CHARLESTON, Ill. – Southeast Missouri baseball (16-12, 7-6) opened its three-game Ohio Valley Conference series against Eastern Illinois (5-24, 2-8) with a 7-3 victory Friday.
 
The Redhawk offense scattered 11 hits in the contest. Dan Holst finished the day 3-for-5 while three others had two hits each. Four of SEMO's 11 hits were for extra bases including two doubles and two homers.
 
Clay Chandler (6-2) pitched six innings in his start, allowing only one run. He gave up seven hits and walked only one with eight strikeouts, one short of tying a season high.
 
Carlos Vega recorded a save for the second-straight game. It was his fourth of the season. Vega entered in the bottom of the ninth and induced a game-ending double play.
 
EIU starter Jake Haberer (0-2) pitched four innings and was hit for six Redhawk runs on eight hits. He struck out four but walked a trio of Redhawk hitters and gave up a costly wild pitch that allowed a run to score.
 
The Redhawks touched home first in the top of the third. With runners on the corners and one out, Tristen Gagan grounded to first. The first baseman threw to second trying for a double play, but the pitcher's foot was not on the bag for the play at first, keeping the inning alive and allowing SEMO to take a 1-0 lead.
 
Southeast found itself with runners in scoring position and two out in the top of the fourth. A wild pitch by Haberer allowed Danny Wright to score and widen the lead to 2-0.
 
Chris Osborne led off the fifth inning with a solo shot to right center. Holst and Gagan followed with back-to-back base hits. Brian Lees stepped in and blasted his fourth home run of the season over the wall in dead center to lengthen the lead to 6-0.
 
Back-to-back doubles by Dougie Parks and Matt Albert scored the first run of the game for the Panthers in the bottom of the sixth.
 
Wright used a sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh to plate Gagan and widen the lead back to six, 7-1.
 
With Panthers on second and third with one out, Nicholas McCormick grounded out to second to plate EIU's second run in the bottom of the eighth, 7-2.
 
The final Panther run came on a leadoff solo home run by Justin Smith, 7-3. Matthew Wade proceeded to load the bases with one out. Vega entered and got Parks to ground into a 6-4-3 double play to end the game and the ninth inning scoring threat.
 
Eastern Illinois finished with nine hits. Jimmy Govern and Albert each had two to their name.
 
The Redhawks and Panthers will throw first pitch of game two Saturday at 1 p.m.