Game #9
Southeast Missouri (2-6) at Missouri (4-3)
Date: Tuesday, February 27
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Location: Columbia, Mo.
Facility: Taylor Stadium
Series: Sawyers vs. Missouri: 1-2
Head Coaches: Andy Sawyers (183-176, Eighth Season) | Kerrick Jackson (4-3, First Season)
 
Follow the Redhawks
Radio: 93.5 FM & 1220 AM (Erik Sean)
Watch: SEC Network+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Twitter: @SEMOBaseball
 
Game Notes (PDF)
 
Redhawks Head to Missouri for Midweek Matchup
Southeast Missouri Baseball (2-6) will travel to Columbia, Mo. on Tuesday, Feb. 27, to take on Southeastern Conference member Missouri (4-3) for a midweek contest. First pitch is slated for 5 p.m., CT. at Taylor Field.
 
Series History
The Redhawks and Tigers will meet for just the fourth time in Head Coach Andy Sawyers' career at the helm of SEMO Baseball. The Tigers hold a 2-1 series advantage. SEMO beat Missouri on March 28, 2017, in a 6-5 victory in Columbia.
 
Last Time Out
The Redhawks dropped three-of-four over the weekend against St. Thomas (MN) at Capaha Field. The Tommies took the first three games of the series against the Redhawks beginning on Friday afternoon. 
 
The Tommies got on the board early against RHP Collin Wilma. An RBI double down the right field line by St. Thomas' Max Nyrop plated the first two runs of the game for either team. St. Thomas would score two more runs in the third inning and led 4-0 with SEMO coming to the plate in the home half. 
 
The Redhawks would get two back via a home run by short stop Ben Palmer. Josh Cameron, with Brooks Kettering on base, would come up four batters later and deliver an RBI single to center field to get the Redhawks to within two. 
 
A solo blast by Nyrop in the eighth inning proved to be too much as the Tommies secured a 5-3 win. 
 
Saturday featured a double header in which the Tommies would take both. A seven-inning game in game one of the day, the Tommies and Redhawks battled defensively through the first four innings. 
 
RHP Brian Strange made his second start of the campaign for SEMO, going 5.0 innings and allowing just two runs on five hits. Strange struck out three hitters over 22 faced. 
 
St. Thomas scored their two runs off Strange in the 5th inning with two RBI singles. St. Thomas would add a run in the seventh with a solo blast by Nyrop to make it 3-0 heading to the final inning. 
 
Josh Cameron and Ben Palmer each hit solo home runs in the home seventh, but the Nyrop solo shot was the difference as SEMO dropped the second game, 3-2. 
 
The second game on Saturday, and the third in the series, was all Tommies as they plated 12 runs in the contest, winning the game 12-3. The Redhawks scored the first run of the ball game in the third inning with an RBI single from second baseman Brooks Kettering. But a five-run fourth inning and a four-run fifth inning, proved to be too much as St. Thomas secured the series win. 
 
The series finale featured All-OVC Preseason selection LHP Haden Dow making his second start of the 2024 season. Dow pitched a gem, going 7.0 innings and striking out five Tommies in the outing. He surrendered zero walks and allowed just two earned runs in the ball game. 
 
The Redhawks offense woke up in the finale, pounding out eight hits, led by Kettering who finished 4-for-5 at the plate with an RBI. 
 
Outfielder Michael Mugan hit his fourth home run of the season; a three-run shot to right field. Mugan finished the day with four RBIs and was 1-for-3 at the plate.
 
LHP Alex Hayes had a nice outing out of the bullpen for SEMO in relief of Dow. Hayes finished the final 2.0 innings and allowed zero runs, zero hits, and struck out two hitters over the seven he faced. SEMO won the series finale, 10-3.
 
The Last Series
The Redhawks struggled offesnively over the weekend, hitting just .171 as a team. Infielder Brooks Kettering led the offesne hitting .333 over the four-game series going 5-15 with a pair of RBIs and four runs scored. On the mound, SEMO finished with a 5.56 ERA as a staff, led by Haden Dow who concluded the series with a 2.57 ERA and picked up his first win of the season.
 
Long Ball
SEMO currently ranks 22nd in the country for Division-I baseball for Home Runs. The Redhawks have hit 14 homers as a team, led by Michael Mugan with four. SEMO is currently first in the Ohio Valley Conference in the category.
 
Sacrifice
The Redhawks have done a good job of utilizing small ball through the first eight games of 2024. SEMO has laid down five sacrifice bunts, including a nice squeeze play in the series finale against St. Thomas. The Redhawks rank 23rd in the country in the category, and currently rank first in the conference. Short stop Ben Palmer leads the team with two sacrifice bunts.
 
Good Eye
SEMO ranks second in the OVC in base-on-balls. The Redhawks have 40 walks drawn this season led by Brooks Kettering who has seven. 12 different Redhawks have drawn a walk this season, with nine of them drawing multiple walks.
 
Keoni Coloma Makes Debut
Outfielder Keoni Coloma made his first two starts of the season this past weekend. Coloma finished the series 2-for-5 at the plate with a pair of RBIs and a run scored. He started in left field in Saturday's second game and was the designated hitter in the series finale. Through his two starts, Coloma is batting .400 with a .571 on-base percentage.

About Missouri
The Tigers are coming into Tuesday's midweek matchup with a 4-3 overall record in Head Coach Kerrick Jackson's first year at the helm of Missouri Baseball. Most recently, Missouri went 2-2 in the Tony Gwynn Legacy tournament in San Diego, Calif. 
 
The Tigers defeated CSU Bakersfield 6-3, and downed UC San Diego 5-4 in the final game. MU lost 10-3 to San Diego State and 8-4 in the first game against UC San Diego. 
 
Last season, Missouri finished with a 30-24 overall record and a 10-20 mark in conference play. MU returns three regular starters from 2023, led by senior Trevor Austin. Austin hit .311 with eight home runs and 10 stolen bases a season ago. 
 
RHP Logan Lunceford is the top returning pitcher from a season ago. Lunceford struck out 68 batters, a season-high for all SEC freshmen.
 
Looking Ahead
SEMO Baseball will be back at Capaha Field this weekend for a four-game set with Mid-American Conference-member, Toledo. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. on Friday afternoon in Cape Girardeau. Saturday will feature a doubleheader with games beginning at 12 & 4 p.m., respectively. The series will conclude on Sunday beginning at 1 p.m.