Game 33
Southeast Missouri (15-17, 6-3 OVC) at Southern Illinois (19-13, 4-5 MVC)
 
Game Information
Date: Tuesday, April 9
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Carbondale, Ill. 
Venue: Itchy Jones Stadium
Series: SIU leads 44-27-1
 
Head Coaches: SEMO: Andy Sawyers (196-187, 101-76 OVC; Eighth season); SIU: Lance Rhodes (145-82, 51-35 MVC; Fifth season)
 
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Game Notes (PDF) 
 
Redhawks Travel to Rival Southern Illinois Tuesday
Southeast Missouri Baseball (15-17, 6-3 OVC) will be in action on Tuesday, April 9, when they visit longtime rival, Southern Illinois (19-13, 4-5 MVC) in Carbondale, Ill. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. from Itchy Jones Stadium. 
 
Series History
Tuesday's contest will mark the 73rd time that the two have faced one another on the baseball field with SIU holding a 44-27-1 advantage in the all-time series. Last season, the two split the season-series with the home team winning each matchup. The Redhawks took the second game of the season-series on April 25, by a final score of 6-2 in Cape Girardeau. 
 
Last Time Out
The Redhawks return to the road after dropping two-of-three at Little Rock over the past weekend. The Redhwaks dropped the first two games of the series before crushing the Trojans in the series finale by a final score of 16-3. 
 
LR took the first game of the series on Friday night by a final score of 8-2. The Trojans jumped out to a 5-0 lead on LHP Haden Dow (2-1) with a home run, an RBI groundout, and then back-to-back RBI singles that scored five in the opening frame. 
 
Left fielder Ty Stauss got the Redhawks on the board in the second inning with a solo home run, but the Trojans stifled the Redhawks' offense until the ninth inning. Ben Palmer blasted his team-high 10th home run in the ninth, but LR held on for the 8-2 victory. 
 
A pitching duel in Saturday's contest between RHP Sam Heyman (3-1) and Preseason OVC Pitcher of the Year Jackson Wells (3-2) saw the Trojans pick up a 4-2 victory on Saturday afternoon. 
 
Stauss' second home run in two games tied the contest at 1-1 in the sixth inning. But the Trojans would put together scoring innings in the bottom of the sixth, and two more runs in the eighth to build a 4-1 lead. First baseman Bryce Cannon cut the deficit in half in the ninth with another solo home run, but SEMO couldn't put more together. 
 
Short stop Ben Palmer had a career-best four hits in Sunday's finale as the Redhawks throttled LR by a final score of 16-3 in seven innings. Palmer was 4-for-4 at the plate with three RBIs, including a double and a triple. 
 
As a team, SEMO pounded out 17 hits with four Redhawks finished with multiple-hit days. Outfielder Josh Cameron hit an opposite field two-run home run in the 6th inning to make it 9-3 Redhawks after SEMO hit around in the first inning to make it 3-0. 
 
RHP Brian Strange (3-2) picked up his third win of the season allowing just three runs on seven hits. The win on Sunday snapped a three-game losing streak for SEMO. 
 
Palmer Career-Day
Short stop Ben Palmer had four hits in four plate appearances in Sunday's contest. The four hits was the most that he has had in a game in his career, including his first triple of the season and his career. Palmer over the weekend, also blasted his team-high 10th home run.  
 
Johnston From the Pen
RHP Gavin Johnston had a career-outing in Friday's series opener in relief of Haden Dow. Johnston finished the final 3.2 innings of the contest, his longest outing of his SEMO career. He punched out five Trojans, the most of his career in a single outing. He allowed just one earned run over the final 3.2 innings. 
 
Get to the 6^th
This season, the Redhawks are an impressive 12-1 when leading after the sixth inning. On the season, SEMO has scored 86 runs in the final third of games. In the sixth inning alone, SEMO is outscoring their opponents 35-27 overall. 
 
Ultimate Sacrifice
The Redhawks offense is at the top of the OVC in utilizing the sacrifice to advance runners and manufacture runs. Offensivley, the Redhawks rank first in the conference with 15 sacrifice flies and 19 sacrifice bunts. The 19 sac-bunts ranks SEMO 36th in Division I Baseball. 
 
Hits
Center fielder Michael Mugan leads the team with 46 hits on the season, including a hit in every single game over the weekend. Mugan, a junior from Seaside, Calif., ranks second in the OVC in hits this season. 
 
Swipe a Bag
The Redhawks have been active on the base paths when they get on, to the tune of 28 stolen bases through 32 games. Second baseman Brooks Kettering leads the team with five stolen bases on the season. Ben Palmer and Josh Cameron are tied for second with four stolen bases, and three Redhawks are tied for third with three. 
 
Home Run Leader
Short stop Ben Palmer leads the Redhawks in home runs after hitting his 10th home run against Little Rock over the weekend. The senior now ranks third in the OVC in home runs and 75th in the country. 
 
About SIU
The Salukis are led by fifth year head coach, Lance Rhodes, and come into the Tuesday midweek with a 19-13 overall record and a 4-5 Missouri Valley Conference record. Most recently, SIU was swept on the road by Illinois-Chicago. Offensively, SIU's Mathieu Vallee leads the club in hits (42). The Salukis have different leaders in nearly every offensive category. Nathan Bandy leads with a .373 batting average, Hesston Gray has the highest slugging-percentage (.604), and Steven Loden leads the club with 36 RBIs. Gray and Loden lead the team with eight home runs apiece. The Salukis will throw LHP Alec Nigut who comes into the contest with a 4-1 record overall and a 4.50 ERA. Nigut has pitched 34.0 innings this season, striking out 24 opposing hitters and surrendering only eight walks.