Southeast Missouri State baseball suffers doubleheader road sweep at hands of Jacksonville State

Minutes into its doubleheader at Jacksonville State on Friday, the Southeast Missouri State baseball team had runners on second and third with no outs. The Redhawks came up empty, and that set the tone for the rest of the day.

Southeast finished the way it started -- coming up short -- as it fell 7-0 in the opener and then 7-6 in 11 innings in the nightcap at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Alabama.

A five-run seventh inning vaulted JSU (18-13 overall, 8-6 Ohio Valley Conference) to victory in Game 1 as SEMO (16-20, 10-7) managed just three hits.

Gamecocks starter Garrett Farmer (4-0) pitched a sparkling eight scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while striking out 10 and walking just one. Austin Brewster allowed one hit in one inning of relief.

Meanwhile, the Redhawks used five pitchers, with starter Christian Vick (4-3) lasting just three innings to take the loss, giving up two runs (one earned) on six hits, with four strikeouts and a walk.

None of the hosts' five runs in the seventh were earned, the first coming off reliever Aaron Stretch and the rest coming off Cody Creed, who walked four batters and gave up two hits in 2/3 of an inning.

An inning-opening error began the seventh, before a two-out walk to Andrew Naismith started the bleeding. Three more walks, two doubles and a wild pitch later, JSU was in control.

Chase Urhahn had a double for SEMO.

Isaac Alexander was 2-for-4 with three RBIs for Jacksonville State.

Alexander also put the Gamecocks up in the first inning of Game 2, scoring two with a single to left field for a 2-0 edge.

The two sides traded runs in the second and third innings -- with Danny Wright picking up an RBI single -- before Justin Dirden hit his ninth home run of the season in the fourth inning to tie the game at 3-3.

Southeast took its only lead of the game on a Trevor Ezell run-scoring single in the fifth, but Nic Gaddis sent a two-run blast over the left-field fence in the bottom of the fifth to retake the lead, 5-4.

The teams again traded runs in the sixth inning before Devon Wilson singled to start the top of the seventh. He moved to third on a base hit by Ezell and then scored on a one-out fielder's choice. That tied things at 6-all and, ultimately, forced extra innings.

But JSU's power surge ended the game in the bottom of the 11th, with Cole Frederick homering on the second pitch of the inning for the walk-off winner.

Gaddis, Frederick and Hayden White all hit home runs for the Gamecocks. Gaddis was 3-for-4 with three runs scored and two driven in while Alexander was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.

Wright led SEMO's charge with a 3-for-5 day and Dirden was 2-for-5 with three RBIs.

Daniel Bergthold (0-4) took the loss for the Redhawks, pitching 3 2/3 innings in relief and allowing one run on three hits with three strikeouts and a walk. Logan Spalt got the start on the mound, going four innings and allowing five runs on eight hits with five strikeouts and a walk. Logan Winder threw 2 1/3 innings out of the bullpen.

JSU reliever Christian Edwards (2-1) got the win, throwing 3 1/3 spotless innings with eight strikeouts.

The two sides wrap up the three-game series with a 1 p.m. first pitch Saturday.