Game 22
Southeast Missouri (8-13) at Austin Peay (13-6, 2-1 ASUN)
 
Game Information
Date: March 19, 2024
Time: 4:00 p.m., CT.
Location: Clarksville, Tenn. 
Venue: Raymond C. Hand Park
Series: SEMO leads 62-46
 
Head Coaches: SEMO: Andy Sawyers (189-183, Eighth Season); Austin Peay: Roland Fanning (39-38, Second Season)
 
Follow the Redhawks
Twitter: @SEMOBaseball
Listen: SEMO ESPN 93.5 FM or 1220 AM (Erik Sean)
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
 
Game Notes (PDF)
 
Redhawks Travel to Austin Peay Tuesday
Southeast Missouri Baseball (8-13) will head to former Ohio Valley Conference Member Austin Peay (13-6, 2-1 ASUN) on Tuesday, March 19, for the final midweek contest before conference play begins on the weekend. First pitch is slated for 4 p.m., CT. in Clarksville, Tenn. 
 
Series History
A matchup of old conference foes, the Redhawks and Governors will play for the 109th time on the diamond Tuesday afternoon. This will be the first matchup since Austin Peay took two-out-of-three in Clarksville in 2022. The Redhawks won the final meeting and the last matchup between the two by a final score of 6-5 on April 3, 2022. 
 
Last Time Out
SEMO Baseball dropped two-out-of-three over the weekend to Conference USA-member Western Kentucky in Cape Girardeau. 
 
The Hilltoppers took game one of the series by a final score of 8-3. Trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the third inning, catcher Shea McGahan hit his third home run of the season to get the Redhawks on the board. 
 
The Hilltoppers would add runs in the fourth and fifth innings before outfielder Josh Cameron lined a single into left field to score SEMO's second run, scoring Michael Mugan. In the same inning, an RBI fielder's choice by Ty Stauss was the final run of the contest for the Redhawks. 
 
WKU would add two runs in the seventh & ninth inning(s) to take game one, 8-3. 
 
Third baseman Caleb Corbin had a strong start in game two of the series on Saturday afternoon, finishing the day going 2-for-3 at the plate with a pair of RBIs as his double to right-center sparked a comeback with the Redhawks trailing 6-0 after the third inning. 
 
Corbin's double scored Gavin Baldwin and Cole Warehime to cut into the deficit. In the same inning, Ben Palmer roped a single to left field, scoring two, to get the Redhawks within a pair of runs. 
 
First baseman Bryce Cannon blasted his fifth home run of the season in the fifth inning, a moon shot to right field, to get the Redhawks to within a run. Center fielder Michael Mugan hit a go-ahead RBI triple in the sixth inning that scored Brooks Kettering and Corbin. The ball got away from WKU's defense and landed in the Redhawks dugout, allowing Mugan to score on the play. SEMO won game two by a final score of 8-7.

The rubber match of the series on Sunday went the way of the visitors as the Redhawks struggled offensively. SEMO registered just two runs on five hits and dropped the series finale by a final score of 7-2. Brooks Kettering and Ty Stauss each had multi-hit days, but strong WKU pitching stifled the Redhawks' bats as the Hilltoppers held on for the series win. 
 
Palmer Reaches Base
Short stop Ben Palmer, who has played and started all 21 games at short stop for the Redhawks, has reached base safely in all 21 games this season. Palmer's streak was in jeopardy in Friday's contest, registering a hit in his final at-bat. The senior now has an on-base percentage of .446. 
 
Michael Mugan
Center fielder Michael Mugan continues to pace the way for the Redhawks offense. The junior has started all 21 games this season in center field for SEMO and leads in nearly every offensive category for the team. He is first in batting average (.381), slugging percentage (.631), on-base percentage (.480), runs scored (19), hits (32), total bases (53), and is tied for the team-lead in home runs (6). 
 
Base-on-Balls
This season, SEMO has drawn 90 walks at the plate led by Ben Palmer who has 17 on the season and ranks fifth in the OVC in that category. Nationally, SEMO's 90 walks rank 142nd in Division-I baseball. Four different Redhawks have double-digit walks this season. 
 
My Sacrifice
The Redhawks have been willing to execute the sacrifice bunt through the first 21 games of the season. SEMO has laid down 10 sac bunts this season, ranking them second in the conference and 54th nationally. Ben Palmer leads the club with three sacrifice bunts and ranks second in the conference in that category. 
 
In the Field
Defensively, SEMO has fielded at a .969 percentage through the first 21 games of the season. The percentage ranks them second in the Ohio Valley Conference trailing only Little Rock (.974). 11 different Redhawks are fielding a perfect 1.000. 
 
Wilma Gets the Save
RHP Collin Wilma picked up his second save of the season in Saturday's 8-7 win over Western Kentucky. The senior pitched the final 3.0 innings of the ball game and surrendered just one run to pick up the save. His two saves on the season currently rank him fourth in the conference and 84th in the country. 
 
Drive Them In
First baseman Bryce Cannon leads the Redhawks in RBIs with 21 on the season through the first 21 games. As a team, SEMO has driven in 120 RBIs and seven Redhawks have 10 or more RBI this season.
 
About Austin Peay
The Governors are led by second year head coach Roland Fanning and come into Tuesday's contest with a 13-6 overall record and a 2-1 mark in A-Sun play. Most recently, APSU took two-out-of-three from conference-foe Lipscomb in Nasville, Tenn. over the weekend. The Governors plated a combined 26 runs in the three games, winning the final two contests by a combined score of 23-7. Offensively, APSU is led by Jon Jon Gazdar and John Bay who are hitting .413 & .370, respectively. The duo has a combined 60 hits on the season and has driven in 45 RBIs between the two. Lyle Miller-Green is the slugger in the Governors lineup. Miller-Green leads the team in home runs (10), RBIs (27), and slugging-percentage (.882). 
 
Looking Ahead
SEMO Baseball will begin its 2024 Ohio Valley Conference journey on Friday, March 22, when they take on Eastern Illinois for the first weekend of league play. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. Friday afternoon in Charleston, Ill.