CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Southeast Missouri baseball (3-2) pushed 22 runs across the plate in Friday's home opener against Western Illinois (0-5), 22-2.
 
Southeast scored its 22 runs on 21 hits and two Leatherneck errors. Six total Redhawks recorded two or more hits in the game. The Redhawks were led by four-hit performances by Kylar Robertson and freshman Connor Basler. Trevor Ezell and Basler each drove in four runs while Dan Holst plated three runners. Three other SEMO players had a pair of RBI apiece. Four Redhawks touched home three times while four others scored twice. The Redhawks had nine extra-base hits on Friday.
 
Every Redhawk hitter on the roster saw action Friday evening including the collegiate debuts of Cooper Rentfro (1 hit, 1 RBI) and Michael Berra.
 
Clay Chandler improved to 2-0 on the mound with Friday's victory. The righty worked six innings, allowed both WIU runs on eight hits while striking out three.
 
Blaze Hastings, Joey Burris, and Wesley Pyles all made their Redhawk or season debuts on the mound. Each pitched a scoreless inning in relief. Burris had two strikeouts while Pyles struck out the side in the ninth to close the game. Southeast pitching surrounded zero walks in the game.
 
WIU starter Matthew Sturchio (0-2) recorded the loss. He pitched only two innings, allowing six runs on five hits. Like Southeast, WIU used four total pitchers.
 
Southeast played a flawless defensive game in front of a home-opening crowd of 844.
 
The Leatherneckes touched home in the second on a one-out ground-rule double off the bat of Dave Dobrinich, scoring Chris Tschida. Chandler worked out of the jam, stranding runners on the corners in the inning.
 
Singles by Chris Osborne and Robertson along with Brian Lees being grazed by a pitch loaded the bases to begin the bottom of the frame. Kyle Bottger singled to left, plating Osborne and tying the game at one. Basler singled through the left side, scoring Robertson and going up 2-1 with one out. With bases still loaded, Ezell reached on an error by the first baseman that also allowed two runs to score. Holst ripped a two-run double down the right field line to put SEMO on top 6-1 after two innings.
 
The Redhawks followed up a big third inning with a five-run fourth to extend the lead. One-out base hits by Robertson and Lees started the inning off. Bottger earned his second RBI of the day on a single into center. With bases juiced, Basler drove in a couple on a double to left center. Ezell flew out to left, deep enough for Danny Wright to tag up and score. Holst finished the scoring with an RBI base hit up the middle to make it 11-1 in the Redhawks' favor.
 
Tschida led off the fourth inning with a solo shot to left center to make it 11-2 Redhawks.
 
Osborne was hit by a pitch to lead off the Redhawks' half of the fourth. He scored all the way from first on a triple ripped to dead center field off the bat of Robertson, his third hit of the game. Robertson tagged up and scored on a sacrifice fly by Wright, widening the lead to 13-2.
 
Three more runs crossed the plate in the fifth inning for Southeast. Osborne drove in two with a one-out opposite field double. Robertson plated Osborne with his fourth hit, a double laced into left center. SEMO led 16-2 after five complete.
 
Southeast put up another five spot in the sixth inning to top 20 runs in the game. Wright led off the inning with a double to right center followed by a walk to Basler. Both runners scored on a triple by Ezell just fair down the right field line. After Holst was hit by a pitch, he scored on Chris Caffrey's double to right. Caffrey crossed home plate on Rentfro's first collegiate hit, poked up the middle. In his season debut, Garret Reynolds drove in Caffrey with a single into center, widening the SEMO margin 21-2.
 
Basler put the exclamation point on the Redhawks' offense recording his fourth RBI of the game when he drove in Berra in the bottom of the eighth to bring the score to 22-2.
 
The Leathernecks strung together nine hits, led by two-hit days by a trio of players.
 
Southeast Missouri and Western Illinois will play game two of the series Saturday at 2 p.m. at Capaha Field.