SEMO Baseball Falls to SIU in Close Game

The Redhawks baseball team fell short against the SIU Salukis in a one-game series on April 12 at Capaha Field.

Junior pitcher Bryce Grossius took the mound to start the game. The Salukis took no time and got on the board first with two runs in the second inning. The Redhawks would respond with an RBI double from sophomore Ben Palmer to cut the lead in half making it 2-1 in the bottom of the second.

The Salukis would extend their lead to 3-1 with a solo home run in the fourth inning. Freshman pitcher Alex Esker would then take the mound. The game would then see three freshman pitchers take the mound for the Redhawks with Esker, Anthony Klein, and Ethan Osborne all stopping the Salukis from adding to their lead for the remainder of the game.

The Redhawks were not out as junior Spencer Parker hit a solo home run to make it a 3-2 ballgame in the bottom of the fifth inning. The comeback would fall short as SEMO would fall short 3-2 ending the home winning streak at 17 games.

Despite the loss, the Redhawks' outfield played a big role in keeping the Salukis at three runs.

Junior Jevon Mason put in the effort with multiple sliding catches to keep the baserunners from advancing.

“I needed to make a play for the team,” Mason said “We’re looking for that extra momentum shift.”

Throughout the game the Redhawks had multiple runners in scoring position but ultimately failed to capitalize.

Junior Brett Graber felt that the game was finicky.

“The game is kind of finicky,” Graber said. “You can play really well and you only give up three runs like we did and end up losing. Really just a lack of execution with runners in scoring position.”

Coach Andy Sawyers gave credit to the Redhawks’ defense and the pitchers for their efforts during the game as three freshman pitchers kept the Salukis from extending their lead.

“We played good defense,” Sawyers said. “We got five plus innings on freshman pitching out of the bullpen, I was pleased with those guys.”

The freshman pitchers accounted for five total innings allowing three hits and five strikeouts.

The Redhawks will travel to Cookeville, Tennessee to take on the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles in a three-game series starting on April 14th at 6 PM.