Saint Louis (18-8) at Southeast Missouri (11-17)

Dates: Wednesday, April 4, 2018
First Pitch: 4 p.m., CT
Site: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Facility: Capaha Field
Series: SEMO leads, 32-27
Last Meeting: SEMO 6, APSU 5 (May. 2, 2017 / St. Louis, Mo.)
Head Coaches: Andy Sawyers (127-70 overall; 40-43 at SEMO; 24-18 OVC). Darin Hendrickson (858-444-1 overall; 335-251 at SLU).
 
SEMO Probable Starter: 
Logan Winder, RHP
 
Media Coverage: 
Radio: SEMO ESPN 92.9FM (Erik Sean)
Live Stats: Game 1
Game Notes

Series History
Southeast Missouri leads the all-time series against Saint Louis, 32-27. The last meeting between these teams was May 2, 2017. The Redhawks defeated the Billikens, 6-5, at Billiken Sports Center in that contest. SEMO and SLU will meet twice more this season in midweek action on Apr. 17 (Cape Girardeau) and May 1 (St. Louis).
 
Redhawks Struggle in Double Header
Southeast traveled to Austin Peay last weekend (Mar. 30-31) where it dropped its first Ohio Valley Conference series of the season. The Redhawks were on the short end of two one-run losses on Mar. 30 before getting a season-high 24 hits in a 20-4 rout of the Governors on Mar. 31.

Follow the Redhawks
Fans can listen to Wednesday's game on the radio at ESPN 92.9 FM. Erik Sean will call the action alongside Jess Bolen. Live stats are available at Gosoutheast.com. Twitter updates provided @SEMObaseball.
 
Midweek Games 
Southeast is currently 0-6 in midweek games this season. The Redhawks dropped three one-run affairs at Arkansas State (7-6, Feb. 20), Memphis (3-2, Feb. 27) and Central Arkansas (5-4, Mar. 14) and fell to Southern Illinois (5-0, Mar. 6), Central Arkansas (7-3, Mar. 13) and Missouri State (5-10, Mar. 20). The midweek matchup against Harris-Stowe was called off due to inclement weather and will not be rescheduled. 
 
Go Green Games
In the month of April, Southeast is partnering with Mid-America Transplant to raise awareness about organ, eye and tissue donations. The team will wear green jerseys during every midweek game in the month of April and hold one "Green Up" game against Murray State on Apr. 21.  More information can be found at GoSoutheast.com.
 
Ezell Falls Short of Cycle
Trevor Ezell started off the series finale at Austin Peay with a triple to the right center. In his next at-bat, Ezell hit a double to left center, and in the fourth inning, hit a single to short. He came around to score on all three of those occasions. Alex Canty came in for Ezell in the sixth inning and hit his second career home run. Ezell was a home run shy of the cycle. Chris Osborne was the last Redhawk to hit for the cycle (at Austin Peay, Apr. 10, 2016).
 
Wright Grand Slam 
Sophomore Danny Wright hit a grand slam in the top of the fourth inning of Southeast's series finale at Austin Peay (Mar. 31). Wright's grand slam gave SEMO an 11-1 lead at the time. Justin Dirden, Tristen Gagan and Trevor Ezell all scored on the play. It was Wright's first home run of the season and first grand slam by any Redhawk this season.
 
Vega Gets 10 Strikeouts
Carlos Vega recorded a career-high 10 strikeouts at Austin Peay (Mar. 31). Vega pitched for six innings giving up only one run against the 24 hitters he faced. He leads the Ohio Valley Conference with a 2.43 ERA and nine games finished. Vega is tied for third among league leaders with fewest hits allowed (30) and tops the league in both fewest runs allowed (12) and fewest earned runs (9) this season. He has also gone all of his appearances without giving up a home run. 

Home Run Central
A total of four Redhawks hit a home run in Southeast's 20-4 victory at Austin Peay (Mar. 31). Danny Wright hit a grand slam in the fourth inning. Peyton Faulkner hit his first career home run in the top of the fifth. Chase Urhahn had a solo home run in the top of the sixth. And, Alex Canty homered in the sixth. Canty also hit a home run against the Governors the day before.

Dirden Racks Up RBI
Justin Dirden has 36 runs batted in this season. Dirden has accumulated 38 hits with 13 doubles and six home runs. He had three hits in four games and drove in a run on 17 occasions. Dirden had a career-high five RBI and hit two home runs against SIU Edwardsville (Mar. 25). He hit .714 (10-for-14) with seven runs scored and 10 RBI in his last four starts alone.
 
Bats are On Fire
Southeast has 286 hits and 174 RBI so far in 2017. The Redhawks average over six runs and 10 hits per game. Trevor Ezell leads the team with 46 hits, which is third in the Ohio Valley Conference. Justin Dirden is second in the league with 36 RBI. Southeast has 55 doubles and 26 home runs for the year, as well.
 
Ranked in the OVC
Southeast is ranked second in batting average (.297) behind Tennessee Tech (.358). The Redhawks allowed just 16 home runs this season, third-fewest in the conference. Southeast rates second in fielding percentage (.973) behind Tennessee Tech (.976). 
 
Individuals:Junior outfielder Justin Dirden ranks second in runs batted in (36), only three behind the leader. Tristen Gagan follows in a tie for third with 35 RBI. Dirden is third among league leaders with 12 doubles.
 
Home Run Count
Southeast has 26 home runs and ranks fifth in the Ohio Valley Conference in that category this season. The Redhawks hit a home run in 16 of their games in 2018. Justin Dirden leads the team with six. The Redhawks had a season-high of four home runs at Austin Peay (Mar. 31). 

Leading the OVC
Tristen Gagan leads the Ohio Valley Conference in fielding percentage at 1.000 and is in third with 221 putouts. Gagan is tied for third in the OVC in runs batted in (35). Justin Dirden follows close behind with 36 RBI.

New Season-High
The Redhawks hit for a new season-high at Austin Peay (Mar. 31). Southeast had 24 hits in its 20-4 win over the Governors. Chase Urhahn and Connor Basler each had four hits apiece in the series finale. Other Redhawks with multiple hits included Trevor Ezell (3), Justin Dirden (3), Danny Wright (3), Peyton Faulkner (2), and Devon Wilson (2).  Ten of the 14 hitters had a hit. It was Southeast's fourth-straight double-digit hit game and 14th game with 10 or more hits. 

On Deck
Southeast will return to Ohio Valley Conference play when it hosts Eastern Illinois (Apr. 6-8) during Hall of Fame Weekend. The 1998 Baseball Team will be recognized prior to Saturday's 2 p.m. first pitch.