Southeast Missouri at #22/23 Dallas Baptist

Series Information
Dates: Friday-Sunday, February 18-20, 2022
Series Schedule: Fri. - 6:30 p.m.; Sat. - 2 p.m.; Sun. - 1 p.m., CT
Location: Dallas, Texas
Facility: Horner Ballpark (3,492)
Series: DBU leads, 3-0
Last Meeting: DBU 3, SEMO 1 (Feb. 18, 2012 | Dallas, Texas)
Head Coaches: Andy Sawyers (205-143 overall; 118-118 at SEMO; 65-55 OVC). Dan Heefner (526-271 overall; 526-271 at DBU).

Follow the Redhawks
Video: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 (DBUPatriots.com)
Radio: ESPN 93.5 FM & 1220 AM (Erik Sean)
Live Stats: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Twitter: @SEMObaseball
Series Notes: Southeast Missouri
2022 SEMO Baseball Media Guide

Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday - Bryce Grossius, RHP (SEMO) / Luke Eldred, RHP (DBU)
Saturday - Noah Niznik, LHP (SEMO) / Chandler Arnold, RHP (DBU)
Sunday - Austin Williams, RHP (SEMO) / Jacob Meador, RHP (DBU)

Opening Weekend 
Southeast Missouri opens its 2022 season with a three-game series at #22/23 Dallas Baptist. First pitch of Friday's series-opener is set for 6:30 p.m., CT at Horner Ballpark.

Follow the Redhawks
Listen live on the radio at ESPN 93.5 FM and 1220 AM. Erik Sean will call the action. Video and live stats can be accessed online at DBUPatriots.com. Twitter updates available @SEMOBaseball.

Series History
Southeast Missouri faces Dallas Baptist in a series for the second time in its program history. These teams last opened the 2012 season against each other. DBU swept SEMO, 3-0, with three victories that were decided by no more than two runs. The Patriots won by scores of 7-6, 3-2 and 3-1 in Dallas.

Reigning Champions
The Redhawks and Patriots are both reigning champions of their respective conferences. Southeast Missouri won the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season and tournament titles, while Dallas Baptist did the same in the Missouri Valley Conference last season. SEMO advanced to the NCAA Oxford Regional hosted by Ole Miss, while DBU came within one win of making the College World Series.

Season-Openers
Southeast Missouri is 12-18 all-time in season-openers during its NCAA Division I era (since 1992). SEMO is 3-2 in such games under Head Coach Andy Sawyers. SEMO beat Western Michigan at home in 2019, UT Arlington in Nacogdoches, Texas in 2017 and South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama in 2021 for Sawyers' season-opening victories.

Season 64
The 2022 campaign marks Southeast Missouri's 64th year of college baseball. The Redhawks are in their 31st season as an NCAA Division I program. SEMO is 1,394-1,139 all-time and 860-752-1 at the NCAA Division I level since the inception of its baseball program. The Redhawks have a 426-293-1 record in Ohio Valley Conference play. SEMO won five OVC regular-season titles (2002, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2021), four OVC Tournament crowns (1998, 2002, 2016, 2021) and made four NCAA Tournament appearances (1998, 2002, 2016, 2021) in program history.

Against Ranked Teams
Dallas Baptist is ranked No. 22 in the D1Baseball and No. 23 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association preseason polls. Southeast Missouri is 3-14 in their last 17 meetings with ranked opponents. That record includes a 0-6 mark against teams ranked in the top five. SEMO last beat a ranked team on Apr. 29, 2018 (10-6, vs. #20 Tennessee Tech). Here are SEMO's results in the last 17 matchups with ranked teams:
3/25/14    at #13 Mississippi State    L, 2-3
5/13/14     at #9 Vanderbilt    L, 4-10
4/7/15    at #20 Missouri State     L, 1-2
5/5/15     at #21 Missouri    W, 8-5
3/8/16     at #13 Ole Miss    L, 2-10
3/9/16     at #13 Ole Miss    L, 4-6
6/3/16     at #4 Mississippi State @    L, 5-9
3/28/17     at #23 Missouri    W, 6-5
4/29/18     vs. #20 Tennessee Tech     W, 10-6
2/26/19     at #1 Vanderbilt    L, 3-11
5/1/19     at #24 Missouri    L, 6-21
2/25/21    at #2 Arkansas    L, 5-6
2/26/21    at #2 Arkansas    L, 3-7
2/27/21    at #2 Arkansas    L, 3-9
2/28/21    at #2 Arkansas    L, 4-11
3/24/21    #22 Southern Illinois    L, 4-21
6/4/21    at #12 Ole Miss @    L, 3-6
@ - NCAA Regional

OVC Preseason Favorite
Southeast Missouri was tabbed the preseason favorite in the 2022 Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Preseason Poll on Feb. 10. The reigning OVC regular-season and tournament champion, SEMO received eight of the possible 18 first-place nods in the overall voting by league Head Coaches and Communication Directors. SEMO accumulated a total of 114 points, while Murray State – which the Redhawks beat to win the OVC Tournament crown in 2021 – was picked second with four first-place votes and 104 points. Morehead State (93 pts.), Austin Peay (87 pts.) and Belmont (86 pts.) round out the top five, while SIU Edwardsville (55 pts.), Eastern Illinois (50 pts.), Tennessee Tech (43 pts.) and UT Martin (16 pts.) complete the nine-team predicted order of finish. 

2022 Redhawks
The Redhawks 2022 roster consists of 38 players, including four seniors, 16 juniors, nine sophomores and nine freshmen. Southeast Missouri returns five position starters and two starting pitchers. SEMO also has each of its top five hitters back from last season.

Wilber Named OVC Preseason Player of the Year
Senior shortstop Tyler Wilber was voted the 2022 Ohio Valley Conference Preseason Player of the Year. A native of Los Alamitos, California, Wilber started all 52 games last season. A Second-Team All-OVC pick, he was Southeast Missouri's leading hitter witha .378 batting average. Wilber also led the Redhawks in RBI (49), total bases (109), slugging percentage (.542), and hits (76). He finished the regular-season with a league-best .400 batting average. Additionally, Wilber was a semifinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award.

Batting Titles
Tyler Wilber won the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season batting title twice in his career to date. Wilber was hitting .400 at the end of regular-season play in 2021 and hit .383 during the 2019 campaign. 

What a Career!
Tyler Wilber is in his fourth-year as Southeast Missouri's starting shortstop. Wilber enters his final season with a career batting average of .384. His batting average is the second-highest in a career among players in SEMO's NCAA Division I era, just points behind Todd Shylanski (.387, 1991-92). Wilber ranks fourth all-time among the Redhawks career leaders in batting average and sixth in on-base percentage (.468). He has 184 hits, 101 runs, 39 doubles, six triples, 11 home runs and 101 RBI in 124 starts. 

Mason Secures Preseason All-OVC Honors
Left fielder Jevon Mason joined Tyler Wilber on this year's Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference Team. Mason, who hails from West Des Moines, Iowa, made the league's All-Tournament Team in his first year as a Redhawk in 2021. He ranked second on the team with a .350 batting average behind Wilber. Mason led Southeast Missouri with 14 doubles and boasted a team-best .447 on-base percentage.  

124 and Counting
Tyler Wilber has never missed a start in his Southeast Missouri career. The shortstop has started 124 consecutive games as the most experienced player on the roster. Wilber committed only nine errors in 52 starts at short in 2021.

Grossius Gets the Ball on Opening Day
Right-hander Bryce Grossius will make his first career Friday start when he takes the mound for game one of Southeast Missouri's series at #22/23 Dallas Baptist. Grossius made his way into SEMO's weekend rotation where he logged eight starts last season. He walked only two and struck out 25 in 19 innings during Ohio Valley Conference play. For the season, Grossius went 4-3 with 57 strikeouts and 14 walks in 54.1 innings over 18 appearances and eight starts. He ranked second on the team in strikeouts in 2021.

More on the Rotation
Left-hander Noah Niznik is scheduled to start Saturday and right-hander Austin Williams will start Sunday against Dallas Baptist. Niznik made 11 starts and pitched one complete game to go along with 34 strikeouts in 55.2 innings last season. Meanwhile, Williams mainly pitched in relief where he made all but on of his 22 appearances out of the bullpen. He led the Redhawks with six saves. 

From Walk-On to Scholarship
What a rookie season right-hander Kyle Miller had for Southeast Missouri in 2021. Miller, who joined the team as a walk-on, compiled a 4-2 record in 20 appearances and five starts. He rated third on the team with 52 strikeouts in 51.1 innings. Miller picked up his first career save on six outs in the Redhawks season-opening win at South Alabama a year ago and then finished his freshman year by throwing a complete game two-hitter with 10 strikeouts in the Redhawks Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Championship win over Murray State. Miller begins his 2022 campaign as a scholarship player.

Keck Can Run
Junior catcher Andrew Keck led Southeast Missouri and ranked second in the Ohio Valley Conference in stolen bases last season. Keck was 17-of-19 on the basepaths and has stolen 34 bases in his career. 

Newcomer Talent
Outfielder Josh Cameron, infielder Ben Palmer, pitcher Jason Rackers, outfielder Joel Vaske and utility player Tommy Windt are some of the high-impact newcomers on Southeast Missouri's roster this season. Cameron was a First-Team National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-American at Butler Community College in 2021. He finished his career as one of the best junior college power hitters in the country. Cameron hit .412 and ranked second in the NJCAA with 25 home runs. Palmer was the 2021 NJCAA Division I ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove winner at Iowa Western Community College. Vaske earned Third-Team NJCAA All-America accolades at Kirkwood CC and Rackers, who joins the Redhawks from SEC member Tennessee, is among the top 2022 Draft Prospects in the Ohio Valley Conference according to Baseball America. Windt secured Second-Team NJCAA Division I All-America laurels as a designated hitter at South Suburban College.

2022 Schedule
A 55-game schedule with 25 matchups at Capaha Field is in store for the Southeast Missouri baseball team this upcoming 2022 season. SEMO opens its season with a three-game series at reigning Missouri Valley Conference regular-season and tournament champion Dallas Baptist on Feb. 18-20. DBU is one of four NCAA Tournament teams from last season included on the Redhawks 2022 docket. Southeastern Conference member Ole Miss, which hosted the NCAA Regional SEMO played in during the 2021 campaign, will welcome the Redhawks for a midweek tilt on Apr. 19. Indiana State and Oklahoma State are the other 2021 NCAA Tournament participants. SEMO heads to ISU for a two-game set on Mar. 15-16 and travels to OSU (May 6-8) for its final non-conference series. OSU was runner-up in the Big 12 Conference Tournament last season. The Redhawks also face Kentucky (Feb. 22), Bellarmine, Saint Louis (Mar. 1, Mar. 29), Bradley (Mar. 4-6), Arkansas State (Mar. 8, Apr. 5), Valparaiso (Mar. 11-13), Missouri State (Mar. 18-20, May 10) and Southern Illinois (Apr. 12, Apr. 26) in non-conference action. SEMO hosts Bellarmine in its home-opening weekend on Feb. 25-27. The Redhawks 24-game Ohio Valley Conference schedule begins with a home series against SIU Edwardsville (Mar. 25-27). Murray State (Apr. 8-10), Morehead State (Apr. 22-24) and UT Martin (May 13-15) round out SEMO's home OVC foes. SEMO will make trips to Austin Peay (Apr. 1-3), Tennessee Tech (Apr. 14-16), Belmont (Apr. 29-May 1) and Eastern Illinois (May 19-21) for its four conference road series. 

OVC Tournament Moves to Lexington
For the first time in 2022, the OVC Baseball Championship will be held at the Lexington Legends Ballpark in Lexington, Kentucky on May 25-28. Since 2001, the Championship has been held at four other neutral locations, including Paducah, Kentucky (2001-09), Jackson, Tennessee (2010-16, 2021), Oxford, Alabama (2017-18) and Marion, Illinois (2019).

On Deck
Southeast Missouri travels to Southeastern Conference member Kentucky for its first midweek game of the season on Feb. 22.