OXFORD, Ala. – Southeast Missouri (29-24) came out on top of a slugfest with Jacksonville State (30-25) in game two of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Wednesday, 13-10.
 
The Redhawks advance to face top-seeded Tennessee Tech Thursday at 12:30 p.m. in game six.
 
Nine of Southeast's 13 hits went for extra bases including five doubles, three home runs, and a triple. Danny Wright led the way with three hits and five RBI, a season-high for the freshman. Chris Caffrey and Brian Lees each had two hits while every starter in the Redhawk lineup had at least one hit.
 
In all, the teams combined for 16 extra-base hits: nine doubles, a triple, and six home runs.
 
Justin Murphy pitched four and a third innings on Wednesday, exiting in the fifth. He surrendered five runs, four unearned, on seven Gamecock hits. He struck out four and didn't allow a single free base.
 
Robert Beltran (2-4) worked two relief innings for Murphy and recorded the win. He struck out four including striking out the side in the sixth. He exited in the seventh after giving up two runs. Joey Burris (2.0) and Ryan Losman (0.2) combined to close the game.
 
JSU starter Colton Pate worked four and two-thirds innings. He gave up seven runs on just five hits. Despite allowing seven runs, Pate faced the minimum the first time through the Redhawk order and no-hit Southeast through three innings. He struck out seven total hitters in his start.
 
A leadoff fielding error in the first inning by Connor Basler led to trouble when Taylor Hawthorne hit a one-out two-run home run two batters later to take an early lead in the contest, 2-0.
 
After being no-hit through the first three innings and the first time through the Redhawks batting order, Dan Holst not only broke up the no hitter but also put the Redhawks on the board and extended his on-base streak to 41 games with a leadoff solo home run in the top of the fourth. A walk and a hit batsman ensued then Lees sent a single through the six hole to plate Chris Osborne, tying the game. Wright stepped in and blasted a three-run home run to dead center, giving the Redhawks a 5-2 advantage. The home run was the fourth of his freshman season.
 
The Gamecocks got a run back in the bottom of the frame when Trent Simpson homered to left, cutting the lead to two, 5-3.
 
SEMO's two-out production was in full swing in the top of the fifth. Kyle Bottger led off the inning with a double. After two out, Tristen Gagan homered to left, a two-run bomb to make it 7-3. Back-to-back doubles by Caffrey and Lees made it 8-3. Wright singled to center, plating Caffrey, then scored on a triple off the bat of Josh Haggerty, 10-3 SEMO.
 
Jacksonville State hit Murphy hard in the top of the sixth inning. A leadoff double followed by back-to-back singles plated a run. Another base hit with one out by Hawthorne plated the second run of the inning. Beltran then entered to pitch. He used a strikeout and a foul out to end the threat and strand two on base, 10-5.
 
A pair of errors in the top of the sixth inning allowed the Redhawks to get a run back. Holst reached on a one-out two-base error then came around to score when second baseman Clayton Daniel dropped a popup off the bat of Gagan, 11-5.
 
Daniel lined a two-RBI base hit up the middle in the bottom of the seventh to slice the lead to four, 11-7. Burris entered and retired both hitters he faced to end the JSU scoring threat.
 
Holst drew a four-pitch leadoff walk in the top of the eighth. He scored from first on a double off the bat of Osborne. After Osborne moved up to third on a groundout, Wright drove him in with a single into center, recording his fifth RBI of the game and putting SEMO back up by six, 13-7.
 
Burris began the eighth inning by hitting the first two batters of the inning. After a strikeout, Simpson hit his second home run of the game, this time a three-run blast, to cut the lead to three, 13-10. Losman entered and recorded the final two out of the game to secure the Redhawk win.
 
Nolan Greckel had three hits for the Gamecocks while four others had two hits each. With his two home runs, Simpson drove in four runs.
 
Wednesday's game will be broadcast live and for free on the OVC Digital Network as well as SEMO ESPN 92.9 FM.