SIUE (10-8) vs. Southeast Missouri (14-5)

Series Information
Dates: Friday-Sunday, March 25-27, 2022
Series Schedule: Friday - 6 p.m.; Saturday - 2 p.m.; Sunday 1 p.m., CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Facility: Capaha Field (2,000)
Series: SEMO leads, 22-9
Last Meeting: SEMO 6, SIUE 4 (Mar. 13, 2021 | Edwardsville, Ill.)
Head Coaches: Andy Sawyers (219-148 overall; 132-123 at SEMO; 65-55 OVC). Sean Lyons (98-140 overall; 98-140 at SIUE)

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

Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday - Brant Glidewell, RHP (SIUE) / Jason Rackers, RHP (SEMO)
Saturday - Collin Baumgartner, RHP (SIUE) / Noah Niznik, LHP (SEMO)
Sunday - TBA (SIUE) / TBA (SEMO)

Redhawks Host SIUE 
Preseason favorite Southeast Missouri (14-5) begins Ohio Valley Conference play when it hosts SIU Edwardsville (10-8) in a three-game series this weekend. First pitch of the series is set for 6 p.m., CT Friday at Capaha Field.

Follow the Redhawks
Video for all three games of this weekend's series can be accessed at ESPN+. 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.

"Fill The Hill" Fridays
A Southeast Missouri baseball tradition returns this 2022 season. The Redhawks have partnered with Kohlfeld Distributing to bring back tailgate days to Capaha Field as part of "Fill the Hill" Fridays. Dates for the special event include Mar. 26 (vs. SIUE), Apr. 8 (vs. Murray State), Apr. 22 (vs. Morehead State) and May 13 (vs. UT Martin). Kohlfeld Distributing will provide complimentary adult beverages to fans who provide proof of legal consuming age on those dates. 

Series History
The Redhawks are 22-9 all-time against SIU Edwardsville. Southeast Missouri went 12-5 in the last 17 matchups between the clubs. SEMO and SIUE started Ohio Valley Conference play against each other a year ago. The Redhawks took two of three from the Cougars on Mar. 12-13 in Edwardsville, Illinois.

OVC Openers
Southeast Missouri is 18-12 all-time in Ohio Valley Conference openers. That mark includes a 3-2 record under Head Coach Andy Sawyers. SEMO has opened conference play with a win in three of its last four seasons.

Quite a Start for the OVC
As a league, the Ohio Valley Conference has won 56.8 percent of its baseball games this 2022 season. Combined, the conference is 99-75 through games of Mar. 22. Five teams have 13 or more wins, including Southeast Missouri (14), Tennessee Tech (14), Belmont (14), Eastern Illinois (13) and Murray State (13). SIU Edwardsville has 10 wins, as well.

Best Start in Division I Era
The Redhawks began the 2022 season at 13-1, their best start in their NCAA Division I era. Southeast Missouri moved to the D-I ranks in 1992. SEMO's 13-1 start tied with the 1973 team which also won 13 of its first 14 contests.

RPI Update
Southeast Missouri enters the weekend with a RPI rating of 52. SEMO currently holds the highest RPI of any team in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Redhawks ranked as high as 45th earlier this season. This year is the highest SEMO has ranked in RPI under Head Coach Andy Sawyers. The Redhawks other RPI rankings with Sawyers at the helm include 87th (2021), 136th (2017), 200th (2018, 2020) and 259th (2019).

Perfect at Home
Southeast Missouri is undefeated at home with a 10-0 record this season. SEMO won 12 of its last 13 matchups at Capaha Field dating back to the 2021 campaign. The Redhawks are 81-41 at home under Head Coach Andy Sawyers. The most home victories by a Sawyers coached team stands at 18 in both 2017 and 2018, his first two years as SEMO's skipper. The Redhawks last won their first 10 home games in a season during the 2000 campaign. That team went undefeated through its first 12 home matchups. This year marks SEMO's first 10-game home winning streak in six years. The 2016 club won 13 in a row at home. The Redhawks and Eastern Illinois are the only Ohio Valley Conference schools with no home losses this year.

Graber Rises
Outfielder Brett Graber took over as Southeast Missouri's leading hitter with a .375 batting average after a strong series against Missouri State (Mar. 19-20). Graber hit .454 (5-for-11) with two runs scored, one RBI, a double and two walks in three starts against the Bears. He had multiple hits in each of the first two games of the series. Graber has also reached base in all 19 games this season.

OVC Slate
The 24-game Ohio Valley Conference slate for the reigning OVC Champion and preseason favorite Southeast Missouri baseball team starts with SIU Edwardsville this weekend. The rest of the league schedule includes home series with Murray State (Apr. 8-10), Morehead State (Apr. 22-24) and UT Martin (May 13-15). SEMO's OVC road schedule consists of Austin Peay (Apr. 1-3), Tennessee Tech (Apr. 14-16), Belmont (Apr. 29-May 1) and Eastern Illinois (May 19-21).

Power Matchup
SIU Edwardsville and Southeast Missouri are ranked second and third in the Ohio Valley Conference in home runs, respectively. SIUE is second in the league with 38 round-trippers and SEMO follows close behind with 35. Tennessee Tech leads the OVC with 39 homers.

Yard Work
Southeast Missouri has homered in 16 of its 19 games and hit a series-best 10 round-trippers vs. Valparaiso (Mar. 12-13). SEMO finished with a season-high five home runs in two games -- vs. Bradley (Mar. 4); vs. Valparaiso (Mar. 13). Twenty-four of the Redhawks home runs have come against Missouri Valley Conference teams. 

Single-Season Home Run Marks
With its 35 home runs already this season, Southeast Missouri is only three away from surpassing its total of 37 in 52 games a year ago. The single-season school record during SEMO's NCAA Division I era is 92 home runs in 2000. The most home runs hit in a season under Head Coach Andy Sawyers stand at 54 by his first SEMO team in 2017. Here are the Redhawks top-five single-season home run marks since they turned Division I in 1991-92.
92 home runs -- 2000
90 home runs -- 1998
76 home runs -- 2010
71 home runs -- 2009
70 home runs -- 2003

Against the Missouri Valley
Southeast Missouri has faced all eight Missouri Valley Conference baseball schools in its program history. The Redhawks are 56-86 all-time against MVC teams in their NCAA Division I era. Missouri State is the fifth of six MVC schools SEMO will face in 2022. The Redhawks are currently 9-5 against the MVC after winning two of three at then-#22 Dallas Baptist (Feb. 18-20), sweeping both Bradley (Mar. 4-5) and Valparaiso (Mar. 12-13), losing two at Indiana State (Mar. 15-16) and dropping two of three at Missouri State (Mar. 19-20). SEMO also plays a home-and-home series against regional-rival Southern Illinois this year. 

Series Wins
The Redhawks claimed wins in 17 of their last 20 series dating back to their COVID-shortened 2020 campaign. At one time, Southeast Missouri posted 11-consecutive series wins during that stretch.

Get Out the Brooms!
The Redhawks have swept in three of their first four series this season. Southeast Missouri posted three-straight series sweeps vs. Bellarmine (Feb. 26), Bradley (Mar. 4-5) and Valparaiso (Mar. 12-13). All of those came at Capaha Field. The last time SEMO completed three-straight series sweeps was in 2016 (Morehead State, UT Martin, SIU Edwardsville). The three series sweeps are tied for most in a season under Head Coach Andy Sawyers. SEMO also had three sweeps in 2017 and 2018. In all, the Redhawks have 11 series sweeps with Sawyers at the helm. SEMO did not sweep one opponent during its 2021 season.

They Did That Twice?
In each of the final two games of its series against Valparaiso (Mar. 13), Southeast Missouri homered three times and scored six runs in an inning. SEMO trailed, 6-3, in game one before Peyton Leeper, Tyler Wilber and Lincoln Andrews homered in the bottom of the fourth. That six-run inning lifted the Redhawks to a 16-6 win as SEMO scored the final 13 runs of the game. In game two, the Redhawks were down, 3-0, when Jevon Mason, Wilber and Brett Graber homered as part of a six-run third inning. SEMO later won that contest by a score of 10-8. The Redhawks fell behind in the first inning during every game against Valparaiso before sweeping the series with three come-from-behind victories.

Atop the OVC
As a team, Southeast Missouri leads the Ohio Valley Conference RBI (159) and walks (122). Brett Graber is first among league leaders in on-base percentage (.529), Tyler Wilber is first in RBI (32) and Jevon Mason (20) tops the conference in walks.

Seeing Double
The Redhawks scored double-digit runs nine times this season. Southeast Missouri scored 10 or more runs in seven consecutive games for the first time in program history from Feb. 27-Mar. 8. The Redhawks rank second in the  Ohio Valley Conference and 27th in the nation with 171 runs.

Power Outage
Nine different players have homered for Southeast Missouri this season. Tyler Wilber leads the Redhawks with eight home runs, while Jevon Mason and Peyton Leeper follow with six and five, respectively. Andrew Keck has four, Brett Graber, Lincoln Andrews and Joel Vaske all have three, Ty Stauss has two and Ben Palmer has one.

Streak Intact
Brett Graber is reached base in 19-consecutive games to start the 2022 campaign. It's the longest reached base streak since his fellow teammate reached base in 23-straight games during the 2021 season.

Leeper Tabbed OVC Player of the Week
Southeast Missouri utility player Peyton Leeper won Southeast Missouri's first Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week honor of the 2022 season on Mar. 14. A native of Mokane, Missouri, Leeper homered in all four of his starts last week helping the Redhawks extend their winning streak to 11 games. He broke SEMO's series-opener against Valparaiso (Mar. 12) open with a grand slam, the first of his career. Leeper then homered in both games of the series-ending doubleheader against the Beacons the following day. His second round-tripper that day was a game-winning two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning during the nightcap. Leeper's other home run for the week came in a midweek matchup at Arkansas State (Mar. 8). In the Valparaiso series alone, Leeper finished with three home runs, six runs scored and nine RBI. For the week, he hit .353 with four of his six hits coming via the long ball. He scored nine times, had 10 RBI, boasted a 1.059 slugging percentage, recorded a .500 on-base percentage and was a perfect 3-of-3 in stolen bases. Leeper carries a six-game hitting streak into this week's action. Leeper won the award for the first time in his career. UT Martin right-hander Rhett Fetner (Pitcher of the Week) rounded out the week's honorees.

Wilber Clears 200 Hits
Tyler Wilber went over 200 career hits in the Redhawks series sweep of Valparaiso (Mar. 12-13). Wilber hit a team-high .500 in the series. He had four runs, six hits, three home runs, seven RBI and a 1.250 slugging percentage against the Beacons. Wilber got his 200th career hit on a two-out single in the bottom of the eighth inning during game two of the series. He now has 208 hits in his career.

Over 150
Andrew Keck (155) surpassed 150 hits in his career against Valparaiso (Mar. 12-13). Keck hit .357 with a run scored, home run and two RBI against the Beacons. He is SEMO's top hitter with a .375 batting average and is the second player on this year's team to reach 150 or more hits joining Tyler Wilber (208).

NCAA Division I Rankings (Top-20)
As of games through Mar. 22, the Redhawks rank among the top 20 NCAA Division I teams in home runs (11th, 35), home runs per game (11th, 1.84), walks (12th, 122) and scoring (16th, 9 rpg). Individually, Jevon Mason is eighth in runs (29) and runs per game (1.5), and 16th in both walks (20) and walks per game (1.0), Noah Niznik is 19th in games started (5), Tyler Wilber is seventh in RBI per game (1.7), ninth in RBI (32) and 19th in home runs (8).

Stealing the Show
Andrew Keck is a perfect 6-of-6 on the basepaths this season. Keck has 40 stolen bases and is now ninth on Southeast Missouri's all-time career stolen base list.

Double-Digit Hits
Southeast Missouri registered double-digit hits in 10 games. SEMO is undefeated at 10-0 in games when it gets 10 or more hits. It finished with a season-high 16 hits vs. Saint Louis (Mar. 1) and Valparaiso (Mar. 13).

RBI Guys
Tyler Wilber and Andrew Keck are first and sixth in the Ohio Valley Conference with 32 and 23 RBI, respectively. Jevon Mason (19) is tied for 10th among league leaders in that category, as well.

Mason Plays Strong
Leadoff man Jevon Mason is Southeast Missouri's third-leading hitter with a .338 batting average. Mason ranks second on the team in runs (26), doubles (6) and home runs (6), and is third in RBI (19). He boasts a team-high .701 slugging percentage and is second with a .469 on-base percentage through 19 starts.

Over .300
Southeast Missouri has four players hitting over .300 through 19 games this season. Brett Graber leads the team with a .375 clip, while Andrew Keck (.355), Jevon Mason (.338), and Tyler Wilber (.312) follow. Those four players have accounted for 47 percent of the Redhawks scoring output.

Walk This Way
Southeast Missouri players hold four of the first six spots among Ohio Valley Conference leaders in walks. Jevon Mason (1st, 20), Peyton Leeper (2nd, 19), Brett Graber (5th, 17) and Tyler Wilber (6th, 16) occupy those places. Those four are responsible for 72 of SEMO's league-leading 122 bases on balls.

Early and Often
Southeast Missouri has jumped on oppoents early through its first 19 games this season. In the first four innings alone, SEMO has scored a combined 92 runs, including 22 in the first, 18 in the second, 37 in the third and 15 in the fourth. Fifty-three percent of the Redhawks runs have come in the first four innings of play. SEMO is outscoring opponents 92-75 in that span. 

Six-Inning Starts
Left-hander Noah Niznik and right-hander Jason Rackers are the first starting pitchers to work six innings this season. Niznik went six innings to beat Bellarmine for his first win on Feb. 27 allowing just one run on five hits. He also struck out two and walked one in his longest start since pitching seven innings in a no-decision vs. Austin Peay (Mar. 20, 2021). Rackers picked up his second victory of the year after scattering four hits, giving up three runs and striking out four in six innings at Missouri State (Mar. 19).

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.

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 1,408-1,144 all-time and 874-757-1 at the NCAA Division I level since the inception of its baseball program. The Redhawks have a 432-294-1 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.

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. 

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. 

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.  

143 and Counting
Tyler Wilber has never missed a start in his Southeast Missouri career. The shortstop has started 143 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.