gibson hit back-to-back one-out singles and Tellor, who advanced to third on a wild pitch, scored on an Andy Lennington sac fly.

Gibson's hit extended his hitting streak to 19 games. He was 2 for 4 and the only Redhawk with multiple hits.

The lack of run support added some pressure for Hayes but also fueled him to stick with the strategy that he believed would make him successful.

"It's in the back of my mind obviously that I have to make a lot better pitches because their pitcher was throwing really well, and our hitters were having a little bit of a tough day at the plate just because they were making really good pitches when they needed to," Hayes said. "But at the same time it doesn't really change how coach [Lance] Rhodes and I attack hitters. You're going to have a game plan from the beginning and stick to that regardless of the score because the biggest thing is throwing strikes early in the count. That's what we did. That's what we really try to do every time, it's just that we knew the margin of error was so small because they've got a few guys that can really hit."

The Gamecocks never had more than one baserunner on at a time. Hayes walked one batter in the second and hit one with a pitch in the third. He didn't allow a hit until he gave up two singles in the fourth.

"In the beginning I didn't really have that good of fastball command, and I lucked out because I got behind in a few counts early," Hayes said. "In the first few innings they just happened to swing on a couple of bad 2-0 or 2-1 pitches and popped out or got a weak ground ball.

"So a little lucky at first and then after about the third inning I started getting my command a whole lot more consistent. I was throwing breaking balls and fastballs for strikes, and when you do that it's a whole lot easier to pitch. The biggest thing is being able to locate fastballs down in the zone."

JSU starter Zachary Fowler (4-5) was tabbed with the loss. He pitched seven innings and allowed one earned run on three hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

Gamecocks second baseman Eddie Mora-Loera was 2 for 4 and designated hitter Paschal Pretrongolo accounted for the only other hit.

The Gamecocks dropped to 22-19 and 11-9 in the Ohio Valley Conference.

Southeast improved to 29-13 overall and 19-4 in the OVC. Second-place Tennessee Tech split its doubleheader with Murray State on Saturday so the Redhawks hold a 3 1/2 game lead in first place.

"It feels good, but I think the biggest thing is that we played well in a close game and that we ended up winning," Hayes said. "It was especially a good feeling to win today because Tech lost, so we gained another game in the standings.

"I mean, this time of year every game is so crucial to win regardless if it's 1-0 or 15-14. I think everybody on our team realizes that, and I think it's about going out and doing what you have to do each day to win whether it's holding the opposing team to no runs or whether it's holding them to 10 and we score 11. That doesn't change. The number one priority right now is getting wins no matter how you do it."

Southeast will go for the series sweep of the Gamecocks at 1 p.m. Sunday. Ryan Lenaburg will get the start for the Redhawks.