Southeast Missouri State baseball battles back to beat SIU Edwardsville on walk-off hit

Southeast Missouri State baseball players storm the field to celebrate with Danny Wright after his walk-off two-run base hit to sweep SIU Edwardsville on Sunday at Capaha Field.

BEN MATTHEWS

On a day in which the bullpen twice blew a lead, the bats bailed Southeast Missouri State baseball out.

Danny Wright hit a two-out, bases-loaded single in the bottom of the ninth to send the host Redhawks off with an 11-10 victory over SIU Edwardsville on Sunday afternoon at Capaha Field, securing a series sweep of the Cougars.

It marks the first sweep of the season for SEMO.

Southeast (10-15 overall, 7-2 Ohio Valley Conference) led 4-1 and then 7-5, but after starting pitcher Carlos Vega allowed just one run in six innings of work Redhawks relievers gave up nine runs in the final two innings.

But SEMO had a response each time, as the heart of its order scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth to vault past SIUE (5-16, 1-8).

Trailing 10-7, an Alex Nielsen leadoff single and back-to-back walks loaded the bases for Southeast in the final inning, with Tristen Gagan singling in two runs to the cut the gap to 10-9.

Justin Dirden then singled to load the bases again before Wright came through in the clutch.

Every time SIUE took a lead late, including scoring SEMO had a response, as the heart of its order scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth to vault past the Cougars (5-16, 1-8).

Justin Dirden then singled to load the bases again before Wright came through in the clutch.

Dirden was 2-for-4 on the day with two home runs, five RBIs and a pair of runs scored.

Wright went 2-for-5 while Nielsen and Conner Basler each were 2-for-4 with a run scored.

Ryan Losman (1-2) got the win in relief, getting just one out in the top of the ninth.

Prior to that, five SEMO relievers had combined to pitch 2 2/3 innings and allow nine runs on nine hits with four walks, three strikeouts and two hit batters.

Vega gave up just one run on three hits with six strikeouts and a walk in his start.

Mason McReaken (2-1) took the loss for SIUE, allowing five runs on four hits in 1 2/3 innings of relief, with three strikeouts and three walks.

Cougars starter Kenny Serwa allowed four runs on six hits in 6 1/3 innings before being pulled. He struck out four with no walks.

Steven Pattan was 3-for-5 with a run batted in for SIUE, while Aaron Jackson went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs and Aaron Goecks went 1-for-3 with four RBIs, a home run and a run scored.

The visitors took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second on an RBI single by Pattan, but Southeast jumped on top in the bottom of the third as Peyton Faulkner drove in two runs before Dirden hit his first homer of the day, a two-run shot for a 4-1 edge.

SIUE erased that lead in the top of the eighth, with Goecks hitting a three-run home run to vault the Cougars on top 5-4.

A three-run home run by Dirden in the bottom half of the inning flipped the lead again, as Southeast went up 7-5.

That didn't last long, as control issues opened the door for five Cougar runs in the top of the ninth.

A 10-7 deficit wasn't anything a little drama and clutch hitting couldn't handle, though.

Both teams finished with 12 hits on the day.

Southeast is back on the field Tuesday hosting Harris-Stowe at 6 p.m.