March 31, 2004

Box Score

Stillwater, Okla. - After nearly taking down the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Tuesday night, the Indians of Southeast topped OSU 4-2 Wednesday thanks to some timely hitting and a great pitching performance by junior Ryan Forsyth.

For the second night in a row, Southeast (11-13) jumped on top in the first inning. After the first three Southeast batters singled, junior Bryan Kurt brought home junior Eric Horstman on an RBI fielder's choice ground out.

The Cowboys took the lead in the bottom of the second, scoring a pair of runs to take a 2-1 lead. But Southeast would score two in the fourth and another in the fifth to go up 4-2. Forsyth (2-2) pitched eight and two-thirds innings to earn the victory, giving up just the two second-inning runs while scattering five hits. Junior closer Brad Smith entered with a runner on and two outs in the ninth to earn his fourth save of the season. The duo from the mound did not allow a hit after the fifth inning.

Southeast scored in the fourth inning by loading the bases with one out. Brady Noll was hit by a pitch to drive in freshman Brent Lawson. Then, Horstman drove in junior second baseman Bo Jenkins with a sacrifice fly. In the fifth, it was Lawson who provided the sacrifice fly to score senior Gary Gilbert who led off the inning with a single.

Gilbert had three hits on the night in five at-bats to extend his hitting streak to a team season-high 13 games. Noll also had a multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 with an RBI. Every batter in the Southeast lineup either had a hit or an RBI, as the Indians combined for 11 hits against Cowboy pitching.

For Southeast, it is a big win as they top the Cowboys who were ranked No. 34 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. OSU had recently topped No. 1 Texas on Saturday. Southeast has played several ranked teams (Mississippi, Oklahoma, Missouri, Alabama) and had yet to bring home a victory, despite several close calls.

Southeast now looks to take its momentum to Jacksonville State this weekend for the Indians' second series of OVC Play. The Tribe took two-of-three against defending OVC Tournament Champion Murray State last weekend.