NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Southeast Missouri (25-18) pounded out 15 hits and used a four-run second inning to get by Lipscomb (18-27), 8-4, Saturday.
SEMO won its 10th series this season and gave
Andy Sawyers his 200th career victory as a collegiate head coach. Sawyers is 200-141 between head coaching stints at Hutchinson Community College (87-27) and SEMO (113-114).
Eight of nine starters had a hit in today's series clinching victory for the Redhawks.
Down, 1-0, SEMO had five hits during its big second inning alone.
Andrew Keck led off with a single and later scored on a base hit by
Lincoln Andrews. Three more singles, including one from
Austin Blazevic,
Danny Sperling and
Connor Basler came after that. Basler's hit to left center scored both Blazevic and Andrews. On the next play, Sperling scored when Basler was thrown out trying to steal second base giving SEMO a 4-1 lead.
SEMO added two more runs with the help of a one-out single by
Danny Wright to increase its lead to 6-1 in the top of the fifth.
Then, in the ninth inning,
Jevon Mason hit his first career home run, a two-run shot to left giving the Redhawks an 8-3 advantage.
Hunter Ralls (3-1) was credited with the win. Ralls struck out three and gave up one run on two hits in four innings.
Fischer Rausch,
Noah Niznik and
Kyle Miller combined to pitch the other five innings out of the SEMO bullpen.
Max Habegger (1-8) suffered the loss. Habegger allowed six hits and five runs, and recorded three strikeouts in four innings of work.
Six Redhawks finished with multiple hits. Basler went 3-for-3 with a run scored and two RBI to lead the way, while Mason,
Tyler Wilber, Wright, Keck and Sperling followed close behind with two apiece. Eight of those hits came from the first four spots in SEMO's lineup.
Andrews and Blazevic contributed a hit and a run, as well.
Malik Williams accounted for three of Lipscomb's seven hits.
SEMO (15-9, .625), currently second in the Ohio Valley Conference standings just percentage points behind Murray State (17-10, .630), hosts UT Martin in its final regular-season series on May 20-21.
