Austin Peay (3-11, 1-2 OVC) vs. Southeast Missouri (8-7, 2-1 OVC)

Series Information
Dates: March 19-20, 2021
Schedule: Mar. 19 - 5 p.m., CT; Mar. 20 - 2 p.m., CT (DH)
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Facility: Capaha Field (2,000)
Series: SEMO leads, 56-41 
Last Meeting: APSU 10, SEMO 2 (Mar. 24, 2019 | Cape Girardeau, Mo.)
Head Coaches: Andy Sawyers (183-130 overall; 96-103 at SEMO; 50-46 OVC). Travis Janssen (40-43 overall; 40-43 at APSU).

Follow the Redhawks
Radio: SEMO ESPN 93.5 FM & 1220 AM (Erik Sean, Friday; Tyler Camp, Saturday)
Watch: ESPN+ (Saturday Only)
Live Stats: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 
Twitter: @SEMObaseball
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri Notes (PDF)

Probable Starting Pitchers
Game 1 - Dylan Dodd, LHP (SEMO) / Harley Gollert, LHP (APSU
Game 2 - Noah Niznik, LHP (SEMO) / TBA (APSU)
Game 3 - TBA (SEMO) / TBA (APSU)

Redhawks Resume OVC Play 
Southeast Missouri (8-7, 2-1) hosts Austin Peay (3-11, 1-2) in Ohio Valley Conference action this weekend. The Redhawks and Governors play a single game at 5 p.m. Friday and a doubleheader at 2 p.m., CT Saturday.

Follow the Redhawks
Fans can listen to all games of Southeast Missouri's series with Austin Peay at SEMO ESPN 93.5 FM and 1220 AM. Erik Sean will call the action Friday, while Tyler Camp will handle play-by-play Saturday. Video for Saturday's doubleheader is available at ESPN+. Live stats can be accessed at GoSoutheast.com. Twitter updates provided @SEMObaseball.

OVC Home-Openers
Friday marks Southeast Missouri's Ohio Valley Conference home-opener. The Redhawks are 3-0 in OVC home-openers under Head Coach Andy Sawyers. SEMO beat UT Martin in both 2017 and 2019, and Morehead State in 2018 during those contests. The Redhawks ended up winning their OVC home-opening series in both 2017 and 2018. SEMO did not have a home series in conference play during its 2020 campaign that was shortened due to COVID-19.

Series History
The Redhawks and Governors meet for the 98th time when they open their series Friday. Southeast Missouri holds a 56-41 lead in the all-time series which began in 1962. SEMO came away with series wins each of the last two times it faced APSU in 2018 and 2019. Twenty-four of the Redhawks wins in the series were at Capaha Field. Head Coach Andy Sawyers is 5-4 against the Governors.

Keep it Going
Southeast Missouri carries a three-game winning streak into this weekend's series with Austin Peay. SEMO won its final two games of its Ohio Valley Conference opening series at SIU Edwardsville (Mar. 13) and beat Saint Louis (Mar. 16). All three of those wins were on the road. SEMO is 6-2 with a pair of series victories in March.

About Austin Peay
Austin Peay, picked a spot ahead of Southeast Missouri in this year's Ohio Valley Conference Preseason Poll, is 3-11 overall and 1-2 in conference play. The Governors have played two ranked teams so far in #24 Dallas Baptist (Feb. 20-22) and #17 Tennessee (Mar. 3). APSU went a combined 0-4 in those contests. The Governors dropped two of three in their first OVC series vs. Tennessee Tech (Mar. 13-14). APSU's other wins were a 12-7 victory vs. Army (Feb. 28) and a 3-2 victory at Northwestern State (Mar. 7). First baseman John McDonald and outfielder Garrett Spain garnered Preseason All-OVC honors. Spain is currently the Governors top hitter at .306 with seven runs scored, two home runs and seven RBI. APSU has the most losses of any OVC team and is ranked last in the conference in batting average (.196), slugging percentage (.291), on-base percentage (.306), runs (47), hits (78), RBI (40), total bases (116) and fielding percentage (.961).

March 12
When Southeast Missouri dropped its series-opener to SIU Edwardsville on Mar. 12, that game marked exactly one year from the time a global COVID-19 pandemic brought college athletics to an abrupt halt. On Mar. 12, 2020, the NCAA canceled its men's and women's basketball tournaments and conferences across the country changed plans for games in the months ahead. That decision affected championships in all winter and spring sports, including baseball. Southeast Missouri dropped a 6-4 midweek contest at longtime rival Southern Illinois in its final game of the shortened 2020 campaign a day before the decision to cancel play was made.

Midweek Win
The Redhawks posted a come-from-behind win in their first midweek game of the season when they rallied to beat Saint Louis, 8-6, Tuesday at the Billiken Sport Complex. SLU led the entire game until SEMO sent nine men to the plate to fuel a four-run eighth inning. Freshman Peyton Leeper singled home Ty Stauss to tie the game and Tyler Wilber drove in Leeper to put the Redhawks ahead.

50th OVC Win
Andy Sawyers picked up his 50th Ohio Valley Conference win when Southeast Missouri beat SIU Edwardsville 6-4 on Mar. 13. Sawyers is now 50-46 in OVC games as the Redhawks head coach.

Closing in on 100
Andy Sawyers is just four wins away from reaching 100 victories as Southeast Missouri's head coach. Sawyers, in his fifth year at the helm, is 96-103 overall at SEMO.

Wilber Second in the OVC in Batting Average
Shortstop Tyler Wilber ranks second in the Ohio Valley Conference with a .404 batting average behind Eastern Illinois' Logan Eickhoff (.420). Wilber also ranks third among league leaders in on-base percentage (.484) and hits (21). He recently went 3-for-4 with a run scored, home run and season-high four RBI to lead Southeast Missouri to its 8-6 midweek win at Saint Louis (Mar. 16). Wilber also drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning of that contest.

Going for Another
Southeast Missouri is going after its second-straight Ohio Valley Conference series win when it hosts Austin Peay this weekend. The Redhawks took two of three on the road at SIU Edwardsville (Mar. 12-13) to start league play. The last time SEMO won its first two conference series of a season was 2018. That year, the Redhawks won their first three OVC series and went on to claim a total of seven series victories against league foes. 

Approaching 150 Strikeouts
Dylan Dodd is just one strikeout away from getting 150 in his Southeast Missouri career. Dodd recorded 149 strikeouts in 126.2 innings to date. He leads the Ohio Valley Conference with 36 strikeouts and 24 innings pitched through four starts. Dodd also ranks fifth in the nation in strikeouts.

Nice Work Keck
Andrew Keck hit .417 with four runs scored, five hits, a double, one RBI and a perfect 4-of-4 stolen bases in the Redhawks series win over SIU Edwardsville (Mar. 12-13). Keck hit safely in all three games against the Cougars and recorded to hits and two stolen bases in each of the final two matchups of the series. He walked and scored as part of a three-run 10th inning that sent SEMO to a 6-3 victory in game two. Keck then singled and came around to score during a four-run first inning that keyed the Redhawks 6-4 victory in the series finale.

First Career Save for Williams
Austin Williams, who entered the game at Saint Louis (Mar. 16) in the eighth inning, got the final six outs to secure his first career save. Williams recorded three strikeouts and three groundball outs against the six hitters he faced. 

Yard Work
Catcher Wade Stauss launched a three-run home run in back-to-back days during Southeast Missouri's series vs. Illinois State (Mar. 5-7). Stauss hit the first of those two bombs in the bottom of the third inning of game two. He then homered again in that same inning to grab SEMO the lead during the series finale. Stauss leads the Redhawks with three home runs. The Redhawks have nine home runs as a team.

Triple Time
Peyton Leeper is tied for first in the nation and leads the Ohio Valley Conference with three triples this season. Leeper is among 16 players with three triples thus far. Leeper also leads the OVC with 14 walks.

Two 10-Strikeout Performances
Dylan Dodd was magnificent on the mound during his second start of the season. Dodd wound up getting a no-decision against #2 Arkansas (Feb. 25). He finished with 10 strikeouts, walked two and allowed just two runs on three hits. Dodd struck out two in each of the first three innings and sat the Razorbacks down in order in the second. He also no-hit Arkansas through 2.2 innings. In a no-decision against SIU Edwardsville (Mar. 12), Dodd recorded 10 strikeouts in five innings of work. He finished with 10 strikeouts in two of his last three starts. Dodd has struck out 10 or more in a game a total of four times in his career.

Basler Fifth in Career Stolen Bases 
Connor Basler is second on the team with five stolen bases this season. Basler ranks fifth all-time among Southeast Missouri's all-time career stolen base leaders with 47. Denver Stuckey (2000-03) currently holds the record with 52. 

Stauss Brothers 
Brothers Wade and Tyler Stauss were in Southeast Missouri's lineup together for the first time in the series finale at South Alabama (Feb. 21). Wade started at catcher and his younger brother, Ty, was in left field for that contest. They have been in the starting lineup together a total of eight times this year.

Over 150 Starts
Two Redhawks have made over 150 starts in their careers. Second baseman Connor Basler tallied a team-high 188 career starts and mainstay center fielder Danny Wright has accumulated 176. Both Basler and Wright are fifth-year seniors after joining Southeast Missouri's baseball program in 2017.

Career Hitters
Southeast Missouri has three players hitting .299 or better for their careers entering this weekend's series. Tyler Wilber leads the way with a .391 career batting average followed by Andrew Keck (.300) and Danny Wright (.299). Wilber, Keck and Wright have combined for a total of 419 hits, 256 runs, 74 doubles, 11 triples, 23 home runs and 226 RBI in their careers.

Career Rankings
Tyler Wilber presently ranks third all-time among Southeast Missouri's career leaders with a .391 batting average. Danny Wright is third in hit by pitch (31) and Connor Basler rates seventh in hit by pitch (25) and fifth in stolen bases (47). Dylan Dodd ranks fourth all-time in strikeouts/9 innings (10.6) and sixth in walks allowed/9 innings (2.4).

On Deck
Southeast Missouri hosts longtime rival Southern Illinois for a midweek matchup on Mar. 23.