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CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- The Morehead State baseball team suffered a 7-1 setback to Ohio Valley Conference foe Southeast Missouri on Sunday afternoon at Capaha Field, but still ended up taking two of three games from the league leader in the weekend series.
The Redhawks improve to 14-9 overall, 7-2 in conference action and 6-3 at home. The Eagles slip to 11-12 overall, 4-5 in league play and 8-5 on the road. MSU posted a 9-8 win in 11 innings on Friday and 6-1 victory in game two of the series on Saturday.
"The goal is to win every contest, but I'm pleased with taking two of three from one of the top teams in our conference," Head Coach Mike McGuire said. "Southeast Missouri is certainly a quality opponent, and road wins are difficult to get in the first place."
Junior right-hander Travis Hayes improved to 3-0 with the win for Southeast Missouri on Sunday. He allowed just one run, three hits and four walks while striking out four in seven innings.
Senior left-hander Skylar Cobb and junior right-hander Garret Stockton combined for two scoreless frames to finish the game. They faced the minimum during the eighth and ninth innings.
"Travis pitched well," McGuire said. "He commanded three pitches for strikes and the wind was blowing in. I thought we swung the bats better than the stats indicate, but that's the way it goes sometimes. It also hurt that we hit into three double plays."
Southeast Missouri plated one run in the first, three in the fourth and three more in the sixth. The Redhawks collected four hits in the fourth and two base knocks in the sixth. SEMO registered seven singles and one double, but no triples or home runs.
"Give Southeast Missouri credit," McGuire said. "They didn't have any big hits today, but they did a nice job of stringing together some hits and took advantage of a few free passes."
MSU scored its only run in the first when junior right fielder Brandon Rawe lifted a sacrifice fly to bring freshman center fielder Ryan Kent plateward. Rawe extended his on-base streak to 19 games with a ninth-inning walk, but saw his 18-game hitting streak end.
"We had an opportunity to score more than once in the first inning, but SEMO got out of the jam and the momentum swung their way," McGuire said. "Credit their pitching and defense."
Sophomore right-hander Willie Sligh, who allowed four runs and five hits in 4.2 innings, fell to 0-2 with the loss. It was his seventh outing for the Eagles in 2014, but just his second start.
"I'm disappointed that we lost today, but not necessarily disappointed with the way we played," McGuire said. "I can only hope that we've gained some confidence from winning this series."
MSU returns to action on Wednesday when it visits Northern Kentucky at 3 p.m. ET. The Eagles return to Allen Field on Friday, Saturday and Sunday for a three-game set vs. OVC foe Belmont.
"When our young men show up and get after it, I feel like we can play with anyone in our conference," McGuire added. "When we don't, we tend to play poorly and not get the results we want."
