CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Southeast Missouri (27-24, 15-14) won its final home series of the season Friday with an 8-4 victory over Eastern Kentucky (24-31, 10-19).
 
Southeast and EKU each scattered 12 hits in the game. Dan Holst, Chris Osborne, and Kyle Bottger each had two hits to pace the offense. Osborne drove in a trio of runs while Chris Caffrey and Bottger each recorded two.
 
Clay Chandler (8-3) worked into the sixth inning in his start, recording five and a third innings in the win. He allowed two runs on eight EKU hits. He struck out four Colonels including striking out the side in the third inning.
 
EKU starter Caleb Johnson (2-3) worked four and two-thirds innings in his start on the mound, giving up all eight runs to the Redhawks on 11 hits. He walked three and struck out two. Brandon Smither pitched the final three and a third innings for EKU, all scoreless while surrendering only one hit and striking out five batters.
 
Like game one of the series, the Colonels scratched a single run across the plate on a Ben Fisher RBI base hit in the top of the first to take a very lead on the Redhawks, 1-0.
 
The EKU lead didn't stand long. Tristen Gagan drew a two-out walk then scored from first on a double that rolled all the way to the wall in right center off the bat of Caffrey, knotting the game at 1-1.
 
Southeast revved up the two-out production again in the second inning to find a lead. Bottger singled followed by Holst drawing a walk. Osborne stepped in and shot a double to left center, driving in both runners and putting the Redhawks on top, 3-1.
 
A three-run fourth widened the lead for the Redhawks. Connor Basler singled and Bottger bunted for a hit both with one out. Holst and Osborne went back-to-back with RBI singles to plate Basler and Bottger. After a walk to Gagan, Caffrey recorded a sac fly, his second RBI of the game, to make it 6-1 in SEMO's favor.
 
With Danny Wright on third and Josh Haggerty on second and one out in the fifth, Bottger laid down a suicide squeeze bunt down the first base line to plate not one but both runners on the play, lengthening the lead to 8-1.
 
Alex Holderbach launched a leadoff home run to left in the top of the sixth to score EKU's first run since the first inning. Holderbach repeated with a leadoff blast in the eighth to cut the lead to five, 8-3.
 
With two down in the bottom of the ninth, Fisher hit his nationally leading 25^th home run to left to bring the final tally to 8-4.
 
EKU's 12 hits were contributed to on five two-hit performances in the game. Fisher and Holderback each drove in two runs for all four Colonels runs on Friday.
 
The Redhawks will face the Colonels in the regular season finale Saturday at 2 p.m. The game will begin with Senior Day recognition at 1:30 and will wrap with a free Youth Clinich presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors following the game for kids first through eighth grade.