EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Southeast Missouri baseball (11-8, 4-3) defeated SIUE (11-10, 2-5) by a score of 8-3 in Friday's series opener in Edwardsville.
 
The contest proved to be an offensive one as nine of the 23 hits went for extra bases including four combined home runs.
 
Southeast Missouri scattered 12 total hits. Four separate Redhawks each recorded two hits apiece. Dan Holst finished 2-for-4 with three RBI on a home run, his second of the season. Clayton Evans, Danny Wright, and Connor Basler all had two hits.
 
Clay Chandler improved to 4-2 on the season. He worked seven complete innings, allowed two runs on six hits while striking out three and walking one. Matthew Wade closed the game, pitching the final one and a third innings, allowing no runs on two hits.
 
SIUE starter Brock Fulkerson (1-3) recorded the loss on the mound. He pitched six innings, allowed four runs on eight hits and fanned five Redhawks.  
 
In the second at-bat of the game, Chris Osborne blasted a two-run opposite-field home run to left, putting the Redhawks up very early, 2-0. The Redhawks proceeded to put two more runners on in the inning with no out but left them stranded.
 
SIUE got on the board by way of the long ball in the bottom of the third with a leadoff home run by Mario Tursi, slicing the Redhawk lead in half, 2-1.
 
The Redhawks added to the lead with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth inning. Wright laced a one-out double into right and moved up to third on a single by Kyle Bottger. After a pickoff of Bottger, Basler worked an 11-pitch at bat into a double off the wall in dead center, plating Wright. Basler stole third and trotted home on a liner up the middle into center off the bat of Evans, widening the lead to 4-1.
 
Dustin Woodcock hit his first home run of the season with one out in the bottom of the fourth to once again make it a two-run game, 4-2.
 
SEMO put up a four spot in the top of the seventh inning to double its run total. Evans and Osborne both walked then scored on a three-run jack to right center off the bat of Holst. Brian Lees followed with a double ripped into left then immediately scored on a base hit by Kylar Robertson, going ahead 8-2.
 
Jared Waldhoff entered to pitch in the top of the eighth inning for the Redhawks. The frame started with back-to-back singles. A one-out sacrifice fly by Woodcock made it an 8-3 game. SIUE proceeded to load the bases with two out but Wade worked out of the inning for Waldhoff without any more damage.
 
SIUE's Alec Skender and Tursi each had three hits on Friday. Woodcocks finished with two RBI.
 
First pitch of Saturday's game has been moved to noon in an effort to get ahead of forecasted weather in the Edwardsville area.