CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Southeast Missouri baseball completed a three-game series sweep of Western Illinois (0-7) Sunday afternoon with a 5-1 victory.
 
The win is Southeast's fourth in a row as the Redhawks improve to 5-2 on the young season.
 
Entering Sunday's game, SEMO had hit just a pair of home runs in the first six games. The Redhawks blasted a trio of homers in Sunday's game alone.
 
Southeast outhit the Leathernecks 8-3 in the contest. Trevor Ezell and Dan Holst each recorded a pair of hits. Tristen Gagan joined Ezell and Holst in going yard on the day.
 
Justin Murphy (1-0) earned his first victory as a starter Sunday. He worked seven complete innings, allowed one run on only three hits while fanning three. Murphy recorded a string of eight-straight batters retired from the second to the fourth inning.
 
Carlos Vega appeared on the mound for a second consecutive game and pitched two scoreless, hitless innings to close the game and pick up his first save in a Redhawk uniform.
 
For the second game in the series, the Redhawk pitching staff surrendered no walks. The only walk given up by the Redhawks this weekend came in the ninth inning of game two on Saturday.  
 
Javin Drake (0-2) suffered the loss for WIU. He worked six innings, allowed three runs on six Redhawk hits. He struck out three.
 
Kylar Robertson ripped a one-out double down the right field line for a Redhawk baserunner in the second inning. Following a fly out to left by Chris Osborne, Brian Lees doubled over the right fielder to drive Robertson in and put SEMO on the board early, 1-0.
 
Gagan hit a solo home run to lead off the fourth inning, widening the lead to 2-0. It was Gagan's second home run in as many days.
 
Johnathon Fleek cut the Redhawk lead in half with a leadoff home run to left in the top of the fifth inning, 2-1.
 
The lead was widened back to two when Ezell hit his first home run of the season over the wall in right to go back up 3-1 on the Leathernecks.
 
A two-run bomb off the bat of Holst in the bottom of the eighth tacked on a pair of insurance runs heading to the ninth inning. Holst's home run bounced off the top of the wall in right center and went out.  
 
Vega sat the Leathernecks down in order in the ninth to secure the save and the Redhawk victory.
 
Southeast Missouri will continue its homestand next weekend with a three-game series against Purdue University. The series will open Friday with a 6 p.m. first pitch. Saturday's 2 p.m. game will feature the first tailgate of the season, sponsored by Jimmy John's and River Eagle Distributing.