Box Score I Play-by-Play

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Senior right-hander Matt Harris delivered another strong start and the Colonel offense exploded late as the Eastern Kentucky University baseball team raced past host Southeast Missouri, 9-1, on Thursday afternoon in the opening game of this weekend’s Ohio Valley Conference series at Capaha Field.

It is the surging Colonels’ sixth straight win, and it improves their record to 13-15 (5-2 OVC). SEMO has now dropped 13 of its last 14 games and drops to 8-23 (1-6 OVC).

Harris (4-3), who tossed a complete game win last weekend against SIUE, went 7.2 innings and did not allow an earned run. The Lexington, Ky. native surrendered an unearned run in the bottom of the third inning, but worked through several jams the rest of the way and finished the day with seven strikeouts and just one walk. Harris is now 2-1 with a 1.50 ERA in three conference starts this spring.

Senior right-hander Matt Fyffe slammed the door on SEMO with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth to pick up his first save of the season.

Left-hander Christian Hull (2-5) picked up the loss for SEMO, going six innings and allowing three runs on eight hits.

After Kenton Parmley scored on a throwing error by EKU sophomore catcher Sean Hagen to give SEMO an early 1-0 advantage in the bottom of the third, the Colonels pieced together a two-out rally in top of the fourth to take the lead. Senior Michael Garcia got things going when he ripped a two-out double into left-center field. Senior #A.J. Jamison# followed that up with a double down the right field line that scored Garcia and knotted the score. The next batter, junior Alex Hughes, then gave the Colonels the lead with a base hit into center field that plated Jamison and made the score 2-1.

EKU pushed across another run with two outs in the top of the fifth as senior Jacob Daniel kept the inning alive with a double to right-center field and then scored on a base hit to center field by sophomore Bryan Soloman, upping the Colonels’ lead to 3-1.

SEMO threatened in the bottom of the eighth as the Redhawks put two runners aboard with just one out. Harris, however, recorded a big strikeout of Trenton Moses, the OVC’s home run and RBI leader, before Fyffe came on with the bases loaded and punched out John Logan Zink on four pitches to end the threat in emphatic fashion.

In the top of the ninth, EKU opened the floodgates as Daniel and Jamison both connected on two-run singles to spur a six-run inning and make the score 9-1.

Daniel finished the game 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored, while Jamison drove in a team-high three runs for the Colonels in the win.

Parmley led SEMO at the plate, batting 2-for-4 with a run scored.

EKU and SEMO will face off in game two of this weekend’s series tomorrow at 2:00 p.m.