SEMO baseball 2The top-seeded Southeast Missouri baseball team eliminated both No. 5 Jacksonville State and No. 4 Tennessee Tech Friday to stay alive in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. Southeast downed Jacksonville State, 12-4, in game six of the tournament then turned around and defeated Tennessee Tech, 14-1, in game seven.

Southeast outscored its opponents 26-5 on the day. Branden Boggetto went 8-for-11 with nine runs batted in and five runs scored and had home runs in both games.

On the mound for the Redhawks, Alex Winkelman pitched a solid six innings in game one and Travis Hayes pitched a complete game in game two against TTU.

No. 1 Southeast Missouri will play No. 6 Belmont in game nine at noon Saturday.

Southeast Missouri 12, Jacksonville State 4
For the second game in a row, Southeast found themselves down 3-0 after the first inning. A bases-loaded hit batsman followed by a bases-loaded walk made it 2-0 Jacksonville State. A sacrifice fly to right plated the Gamecock’s third run of the inning.

Brendon Neel tied up the game in the top of the second inning with a three-run home run to left.

The offense never slowed down the rest of the day after Neel’s home run.

Southeast used a six spot in the sixth inning to break the three and a half inning tie. With bases loaded and one out, Neel grounded into a 6-4 fielder’s choice and got down the line to avoid an inning-ending double play; Dalton Hewitt scored on the play to break the tie. A walk to Trevor Ezell reloaded the bases with two out. Jason Blum, the school’s all-time leader in being hit by a pitch, took one off the shoulder to drive in another run. With bases still full of Redhawks, Boggetto launched a grand slam to left center, putting Southeast up 9-3 in the sixth.

The Redhawks plated three more runs in the top of the eighth inning. Southeast had three doubles in the inning, including a leadoff double by pinch hitter Garrett Gandolfo, a two-RBI gapper by Boggetto, and an RBI double by Hewitt. Southeast led 12-3 going to the bottom of the eighth.

The Gamecocks would get one run in the eighth but that’s as close as they would get to the Redhawks, 12-4.

The Redhawks outhit JSU, 13-9, and both teams played errorless baseball.

Boggetto paced the Redhawk offense going 4-for-5 with six RBI, a new career-high, and two runs scored. Alex Burridge and Hewitt each had two hits in the game; Burridge had two doubles. Neel finished the game with four RBI.

Taylor Hawthorne was 3-for-3 in the game with one RBI and Paschal Petrongolo had two hits.

Winkelman (4-3) picked up the win. Winkelman pitched six innings, allowing three runs on five hits. Winkelman fanned six and walked five. Brady Wright pitched two innings in relief and Wesley Pyles threw one.

Tony Urban (3-3) recorded the loss for the Gamecocks. Urban allowed five runs on nine hits. In all, the Gamecocks used five hurlers in the contest.

Southeast Missouri 14, Tennessee Tech 1
Tennessee Tech got on the board with an RBI double down the left field line by Tyler Brazelton; 1-0 TTU after one complete inning.

The Redhawks tied the game in the top of the second inning when Andy Lennington tagged up and scored on a sacrifice fly by Hunter Leeper. Southeast stranded the bases loaded in the inning.

Boggetto led off the third inning with a double knocked down the left field line. He immediately scored on a base hit through the right side by Hewitt, giving Southeast a 2-1 lead.

The Redhawks put up a nine spot in the top of the fourth inning to go up 11-1 on the Golden Eagles. Ezell had a double and a triple with two RBI in the inning. Southeast sent 13 men to the plate and all but one scored at least one run in the frame.

A three-run seventh inning, highlighted by a two-run home run by Boggetto and an RBI triple by Lennington, widened the lead to 14-1.

Ezell finished 3-for-6 with two RBI and two runs scored while Boggetto was 4-for-6 with three RBI and three runs scored. Four other Redhawks each added two hits.

Hayes (8-6) went the distance for the first time this season. He allowed just the one run on six hits. He fanned six hitters and walked three.

Trevor Maloney (3-3) picked up the loss in relief. Maloney pitched one and a third innings, allowed five runs on six hits. Tennessee Tech used six pitchers in the game.