MOBILE, Ala. – Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference left-hander Dylan Dodd struck out eight and allowed only one walk to lead Southeast Missouri (1-0) to an opening day 4-2 victory over South Alabama (0-1) Friday.
 
In his third career opening day start, Dodd was stronger as the game went along en route to claiming his first win of the 2021 campaign.
 
Dodd (1-0) retired 12 of the final 13 hitters he faced before giving way to Bryce Grossius in the seventh. He pitched back-to-back 1-2-3 innings in the fifth and sixth frames.
 
SEMO trailed, 1-0, after three innings, but gave Dodd his first lead of the season to work with. 
 
Andrew Keck singled and Austin Blazevic was hit by a pitch. Peyton Leeper's sacrifice bunt advanced the runners before Lincoln Andrews delivered a two-RBI single to left center putting the Redhawks ahead, 2-1.
 
SEMO tacked on two more runs in the top of the sixth where it loaded the bases with no outs. Blazevic and Leeper both walked and Andrews got his second base hit of the game to put Redhawks at every base. Noah Jacobsen hit into a fielder's choice and Blazevic scored. Then, Connor Basler executed a safety squeeze with a beautiful bunt up the first base line and Leeper touched home to make it a 4-1 game.
 
With a run already, a runner on first and the tying run at the plate in the bottom of the seventh, USA came up empty after left-hander Blake Cisneros struck out Hunter Stokes who homered in the third inning. Cisneros took the mound for his 29^th career appearance.
 
More good work by SEMO's bullpen followed in the eighth where freshman right-hander Kyle Miller turned away the Jaguars getting a strikeout and two groundball outs in his Redhawk debut. 
 
Miller continued to carve up USA with his fastball and, as a result, struck out the side to put the Redhawks first win on ice. His first career save came on six outs.
 
SEMO outhit USA, 7-5. Andrews and Basler paved the way with two hits apiece. Andrews (2) and Basler (1) combined to knock in three of the Redhawks runs. Andrews had the first runs batted in of his career and Basler went over 150 career hits, as well.
 
Tyler Wilber, Keck and Blazevic followed with one hit each.
 
Andy Arguelles (0-1) suffered the loss for the Jaguars. Arguelles gave up two runs on four hits, struck out four and walked one in four innings. Jase Dalton allowed two runs out of USA's bullpen.
 
Defensively, the Jaguars committed three errors.
 
SEMO improved to 12-18 all-time in season-openers during its NCAA Division I era. Dodd moved to 2-1 in his opening day starts.
 
The Redhawks resume their series against USA with a 2 p.m., CT contest Saturday. Left-hander Noah Niznik will make his first start of 2021.