Box Score | PDF Box Score
 
RICHMOND, Ky. – On a day where the wind blew a constant 15-20 mph straight out to center field, both Southeast Missouri and Eastern Kentucky (7-10, 1-3 OVC) combined for 23 runs in a game that featured a lot of offense from both sides. Southeast would come out on top, 15-8. The Redhawks improve to 11-6 on the season and a perfect 4-0 in Ohio Valley Conference play.
 
"We knew it was going to be a highly offensive game when we pulled up and saw the flag blowing straight out to center," said head coach Steve Bieser. "We figured they could score in every inning so we knew what we had to do and answer back with a lot of offense ourselves. We gave up a lot of base runners early and had a few mistakes here and there but made up for them in the end."
 
The red-hot Derek Gibson wasted no time to put the Redhawks ahead early. With runners on first and second, Gibson threaded one through the right side to score Jason Blum. With runners still on first and second, Matt Tellor drove in Dalton Hewitt to extend the Redhawk lead to 2-0 after one half inning. Gibson extended his hitting streak to 10 games and his on-base streak to 13 games.
 
The first batter to take advantage of the windy conditions was EKU catcher Sean Hagen as he took one deep to left center field to bring the Colonels within one, 2-1, after one inning.
 
EKU scored two runs in the second inning. With Colonel runners on second and third, Kenny Hostrander hit a high pop up right over home plate. The ball fell between four Redhawks right in front of the plate, just inches in fair territory to score two runners, who were running on the play. Hostrander was out on a 1-4 putout trying to advance to second. EKU lead 3-2 after two complete innings.
 
Blum led off the third inning with a double down the left field line followed by a walk by Cole Bieser. The two fastest players on the team then executed a perfect double steal to get both runners in scoring position. Blum scored on a groundout by Hewitt to tie the game. The Redhawks regained the lead with a sacrifice fly from Gibson to score Bieser. 4-3 Redhawks after three innings.
 
Just like that, the game was tied when Kyle Nowlin hit a line drive home run to left field to lead off the bottom of the third. The Redhawks got out of the inning by turning their second 3-6-1 double play of the game.
 
Scott Mitchell and Branden Boggetto each singled to start the fourth inning. After Clayton Evans showed bunt to begin his at-bat, he swung away at one that rolled all the way down the left field line to score both runners on a two-run double. The inning continued when, with runners on first and third, Bieser hit a two-run triple off the top of the left field wall, missing his first Redhawk home run by merely inches. Bieser then scored on an infield single from Gibson to make it a five-run fourth inning for Southeast. The Redhawks led 9-4 after the top of the fourth.
 
The EKU offense was quick to answer back in the bottom of the inning. With one out, EKU hit two back-to-back doubles to put another run on the board. After a single to put runners on first and third, Hostrander hit a sacrifice fly to center to make the score 9-6 after four innings.
 
After the Redhawks went scoreless in the top of the fifth, Hagen hit his second home run of the day in the bottom of the inning with one out. With runners on first and second, Christian Hull was brought out of the bullpen to relieve starter Tyler Iago. Hull got out of the inning on a force out at second.
 
The sixth inning began with a Blum single, followed by Bieser getting grazed by a pitch, and then Hewitt reaching on an error by the second baseman to load the bases for Gibson. Gibson proceeded to drive one through the right side to drive in his fourth and fifth runs of the game to make the score 11-7 after the top of the sixth inning.
 
EKU scored a single run in the sixth inning on an RBI single from Hagen to make the score 11-8 after six innings.
 
Both ends of the seventh inning went down as scoreless for both teams; the first completely scoreless inning in the game.
 
Bieser led off the eighth inning by being hit by a pitch followed by walks dished out to Hewitt and Gibson to load the bases for Tellor. Tellor hit a bullet up the middle that the centerfielder couldn't come up with to allow three runs to score. Tellor immediately scored on a wild pitch to put Southeast up 15-8 in the eighth.
 
Both teams went three up, three down in the ninth inning, securing the 15-8 victory for the Redhawks and extending their winning streak to five games.
 
Gibson finished the day 3-for-3 to go along with his five RBI. Tellor and Blum also had three hits on the day. Blum and Bieser, the one and two-hole hitters, combined for eight runs scored. Tellor drove in three runs while Bieser and Evans finished with two apiece.
 
Iago went 4.2 innings; a third of an inning short to earn the win. Iago gave up seven runs on nine hits. Hull, who was stellar on the mound, improved to 1-1 after earning the victory. Hull pitched 4.1 innings, allowing only a single run on three hits.
 
Hagen was 3-for-3 in the game with three RBI for EKU. Three other Colonel batters each contributed two hits.
 
Starter Brent Cobb (2-3) suffered the loss in 4.1 innings, giving up nine runs on 10 hits to Southeast. EKU used six pitchers out of the bullpen in the contest.
 
Southeast Missouri and Eastern Kentucky will square off in a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 12 p.m., CT. No game will be played Sunday due to an inclement weather forecast.