Murray State
Southeast Missouri
'Breds Fall In Opening Round Of OVC Tournament
5/23/2007 5:00:00 AM | Baseball
Murray State jumped out to a 4-0 lead after three innings against Southeast Missouri in the first round of the O'Reilly Ohio Valley Conference Championship Tournament, but the Redhawks rebounded with six runs in the fourth inning and added four more in the seventh to push past the Thoroughbreds 10-7.
Murray State will face Eastern Kentucky on Thursday at 11 a.m. in an elimination game. The Colonels lost to Samford 8-3 in the first game this afternoon. Jacksonville State will take on Southeast Missouri on Thursday at 2:30 p.m., while top seed Austin Peay meets Samford at 6:30 p.m.
Murray State starter Mike Perconte (6-7) retired the first 10 batters he faced, enabling the 'Breds to get on the scoreboard first. In the second inning, senior center fielder Tyler Pittman drew a one-out walk, followed by a walk to sophomore third baseman Tyler Owen. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch, and senior right fielder Jamie Leidolf hit a single up the middle, scoring Pittman and Owen to give MSU a 2-0 lead.
Murray State carried that momentum into the third inning, when senior first baseman James Akin reached on a fielding error with two outs, then senior catcher Jason Payton slapped a triple into right-center field, scoring Akin. Pittman drew another walk, then Owen singled in Payton to push the 'Breds' lead to 4-0.
In the fourth inning, SEMO scored six runs, with the Redhawks getting five hits in a row to take a 6-4 lead.
Murray State crept closer in the seventh, as Leidolf led off with a single, then went to second on a passed ball. Sophomore shortstop Justin Yount was hit by a pitch, then senior left fielder Austin Swain ran out a bunt single to load the bases. Leidolf scored on a sacrifice fly by senior second baseman Seth Hudson, but the 'Breds ran themselves out of the inning when Akin struck out and Yount was caught between bases in an inning-ending double play, trailing 6-5.
SEMO tacked on four runs in the bottom of the seventh on three hits and two errors to take a 10-5 lead, but MSU attempted a comeback in the ninth inning.
Junior designated hitter Andrew Cella led off with a sharp double to right, then Leidolf singled him to third. Freshman pinch-hitter Kyle Tiernan slapped a single down the right-field line, scoring Cella and moving Leidolf to third. Leidolf scored on a fielder's choice, but the 'Breds couldn't add any more runs, falling 10-7.
"That's why we play nine-inning games," said MSU head coach Rob McDonald of SEMO's comeback. "We got the lead early, but we had to add to it. (SEMO) had a big inning, but we felt like we were still in the game. In the end, we made some mistakes -- unusual, intolerable -- and 99 times out of 100, we handle the play, and we didn't. In the tournament, you've got to be clean with those plays, and that didn't happen."
Murray State was led by Leidolf, who went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two runs batted in. Payton tripled for the 'Breds, while Cella had a double and Hudson had two RBIs. Defensively, Payton had eight putouts, while Yount had four assists.
For Southeast Missouri, Jim Klocke went 4-for-5 with a home run, two runs and two RBIs, while Omar Padilla went 2-for-4 with a double and a run. Matt Wulfers and Asif Shah each scored twice for the Redhawks, while Darryl Graham had a home run and three RBIs. Defensively, catcher Klocke had eight putouts, while shortstop Bobby Moore had four assists.
On the mound, Perconte allowed six runs on eight hits, striking out six and walking one in six innings. Matt McGaha came on in the seventh inning, allowing four runs (two earned) on three hits, walking two in one-third of an inning. Brad Rowland closed out the game for the 'Breds, facing the minimum five batters in 1-2/3 innings.
For SEMO, Dustin Renfrow (5-1) got the win, allowing five runs (three earned) on four hits, striking out five and walking three in six-plus innings. Ivan Nails came on in the seventh, allowing two runs on four hits, striking out three in two innings. Josh Parham got his third save of the season, facing the minimum three batters and striking out one in the ninth.
