Bellarmine (1-4) vs. Southeast Missouri (2-1)

Series Information
Dates: Saturday-Sunday, February 26-27, 2022
Series Schedule: Sat. - 12 p.m., CT (DH); Sun. - 1 p.m., CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Facility: Capaha Field (2,000)
Series: First Meeting 
Head Coaches: Andy Sawyers (207-144 overall; 120-119 at SEMO; 65-55 OVC). Larry Owens (188-150 overall; 189-150 at Bellarmine).

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

Probable Starting Pitchers
Game 1 - Nolan Pender, RHP (BELL) / Bryce Grossius, RHP (SEMO) 
Game 2 - Arren Hash, RHP (BELL) / Noah Niznik, LHP (SEMO) 
Game 3 - Gavin Braunecker, LHP (BELL) / Austin Williams, RHP (SEMO)

Redhawks Host Bellarmine 
Southeast Missouri (2-1) hosts Bellarmine (1-4) in its home-opening series this weekend. SEMO and Bellarmine will play a 12 p.m., CT doubleheader Saturday followed by a 1 p.m. game Sunday.

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

Series History
This year marks the first time Southeast Missouri and Bellarmine face each other. Bellarmine is a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference with former Ohio Valley Conference members Eastern Kentucky and Jacksonville State, and soon-to-be A-Sun member Austin Peay.

What an Opening Weekend!!
The Redhawks used a pair of extra inning victories to win their season-opening series on the road at #22 Dallas Baptist (Feb. 18-20). Southeast Missouri stunned the Patriots with 7-6 win in 12 innings on Feb. 18, a game that lasted four-and-a-half-hours. In less than 24 hours, the Redhawks turned around to come-from-behind and beat DBU, 6-5, in 10 innings during another one-run affair. SEMO claimed a series win against a ranked opponent for only the second time in program history. The Redhawks also took two of three at then-#16 Alabama to open the 2009 campaign.

Home-Openers
Southeast Missouri is 20-10 all-time in home-openers in its NCAA Division I era (since 1992). The Redhawks are 3-2 in such games under Head Coach Andy Sawyers. Sawyers' home-opening wins came in 2017 (22-2, vs. Western Illinois), 2019 (5-1, vs. Western Michigan) and 2021 (4-3, vs. Illinois State).

Midweek Matchup 
Southeast Missouri's first midweek game of the season was canceled due to inclement weather. SEMO was scheduled to play at Southeastern Conference member Kentucky on Feb. 22. 

Lengthy Homestand Ahead 
The Redhawks open a season-long seven-game homestand when Bellarmine comes to town for a three-game series this weekend. Southeast Missouri also played host to Saint Louis (Mar. 1) and Bradley (Mar. 4-6). SEMO is at home for 10 of its next 11 contests.

Miller Named OVC Pitcher of the Week
Southeast Missouri sophomore right-hander Kyle Miller won the first Ohio Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week award of the 2022 season on Feb. 21.  Miller picked up his first win of the season at #22 Dallas Baptist on Feb. 18. He came out of the bullpen to toss six scoreless innings to help lead the Redhawks to a 12-inning one-run upset of the nationally-ranked Patriots. Miller struck out four, walked two and allowed only three hits in his first appearance of the year as SEMO posted a series win against a ranked opponent for only the second time in program history.

Ranked Teams Fall on Opening Day
#22 Dallas Baptist was one of six ranked teams to lose on opening day. Southeast Missouri edged the Patriots, 7-6, in 12 innings on Feb. 18. The win snapped an eight-game losing streak against ranked opponents for the Redhawks and marked their first victory over a ranked foe since Apr. 29, 2018 (10-6, vs. #20 Tennessee Tech). After getting two wins against the Patriots, Andy Sawyers now has a total of three victories over ranked teams as SEMO's head coach. 

Receiving Votes
Southeast Missouri is one of two Ohio Valley Conference teams receiving votes in this week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Poll. Dallas Baptist, which was ranked #22 entering the 2022 season, is now among teams getting votes after dropping two of three in its season-opening series against the Redhawks. 

Redhawk Debuts
Nine players, including Spencer Parker, Joel Vaske, Ryan Malzahn, Ben Palmer, Wyatt Grant, Jason Rackers, Tommy Windt, Ethan Osborne and Anthony Klein made their Southeast Missouri debuts during opening weekend at #22 Dallas Baptist (Feb. 18-20). Palmer started three games at second base and Vaske saw action in all three contests and logged two starts. Rackers also struck out six in 5.2 innings during SEMO's game two win on Feb. 19. 

Clutch Hits
Down, 3-1, with one out in the top of the ninth inning of game two at #22 Dallas Baptist (Feb. 19), pinch-hitter Joel Vaske hit a three-run home run to put the Redhawks ahead. SEMO scored four runs in the inning to grab a 5-3 advantage. After DBU hit a two-run home run to send the game to extra innings in the bottom of the ninth, Brett Graber hit a two-out single to score Andrew Keck for the game-winner. Keck doubled, went to third on a wild pitch and scored the winning run on Graber's hit. Vaske hit .333 with two extra base hits, two runs, four RBI, a .788 slugging percentage and .455 on-base percentage in his first three games as a Redhawk.

Season-Openers
Southeast Missouri improved to 13-18 all-time in season-openers during its NCAA Division I era (since 1992). SEMO is now 4-2 in such games under Head Coach Andy Sawyers. SEMO beat Western Michigan at home in 2019, UT Arlington in Nacogdoches, Texas in 2017, South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama in 2021 and #22 Dallas Baptist in Dallas, Texas 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.

Grossius Makes First Friday Start 
Right-hander Bryce Grossius made his first career Friday start on the mound in Southeast Missouri's season-opener at #22 Dallas Baptist (Feb. 18). Grossius allowed three runs on five hits, struck out six and walked one in 3.2 innings of a no-decision. It was the 10th start of his career.

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 has a career batting average of .375. His batting average is the second-highest in a career among players in SEMO's NCAA Division I era behindTodd 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 185 hits, 101 runs, 40 doubles, six triples, 11 home runs and 104 RBI in 125 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.  

125 and Counting
Tyler Wilber has never missed a start in his Southeast Missouri career. The shortstop has started 125 consecutive games as the most experienced player on the roster. Wilber committed only nine errors in 52 starts at short in 2021.

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 35 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.