Redhawks hold Harris-Stowe to 4 hits in shut out

The Southeast baseball team turned up the offense in a 13-0 rout of Harris-Stowe State to extend its undefeated start to four games on Tuesday, Feb. 19.

The win was the result of inconsistent pitching from the Hornets and some strong offense by the Redhawks, who had three home runs, including a grand slam by sophomore designated-hitter Hunter Southerland in the eighth inning.

Southerland had a double earlier in the game as he went 2-for-4. Southeast’s other two home runs were back-to-back blasts by freshman infielder Turner Fritts and junior catcher Garrett Stephens in the seventh inning. Harris-Stowe used nine pitchers in the match, one for each inning.

The Redhawks were in control defensively from the very beginning of this game, with freshman left-handed pitcher Blake Cisneros making the start. He pitched three shutout innings and gave up one hit on an infield single in the third. Cisneros (1-0) was the fourth straight left-hander the Redhawks have started and he picked up the win in this game. HSSU’s Chase Goldwater (0-1) took the loss.

“No one else in the [Ohio Valley Conference] starts as many left-handers as us,” Southeast coach Andy Sawyers said. “It's about the looks we have — we like to follow those guys up with right-handed guys and break it up a little bit.”

On the other side of the diamond, Harris-Stowe had a tough time on the mound from the first pitch, but they managed to allow just one early run. The Redhawks stranded four runners over the first three innings, all in scoring position.

The single run through the fourth came in the first inning off a groundout by junior first baseman Austin Blazevic, which gave junior outfielder Peyton Faulkner the chance to score.

In the fourth inning Senior third baseman Alex Nielsen hit a hard grounder to first base with two runners on. HSSU's Jake Benolken fumbled the ball and allowed Nielsen to get on base and score the lead runner. Faulkner then singled to right field to score another, setting up a suicide squeeze bunt by freshman outfielder Brett Gonzalez to plate one more and extend the lead to 4-0.

In the seventh, the Redhawks went deep with the back-to-back home runs by Fritts and Stephens.

The Redhawks kept it coming in the eighth. After a walk and a pair of hit batters loaded the bases, Southerland hit a big grand slam to put Southeast ahead 13-0.

Southeast improved to 4-0, while HSSU dropped to 5-7. SEMO returns to action Friday, Feb. 22, when it opens a three-game series against Western Illinois.