CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Southeast Missouri baseball (26-10, 16-2 OVC) earned its fifth Ohio Valley Conference series sweep with a 20-7 win over Eastern Illinois (5-30, 1-14 OVC) Sunday afternoon at Capaha Field.
 
The Redhawk offense exploded for 18 hits, six of which were doubles and two were home runs. All nine Redhawk starters had at least a hit with six picking up multiple hits. Six Redhawks also had multiple RBI in the contest.
 
"I liked today's game," head coach Steve Bieser began. "There were a lot of things I thought we did well and our execution offensively was outstanding all game long. Brian Lees got a hold of a big two-run home run to get us back in the groove. We had some big plays defensively with some guys in the right place and doing the right things."
 
Robert Beltran (5-1) earned the win in his five and a third innings start. Beltran allowed four runs on seven hits, struck out three, and walked none.
 
"I thought Robert's start was pretty good based on what I've seen Eastern's team do over this series. I thought they handed Clay Chandler and Robert really well. They had a good game plan, they fought off some tough pitches, and he had a hard time putting them away. He competed and did a good job on the mound and he gave what we needed today."
 
Panther starter Ben Hughes (0-2) picked up the loss. Hughes pitched only one and a third innings, allowing six runs on six hits.
 
For the third time in the series, the Redhawks plated four runs in the first inning. With Trevor Ezell and Dan Holst in scoring position, Branden Boggetto grounded out to short, scoring Ezell. Hunter Leeper drove in Holst to make it a 2-0 game. Following a single up the middle by Chris Osborne, Chris Caffrey split the left center gap to score both runners and open up a 4-0 lead in the first.
 
Holst doubled down the first base line on a bullet past the first baseman to score Ezell in the second inning. Holst stole third then touched home on Boggetto's second RBI groundout, giving Southeast a 6-0 advantage.
 
Boggetto's third RBI came on a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning, adding to the lead, 7-0.
 
Eastern Illinois plated a trio of runs in the top of the fifth inning, cutting into the Redhawk lead, 7-3.
 
With runners on the corners, a wild pitch by Beltran plated another EIU runner in the sixth inning, slicing the lead to three, 7-4.
 
Lees got a hold of a two-run home run in the sixth inning to bring it back to a five-run lead, 9-4. Boggetto doubled to score Ezell later in the inning, making it a 10-4 game.
 
Southeast used an eight spot in the seventh inning to break open a 14-run lead on Eastern Illinois. The inning was highlighted by a three-run double off the bat of Leeper. Southeast led 18-4 after seven innings of play.
 
A wild pitch and an RBI single by Nick Maton scored a pair of runs for the Panthers in the top of the eighth, 18-6 Southeast.
 
Garrett Gandolfo extended his team-leading hitting streak to 16 games with a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth, bringing the lead back to 14, 20-6.
 
Eastern scored one more run in the top of the ninth, bringing the final tally to 20-7.
 
Holst and Osborne each scattered three hits on Sunday to combine for a third of Southeast's hits. Boggetto and Leeper drove in four runs apiece while Gandolfo and Lees were credited with three RBI.
 
Eastern Illinois had 12 hits in the contest, led by Jason Scholl, Dane Toppel, and Maton with two hits apiece.
 
The Redhawks will begin a four-game road swing on Tuesday at in-state rival Saint Louis University. The Redhawks and Billikens are set to begin at 6 p.m. from St. Louis.