Semoball

Southeast Missouri State baseball drops OVC series finale versus Belmont, 11-10

Southeast Missouri State's Kyle Bottger hits an RBI single against Belmont during the second inning Sunday in Nashville, Tennessee.
Wayne McPherson ~ Special to the Southeast Missourian

The Southeast Missouri State baseball team was unable to respond after Belmont scored two runs to go ahead in the bottom of the eighth inning, as the Bruins clinched the Ohio Valley Conference series with an 11-10 victory on Sunday in Nashville, Tennessee.

Southeast (25-24, 13-14 OVC) racked up 10 runs on 10 hits in the contest. Dan Holst led the way with three hits, including a two-run homer. He drove in three runs, scored four times and was a triple shy of the cycle. Danny Wright added two RBIs on a pair of hits, including a triple.

Nate Green got the pitching start for the Redhawks and was lifted after three innings of work. He allowed four runs on six hits with no walks and three strikeouts before he was replaced by Jared Waldhoff in the top of the fourth inning. Waldhoff retired Belmont (26-25, 17-13) in order to get out of the inning.

Robert Beltran pitched 2/3 of an inning for Southeast, allowing one run on three hits, while Joey Burris provided an inning of relief, during which he gave up one run on one hit with two walks. Daniel Bergtholdt and Chase Hagerty each threw 1/3 of an inning and combined to allow three runs on two hits before Matthew Wade walked two batters and gave up one hit in 2/3 of an inning.

Carlos Vega (1-4) was the eighth and final pitcher used by the Redhawks. He was tagged with the loss after allowing two runs on three hits.

Casey Queener started on the mound for the Bruins, allowing six runs on four hits with one strikeout and two walks in 4 1/3 innings of work. Zach Hodgkiss pitched 1 2/3 innings out of the Belmont bullpen, allowing three runs on five hits with one strikeout.

Kyle Klotz (3-3) pitched two innings and was credited with the win. He gave up one run on one hit, walked one batter and struck out two. Brennan Washington pitched a scoreless ninth for the Bruins to notch his second save of the season.

Holst reached on a leadoff hit in the top of the first and came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Chris Caffrey, giving Southeast an early 1-0 advantage.

The Redhawks tacked on three runs to take a 4-0 lead in the top of the second, as Aiden McMahan led off with a double down the left-field line. With one out, Kyle Bottger singled to drive in McMahan before Holst followed with an RBI double. An error by the Bruins' Hunter Holland allowed Holst to cross home plate for the final run of the half inning.

Holland hit a solo home run in the bottom of the second before Tyler Walsh followed suit with a solo shot in the third, cutting SEMO's lead to 4-2 after three innings.

After Matt Cogen reached on a double to left-center in the bottom of the fourth, Holland tied things at 4-all with his second homer of the day.

The Redhawks regained the lead in the top of the fifth. Tristen Gagan was hit by a pitch and stole second before advancing to third on a fielder's choice. Southeast then pulled off its second successful double steal, allowing Gagan to score. Wright followed with an RBI single to push the Redhawks' lead to 6-4.

Holland drove in Chas Hadden in the bottom of the frame to cut Belmont's deficit to 6-5.

Holst hit his seventh homer of the season and second of the series in the top of the sixth, a two-run shot that increased SEMO's lead to 8-5.

Clay Payne answered for the Bruins in the bottom of the sixth with a solo homer, but the Redhawks regained a three-run lead, 9-6, in the top of the seventh on Wright's RBI triple.

A sacrifice fly, an RBI single by Walsh and a wild pitch allowed Belmont to tie the game at 9-all in the bottom of the inning.

In the top of the eighth, Holst reached on a one-out walk and advanced to third on a single by Chris Osborne. He scored on Gagan's sacrifice fly to right, giving Southeast a 10-9 lead.

But the Bruins tacked on two runs in the bottom of the eighth to secure the lead for good. Kocher drove in the tying run on a double before Payne sent the winning run across home plate on a sacrifice fly to deep center.

Belmont compiled 16 hits, half of which went for extra bases. Holland led the charge with a career-high five hits, including two homers. He drove in four runs and scored four times.

Southeast wraps up its regular season with an OVC series against visiting Eastern Kentucky. The three-game set is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Thursday at Capaha Field.

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