CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Freshman Christian Friedrich allowed two runs, only one earned, in 6.0 innings and struck out 10 to lead the Eastern Kentucky baseball team to an 8-3 victory over Southeast Missouri in the first game of a doubleheader Sunday at Capaha Field. The Colonels completed the sweep with a 6-5 victory in game two behind three RBI from freshman Matt Davis. Eastern improved to 23-21 overall and 12-8 in the conference while the RedHawks fell to 17-28 and 8-13.
Friedrich struck out at least 10 for the fifth time this season and allowed only five hits to improve to 8-1 on the season.
Eastern gave Friedrich a 1-0 lead in the first as senior Brett Bolger walked with one out, moved to second on a single from junior Charlie Yarbrough and then came home on a two-out RBI double from junior Tyler Nix.
EKU added a run in the third on a RBI single from junior Tony Wells and another in the fourth on a run-scoring single from senior Sean Ryan.
SEMO closed the lead to 3-2 in the fifth on an Omar Padilla RBI single to right field. A Colonel error on the play allowed Aaron Rave to move to third and he scored on a fielder's choice a batter later to trim the Eastern lead to one.
But the Colonels put the game away in sixth as they struck for five runs with three coming on a three-run double from junior Shawn Flora.
The two teams matched zeroes for the three innings of game two before EKU came up with four runs in the fourth.
Bolger scored the first run of the inning on a SEMO error and Davis then did the rest of the damage, as he came up with the bases loaded and drove a ball to the right-center field gap for a triple and a 4-0 Colonel lead.
SEMO responded in the bottom of the inning with four runs of its own as they drove EKU starter Eric Hash from the game.
Eastern jumped right back on top with two more runs in the fifth though. Flora struck out to begin the inning and Bolger then grounded out but Yarbrough singled to left and Wells doubled to bring up junior Chris O'Dell with runners on second and third. O'Dell drove a single through the left side of the infield to give EKU a 6-4 lead it would not relinquish.
SEMO closed the gap to 6-5 in the bottom of the inning but Colonel reliever David Owens got Asif Shah to fly to center with a runner on second to end the inning.
Junior Michael Mulholland allowed a lead off double to start the seventh but then retired the final three hitters to pick up his fourth save of the season.
The Colonels begin their final homestand of the season on Saturday, May 13 with a doublheader against Eastern Illinois beginning at 1 p.m.
