CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. ­– Southeast Missouri baseball won game one its series with Eastern Illinois (5-28, 1-12 OVC) by a score of 15-1 Friday. Southeast continues to improve to 24-10 overall and 14-2 in Ohio Valley Conference play.
 
Garrett Gandolfo drove the offense on Friday evening, going 5-for-6 with seven runs batted in. Gandolfo fell a triple shy of hitting for the cycle with the home run leg coming in the form of a grand slam in the sixth.
 
Joey Lucchesi improved to 7-2 on the season in his seven-inning start. Lucchesi allowed one unearned run on only five hits. He struck out eight and walked just one.
 
Michael McCormick (0-6) suffered the loss. McCormick worked only two innings in the start and allowed eight runs on seven hits. Chase Thurston pitched three and a third innings in relief and struck out six Redhawks. In total, EIU used six pitchers.
 
Alex Siddle pitched the eighth inning for Southeast. It was Siddle's 76^th career appearance in a Redhawk uniform, tying Southeast's all-time appearance record.
 
The Panthers scored an unearned run in the top of the first inning on a groundout by Mitch Gasbarro. The run reached on a leadoff single and moved into scoring position on an error by Chris Osborne in right field.
 
The Redhawks wasted no time tying then taking a lead in the game in the bottom of the inning. Base hits by Trevor Ezell and Branden Boggetto put two on with one out for Gandolfo. The Redhawks' cleanup hitter singled passed the second baseman, scoring Ezell and tying the game 1-1. Osborne was hit by a pitch to load the bases with two down. Hunter Leeper drilled a double off the wall in center to clear the bases and put the Redhawks up 4-1 in the first.
 
Andy Lack got a double out of a ball that ricocheted off first base to lead off the second inning. After a walk to Ezell, Boggetto singled to left, scoring Lack. Gandolfo plated Ezell with a double that one-hopped the wall in center, inflating the early Redhawk lead to 6-1 after two innings.
 
A bases-loaded walk to Boggetto, the fourth walk of the third inning, plated the seventh run of the game for Southeast. Gandolfo earned his third RBI with a groundout to second, scoring Lack and making it an 8-1 game.
 
Dan Holst blasted a solo home run to left center, widening the lead to 9-1 in the fifth inning.
 
Three two-out walks loaded the bases for Gandolfo who stroked a grand slam to right center, inflating the lead further to 13-1 but the Redhawks weren't done yet. Kylar Robertson singled up the middle then scored from first on a double by Osborne, bringing the score to 14-1.
 
Boggetto blasted a solo home run to left center in the eighth to bring the final tally to 15-1.
 
Behind Gandolfo's five-hit game, Boggetto finished a perfect 4-for-4 with three RBI and three runs scored. Leeper picked up three hits and three RBI in the contest. Osborne was the other Redhawk with a multi-hit night going 2-for-4.
 
Eastern Illinois was held to just five hits in the game while no Panther had multiple hits. Gasbarro was responsible for the lone RBI.
 
The Redhawks and Panthers will face off in game two Saturday at 2 p.m. A free tailgate sponsored by Jimmy John's and Kohlfeld Distributing will be held at Capaha Park.