April 10, 2007

Box Score

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - (Tuesday, April 10, 2007) Southeast Missouri State committed four errors and allowed five unearned runs to cross the plate Tuesday on the way to a 7-2 loss against local rival Southern Illinois.

The Redhawks (21-12) struggled at the plate against Salukis starter Shawn Joy and a group of four Southern Illinois relievers. Their only two runs came unearned in the third inning when they took an early 2-0 lead, after which Southeast managed only four hits.

Southeast missed out on an opportunity to score in the first inning when freshmen Jim Klocke (St. Louis, Mo./Vianney HS) and Nick Harris (Alabaster, Ala./Thompson HS) hit back-to-back singles with one out. However, the inning ended after a fielder's choice and a fly out to left field without any runs for the Redhawks.

They took advantage of a Southern Illinois error in the third inning to score the first runs of the game. Senior Robby Moore (Rombauer, Mo./Jefferson CC) reached base on an error by the shortstop and moved to second when senior Omar Padilla (Point Reyes Station, Calif./Santa Rosa CC) was hit by a pitch. Klocke walked to load the bases with no outs, but Harris grounded into a double play for the first two outs of the inning, though Moore scored the first run from third. Senior Asif Shah (Cincinnati, Ohio/Wabash Valley CC) followed with an RBI single to right field.

The Salukis (23-9) cut the lead in half with a run in the fourth before capitalizing on a Redhawks error in the fifth to take a 5-2 lead.

With two outs and two runners on, a ground ball slipped past first baseman Matt Wagner (Wahoo, Neb./Nebraska) allowing the tying run to score. The next batter, first baseman Adam Hills, delivered a two-run blow with a double to left center. Catcher Mark Kelly, who leads the Missouri Valley Conference with batting .438, followed with an RBI single that ended starter Phillip Riley's (Memphis, Tenn./Jackson State CC) day on the mound.

Riley (4-3) pitched four and two-thirds innings in the start, his shortest outing of the season. He gave up five runs on six hits, though only one run was earned. The right-handed senior walked two and struck out one.

Junior Dustin Renfrow (West Plains, Mo./Jefferson CC), in his first relief appearance this season, forced the third out of the fifth inning, though not before another error. He retired the side in the sixth, and lowered his OVC-leading ERA to 1.72 after one and one-third scoreless, hitless innings on the mound.

Meanwhile, Joy (3-1) settled down on the mound, allowing just two Redhawks runners to reach scoring position after the two-run third inning. Joy, a left-hander who usually serves as the game-three weekend starter for SIU, gave up just two runs (both unearned) on six hits through six innings pitched in the surprise midweek start.

The Saluki bullpen was equally tough on Southeast batters once Joy left the game. Four Southern Illinois relievers combined to allow just one batter to reach base through the final three innings - Shah singled to leadoff the eighth inning.

Shah finished the day 2-for-4 at the plate, extending his hitting streak to six games. He also drove in his 37th RBI of the season with the single in the third, a total that leads the Ohio Valley Conference.

Klocke also had a pair of base hits; he was 2-for-3 and added a walk.

Southern Illinois added a seventh run, this one earned, in the final inning before it was all said and done. Of the seven runs, only two were earned as the Redhawks committed four errors, their second highest total this season.

Southeast embarks on a seven-game road trip beginning with a three-game conference series this weekend at Samford. The Redhawks and Bulldogs will play a doubleheader Saturday and conclude the series with a game on Sunday.