Game One - PDF Box Score
Game Two - PDF Box Score

JACKSON, Tenn. - Southeast Missouri baseball's season and Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Championship run came to a close Saturday evening. The Redhawks finish the season with an overall record of 36-23. 

The Redhawks defeated Belmont in game nine Saturday afternoon, 9-4, to advance to the championship round of the tournament to face Morehead State. The top-seeded Redhawks fell to No. 2 Morehead State, 16-3, in the championship game. It was Southeast's first championship appearance since 2008. 

After falling to No. 6 Belmont in game five, the Redhawks won three-straight games to advance to the championship round. Southeast eliminated No. 5 Jacksonville State, No. 4 Tennessee Tech, and No. 6 Belmont in Saturday's rematch. 

Head coach Steve Bieser finished his third season at the helm of the Redhawks with a career record of 99-76; falling one shy of reaching the 100-win mark in 2015. 

In Saturday's nightcap, Trevor Ezell broke the school's single season record for at-bats with 246 in his freshman campaign. The previous record of 245 was held by Kenton Parmley in 2012. 

Southeast Missouri's Branden Boggetto, Dalton Hewitt, and Travis Hayes earned OVC All-Tournament Team honors following Saturday's championship game. Boggetto finished the tournament hitting .429 (9-for-21), drove in nine runs, scored six with two home runs and two doubles. Hewitt hit .333 with six runs. Hayes tossed a complete game against Tennessee Tech in game seven. 

Southeast Missouri 9, Belmont 4
A two-run first inning put Belmont on the board and in front of Southeast, 2-0. Redhawk starter Jacob Lawrence recorded only two outs before exiting the game. 

Morehead put up one run in both the third and fourth innings to go ahead 4-0 on the Redhawks. 

Southeast got on the board and found the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. Hewitt and Andy Lennington drew back-to-back one-out walks. A base hit by Scott Mitchell loaded the bases. Back-to-back singles by Ryan Rippee and Hunter Leeper drove in a run each and kept the bases loaded. Ezell stepped in and drilled a bases-clearing triple to right center to give the Redhawks a 5-4 lead. It was Ezell's second triple of the tournament. Ezell touched home on an RBI groundout by Jason Blum. The Redhawks held a 6-4 lead after four innings. 

Southeast made Belmont pay for a two-out error by the shortstop in the bottom of the seventh inning. Hewitt reached on an error by the shortstop that also allowed Boggetto to score. Lennington reached on an infield hit that the third baseman threw away, putting runners on second and third. Pinch hitter Cole Ferguson drove in both runs with a single to right, widening the lead to 9-4. 

The Redhawks held on to eliminate the Bruins from OVC Tournament play and advance to the championship round. 

Each team strung together 10 hits in the contest and combined for five errors; three Southeast errors, two Belmont errors. 

Lennington and Mitchell each had two hits in the game. Ezell had three RBI while Ferguson had two. 

Belmont's Drew Ferguson was 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. 

Ryan Lenaburg (5-3) picked up the win. Lenaburg entered the game for Lawrence in the first inning and pitched the rest of the game. Lenaburg allowed two runs on six hits in eight and a third innings of work. He struck out six and walked three. 

Dom Veltri (2-4) recorded the loss for the Bruins. Veltri pitched three and a third innings and allowed six runs on eight hits. Josh Tubbs and Matthew Kinney each pitched in relief for Belmont. 

Morehead State 16, Southeast Missouri 3
The Eagles jumped on the Redhawks for five runs in the first inning. Morehead State knocked starter Matthew Wade out of the game after only recording two outs in the inning. The Eagles led 5-0 after one inning. 

A three spot in the following inning extednded the Eagle lead to 8-0 in the championship game. 

A two-out RBI single by Alex Stephens in the fourth extended the lead to 9-0 on Southeast. 

The Redhawks touched home twice in the top of the fifth inning. Leeper drew a one-out walk and scored on Ezell's third triple of the tournament to put the Redhawks on the board. Ezell scored on an RBI groundout by Blum. The Redhawks cut down the lead to seven, 9-2. 

An RBI double by Brandon Rawe brought the score to 10-2. A Kane Sweeney grand slam in the sixth widened the lead to 14-2 and two more runs in the eighth made it 16-2. 

The Redhawks plated a run on a play in the ninth that also ended the game and the season. The final score was 16-3. 

Blum was the only Redhawk with multiple hits, going 2-for-5 with two RBI in the game. 

Wade (3-2) recorded the loss. The Redhawks used a total of six pitchers in the game. 

Morehead reliever Brent Stoneking (5-1) picked up the win. Stoneking worked four and a third innings after starter Patrick McGuff pitched four and a third.