Coming into the weekend on a four-game losing skid, APSU had intentions of bouncing back against OVC opponent Southeast Missouri, but the Govs were edged out by the Redhawks.
APSU (26-11, 9-5 OVC) remain in fourth place in the OVC standings, while SEMO (20-17, 11-7 OVC) stays put in fifth.
In the opening game of the series on Friday, April 12, APSU got off to a hot start and gained momentum in the series, winning 9-4.
Starting pitcher Lee Ridenhour continued to impress with another win, pitching seven scoreless innings with three strikeouts
Tommy Hager allowed four Redhawks to cross the plate in the ninth, but benefited from the offense, which put up nine runs, all of them coming after the fourth inning.
Rolando Gautier, who homered in the seventh, and Craig Massoni, who was four-for-four at the plate including a home run, paced the Govs’ attack.
Kevin Corey, Jordan Hankins and Reed Harper also contributed with runners in scoring position to help earn the win.
On Saturday, April 13, the Govs jumped out to a 3-1 lead after a solo home run by Hankins and Dylan Riner driving home two runs thanks to an error early on. But in the bottom of the eighth, the Redhawks mounted a comeback to pull ahead.
Casey Delgado was solid on the mound for APSU until the eighth inning, but allowed SEMO to put two runners on with one out.
The Govs turned to Tyler Rogers in hopes of getting out of the jam, but he allowed both inherited runners to score, putting those runs on Delgado’s line.
The Redhawks then took the lead on a two-RBI single and held the Govs scoreless in the ninth to even the series.
The series wrap-up on Sunday, April 14, was one the Govs would like to put behind them, as they lost 14-8, with five errors contributing to the loss.
SEMO put up four runs in the first inning off starting pitcher Ryan Quick and then continued to chip away at the Govs staff, which used seven pitchers on the day.
APSU tied the game with four runs in the third inning on the strength of an RBI-double by Massoni followed by a two-RBI triple from Harper, who then scored on a wild pitch.
After five and a half innings, the Govs led 7-4, but the Redhawks scored ten runs in the next three innings, six of which came in the seventh, to pull away and win the series.
The Govs return to Raymond C. Hand Park on April 19-21 to host in-state OVC rival Belmont for a three-game series.
