Southeast Missouri at South Alabama

Series Information
Dates: Friday-Sunday, February 19-21, 2021
Schedule: Friday, 3 p.m., CT / Saturday, 2 p.m., CT / Sunday, 1 p.m., CT
Location: Mobile, Ala.
Arena: Stanky Field (3,775)
Series: USA leads, 5-2
Last Meeting: USA 6, SEMO 5 (Feb. 25, 2001 | Mobile, Ala.)
Head Coaches: Andy Sawyers (175-123 overall; 88-96 at SEMO; 48-45 OVC).Mark Calvi (304-211 overall; 304-211 at USA).

Follow the Redhawks
Radio: SEMO ESPN 93.5 FM & 1220 AM (Erik Sean)
Video: ESPN+ (Sunday only)
Live Stats: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Twitter: @SEMObaseball
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri (PDF)

Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday - Dylan Dodd (LHP, SEMO) / Andy Arguelles (LHP, USA)
Saturday - Noah Niznik (LHP, SEMO) / JoJo Booker (RHP, USA)
Sunday - Ryan Vogt (RHP, SEMO) / Matt Boswell (RHP, USA)

Opening Weekend is Here 
Southeast Missouri opens its 2021 season with a three-game series at South Alabama this weekend. The Redhawks and Jaguars play at 3 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m., CT Sunday.

Follow the Redhawks
Fans can listen to all three games of Southeast Missouri's series at South Alabama at SEMO ESPN 93.5 FM and 1220 AM. Erik Sean will call the action. Sunday's series finale will air live on ESPN+. Live stats are available at USAJaguars.com. Twitter updates provided @SEMObaseball.

Series History
Southeast Missouri and South Alabama meet for the first time in 20 years. SEMO and USA previously played seven times and the Jaguars lead the series, 5-2. Every game between these teams was contested in Mobile, Alabama. The Redhawks last played USA on Feb. 24-25, 2001. SEMO dropped those games by scores of 2-1 and 6-1. 

Sudden Change
The Redhawks were originally supposed to begin their 2021 season with a four-game home series vs. Milwaukee this weekend, but large amounts of snow and ice covered the Cape Girardeau area thus making conditions unplayable. Southeast Missouri State University's main campus was closed due to the heavy winter weather on Monday and Tuesday this week.

On the Road in February
With Southeast Missouri's altered schedule, the Redhawks will now be on the road for their first month of the baseball season. After facing South Alabama, SEMO travels to Southeastern Conference member Arkansas for a four-game series from Feb. 25-28. 

Season-Openers
The Redhawks are 11-18 all-time in season-openers during their NCAA Division I era (since 1992). Southeast Missouri is 2-2 in such games under Head Coach Andy Sawyers. SEMO beat Western Michigan at home in 2019 and UT Arlington in Nacogdoches, Texas in 2017 for Sawyers' season-opening victories.

Season 63
The 2021 campaign marks Southeast Missouri's 63rd year of college baseball. The Redhawks are in their 30th season as an NCAA Division I program. SEMO is 1,364-1,117-10 all-time and 830-730-1 at the NCAA Division I level since the inception of its baseball program. The Redhawks have a 409-283-1 record in Ohio Valley Conference play. SEMO won four OVC regular-season titles (2002, 2014, 2015, 2016), three OVC Tournament crowns (1998, 2002, 2016) and made three NCAA Tournament appearances (1998, 2002, 2016) in program history.

Redhawks Tabbed Fifth in OVC Preseason Poll
The Redhawks accumulated 131 points and one first-place nod in this year's Ohio Valley Conference Predicted Order of Finish voted on by the OVC Head Baseball Coaches and Communication Directors. Belmont is this year's preseason favorite with 188 points and 14 first-place votes, while Jacksonville State (176 pts.), Murray State (136 pts.) and Austin Peay (132 pts.) also rated above the Redhawks. Eastern Kentucky (117 pts.), SIU Edwardsville (78 pts.), Eastern Illinois (73 pts.), Morehead State (57 pts.), Tennessee Tech (66 pts.) and UT Martin (45 pts.) round out the preseason poll.

Wilber and Dodd Earn Preseason All-OVC Honors
Junior shortstop Tyler Wilber and senior left-handed pitcher Dylan Dodd was named to this year's Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference Team. Statistics were based on the 2019 campaign when determining the 16 players selected to the 2021 Preseason All-OVC squad. A native of Danville, Illinois, Dodd led SEMO with 77 strikeouts in 76 innings through 14 starts that year. He finished with four wins on the mound, second-most on the team. Dodd tied for eighth in the OVC in strikeouts. Wilber, who hails from Los Alamitos, California, led the league in batting average (.383) and on-base percentage (.480), while ranking third in doubles (19) and fifth in hits (80) in 55 starts during the 2019 season. He also scored 43 runs, had a team-high three triples and led the Redhawks with 40 RBI. For his efforts, Wilber garnered First-Team All-OVC accolades. 

Wilber Ranked 17th Among D1Baseball's Top 100 Shortstops
D1Baseball rated Southeast Missouri junior Tyler Wilber 17th among its Top 100 shortstops in the nation. A native of Los Alamitos, California, Wilber was rated among D1Baseball's Top 40 junior hitters in 2020. He ranked second on the team with a .406 batting average in 17 starts during a shortened season due to COVID-19. Wilber led the Redhawks in runs (26), doubles (9), walks (11) and on-base percentage (.494). Wilber was atop the Ohio Valley Conference in runs scored and ranked second in doubles, total bases (48) and total plate appearances (85) when play was suspended. Nationally, he ranked second in runs scored, fourth in runs per game (1.53) and ninth in total bases. UCLA's Matt McLain was tabbed as the No. 1 shortstop on this year's list.

2021 Roster
After all the uncertainties and challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA Division I Council decided to allow schools to provide spring sport student-athletes an additional season of competition and an extension on their period of eligibility. Since everyone from 2020 redshirted, Southeast Missouri brings back over 60 percent of its roster. That said, the Redhawks 2021 squad consists of 38 players, including 19 returnees, six position starters and three starting pitchers.

2020 Recap
Southeast Missouri was 9-8 overall and 2-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference at the time play was cancelled due to a global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. SEMO heated up to win seven of its final nine contests during its shortened campaign. The Redhawks were establishing their identity in the early going of 2020. SEMO was making significant strides with their starting pitching, playing excellent defense and reaping the benefits from an offense built around power and speed. Statistically, the Redhawks concluded competition ranked first in the OVC in batting average (.314), hits (188), triples (9), stolen bases (36) and fielding percentage (.976). SEMO was also second in slugging percentage (.513), on-base percentage (.404), runs scored (129), RBI (121) and home runs (21). Nationally, the Redhawks were sixth in hits, eighth in triples and 11th in both batting average and slugging percentage.

Sawyers Enters Fifth Year
Andy Sawyers enters his fifth year as Southeast Missouri's head coach. Sawyers, who has been coaching college baseball for more than two decades, is 175-123 in his career as a head coach. That includes an 88-96 record and 48-45 Ohio Valley Conference mark as SEMO's skipper. He has led the Redhawks to two OVC Tournaments (2017, 2018). SEMO's 29 victories in 2017 are currently the most in a season with Sawyers at the helm. 

Over 150 Starts
Two Redhawks have made over 150 starts in their careers. Second baseman Connor Basler tallied a team-high 173 career starts and mainstay center fielder Danny Wright has accumulated 164. Both Basler and Wright are fifth-year seniors after joining Southeast Missouri in 2017.

Pro Prospects Return
Shortstop Tyler Wilber, a First-Team All-Ohio Valley Conference selection in 2019, chose to remain at Southeast Missouri after turning down free agent offers from a couple of different professional teams last summer. Left-handed pitcher Dylan Dodd also decided to return after getting offers to play professionally. 

Dodd Will Start Opening Day
Senior left-hander Dylan Dodd will take the mound as Southeast Missouri's opening day starter Friday. Dodd started all four of his appearances and fashioned a 2-1 record with a team-best 3.38 ERA among starting pitchers last season. He led the team with 36 strikeouts and 26.2 innings, and allowed just seven walks. Three weeks into the 2020 season, Dodd was named one of Collegiate Baseball's National Pitchers of the Week after striking out 15 in a win over Ohio University. He is 1-1 on opening day at SEMO. Dodd beat Western Michigan after working 6.2 innings and striking out eight on opening day of the 2019 season (Feb. 16).

Career .300 Hitters
Southeast Missouri has three players hitting .300 or better for their careers entering this weekend's season-opening series. Tyler Wilber leads the way with a .388 career batting average followed by Danny Wright (.307) and Andrew Keck (.300). Wilber, Wright and Keck have combined for a total of 291 hits, 170 runs scored, 61 doubles, 10 triples, 13 home runs and 153 RBI in their careers.

Career Rankings
Tyler Wilber presently ranks third all-time among Southeast Missouri's career leaders with a .388 batting average. Danny Wright is third in hit by pitch (30) and Connor Basler rates seventh in hit by pitch (25) and eighth in stolen bases (42). Dylan Dodd ranks eighth all-time in strikeouts/9 innings (9.95) and seventh in walks allowed/9 innings (2.55).

On Deck
Southeast Missouri travels to Southeastern Conference member and #8 Arkansas for a four-game series Feb. 25-28.