Redhawks baseball sweeps Bellarmine in slugfest

The Redhawks baseball team swept the Bellarmine Knights in a three-game weekend series on Feb. 27 at Capaha Field.

Junior pitcher Bryce Grossius started on the mound for the Redhawks in game one of the series on Saturday. The game was off to a quick start for the Knights as they hit a grand slam to add to their lead to make it 6-0 in the second inning. The lead was then cut in half as Redhawks senior shortstop Tyler Wilber hit a three-run home run to left field.

The Knights would slowly add to their lead, but the Redhawks managed to hang on and force extra innings with Wilber hitting a double to bring in the tying run in the 8th.

Redhawks sophomore Lincoln Andrews became the extra innings hero with a walkoff home run to left to win game one for the Redhawks with a final score of 8-7.

Game two had an even quicker beginning this time in favor of the Redhawks as junior catcher Andrew Keck hit a grand slam to give SEMO a four run lead to start game one of the doubleheader. From that moment on the Redhawks never took their foot off the gas pedal as they would hold the lead for the rest of the game. Junior pitcher Noah Niznik started on the mound allowing only five hits and one run across six innings before being relieved by junior pitcher Hunter Ralls.

Throughout the game Bellarmine struggled with popups as they dropped five pop flies during the game which gave the Redhawks extra life offensively.

The Redhawks went on to win game two breezing past the Knights 10-2 and clinched the series win.

Senior pitcher Austin Williams was given the ball to start the final game of the series. The game took a different turn as the Knights sprung to life in the first inning with three runs to start them off. The lead would grow to five runs in the third but Keck cut the lead to three with his second home run of the series with a two-run home run to make it a 5-2 game.

Sophomore Peyton Leeper would then hit a RBI double to bring in run number three. Just when things started looking well for the Knights in the seventh inning with a 8-4 lead the Redhawks bats went to work.

Leeper hit a two-run home run to make it 8-6 and junior Danny Sperling hit a double that would drive in three-runs to take the lead from Bellarmine.

Junior Jevon Mason would bring home Sperling with a single and Wilber walked with the bases loaded to finish the seventh inning with seven runs. Southeast Missouri would win game three of the series 12-8 to complete the comeback and the sweep. SEMO improves their record to 5-1.

Andrew Keck ended the series with seven RBIs with five hits including his first career grand slam in game two of the series. Sophomore pitcher Kyle Miller and junior pitchers Noah Niznik and Blake Cisneros earned the wins in the series.

This series is the first series since the Redhawks played ranked Dallas Baptist where they snatched two wins in that series. Coach Andy Sawyers said it was a good step for his team this weekend.

“We wanted to be more focused on us and how we were going to play and I thought we did a good job,” Sawyers said.

The Redhawks will continue their homestand as they take on the Saint Louis University Billikens at Capaha Field in Cape Girardeau on Tuesday, March 1.