CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southeast Missouri baseball (4-4) fell 6-5 to regional rival Southern Illinois (5-3) in the final inning of Wednesday's contest.
 
Jacob Lawrence (0-0) made his first start of the year, pitching four innings, giving up two earned runs and registering six strikeouts. Brady Wright (0-1) was on the losing end of the affair, as a sac-fly in the bottom of the ninth forced the winning run across the plate for the Salukis.
 
Dan Holst was able to generate three of the Redhawks nine hits in the contest. Ryan Rippee and Scott Mitchell joined Holst to each pick up one of the three Redhawk RBIs.
 
Trevor Ezell led off the day with a walk, earning his way on base for the 15th straight game.  Following a steal by Ezell, Garrett Gandolfo would follow with a walk of his own. After back-to-back hits by Rippee and Holst, the Redhawks claimed an early 2-0 lead. Kylar Robertson followed with an infield chopper, scoring both runners after an error on an attempted throw home to increase the lead to four.
 
The Salukis responded in the first, scoring one run off a two-out single. With runners on second and third, Lawrence closed the frame with his first strikeout.
 
After Lawrence retired five-straight, SIU reached base with three consecutive batters. The Salukis would tally two runs off a one-out single, trailing the Redhawks 4-3. Again, Lawrence ended the threat with his fifth strikeout of the day.
 
Daniel Costello led off the fourth with a single, eventually coming around to score off a base hit by Mitchell. The RBI single Mitchell increased the Redhawks lead to 5-3 while extending his hitting streak to four games.
 
SIU's first two batters in the seventh reached base, advancing to second and third on an error. Two consecutive groundouts would advance the runners in, knotting the game up at 5-5.
 
The score remained stagnant until the bottom of the ninth. A leadoff double followed by a sac-bunt placed the winning run on third for the Salukis. After an intentional walk, SIU used a sac-fly to push across the final run to earn the win, 6-5.
 
Afterwards, head coach Steve Bieser commented on the outcome. "We came out strong but after those first four runs, it seemed like we relaxed and let them back in it." He continued, "Lawrence threw well and gave us a chance to win. SIU executed really well and took advantage of their opportunities, which was the difference in the game. Our hitting is inconsistent right now, which we need to work on."
 
When asked about Holst's performance, Bieser responded, "He is playing the game the way it should be played. He is full speed all of the time and having a lot of fun. Hopefully the other guys look at him and want to play the way he does."
 
Southeast Missouri will host Central Arkansas for the 2016 home opener. The three-game series begins Friday, March 4 at 3 p.m. from Capaha Field.