Game 52-54
Southeast Missouri (35-16, 15-9 OVC) at Little Rock (30-22, 16-8 OVC) 
 
Games Information: 
Dates: Thursday, May 14 – Sunday, May 16
Times: Thurs: 6 p.m. | Fri: 4 p.m. | Sat: 1 p.m.
Location: Little Rock, Ark.
Venue: Gary Hogan Field
Sawyers vs. LR: 7-3
 
Head Coaches: 
SEMO: Andy Sawyers (370-265 overall; 282-238 at SEMO; 10^th Season)
LR: Chris Curry (294-319 at LR; 12^th season) 
 
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X: @SEMOBaseball
Live Stats: Friday | Saturday | Sunday
Listen: SEMO ESPN 93.5 FM or 1220 AM (Erik Sean)
 
Redhawks Make Final Road Trip of Regular Season to Little Rock, Starts Thursday
Southeast Missouri Baseball (35-16, 15-9 OVC) will make its final trek of the regular season as they head to Little Rock (30-22, 16-8 OVC) for the final Ohio Valley Conferenec series of 2026. The series begins on Thursday, May 14 and will continue through Saturday, May 16 beginning at 6 p.m., 4 p.m., and 1 p.m., each day from Gary Hogan Field in Little Rock, Arkansas. 
 
Sawyers vs. LR
The Redhawks and Trojans will meet for the eighth, ninth, and 10^th time under 10^th year head coach Andy Sawyers over the final weekend of league play. The two teams ended the 2025 season against one another, beginning with a three-game SEMO sweep of LR in Cape Girardeau to conclude the regular season. LR turned around and defeated the Redhawks in the 2025 OVC Baseball Tournament which ended the campaign. The Redhawks hold a 7-3 overall record against LR under Coach Sawyers. 
 
Huge Sweep
A week after getting swept, SEMO Baseball returned the favor by handing Southern Indiana a sweep in Cape Girardeau in what was the final series of 2026 in Cape Girardeau. The Redhawks started the series with a 7-5 victory on Friday night headlined by a seven-run fourth inning. After falling behind by two runs in the top of the fourth, SEMO scored all seven runs beginning with an RBI double from Carson Schrack. Four more RBI hits including a two-RBI single and two-RBI triple from Caleb Klein and Ryan Lopetegui, respectively, helped SEMO snap a four-game losing streak. SEMO turned around and throttled USI on Saturday afternoon with an 11-1 run-rule victory headlined by a complete game from RHP Andrew Carroll (6-3). Carroll pitched all 7.0 innings allowing just one run on eight hits and punching out three Screaming Eagles. The Redhawks utilized small ball en route to win number 33 on the season, capped off by a two-RBI single to right field by catcher Tank Sims. SEMO Baseball concluded the series with a senior day sweep of USI by  a final score of 9-6. DH Demitri Shakotko got the Redhawks on the board first sparking a six-run second inning. An RBI hit-by-pitch from Joe Hall followed by a grand slam from Ryan Lopetegui made it 6-0 with two outs in the sixth. A run in the sixth and two more in the seventh gave SEMO its nine runs en route to victory. Senior RHP Nathan Mertens (5-2) made the start on senior day and pitched 5.1 innings allowing three runs on four hits. Senior RHP Eddie White (Sv: 1) picked up his first save of the season to conclude the contest. 
 
Bounce Back Week
SEMO Baseball concluded last week with a 4-0 record including a midweek win over Austin Peay (7-5) and the three-game sweep of USI to improve to 15-9 in OVC play after dropping four-straight OVC contests. The Redhawks now enter the final series of the regular season on a four-game winning streak and are just one spot behind Little Rock in the current OVC table. 
 
Eyeing History
After the sweep of USI, SEMO Baseball picked up win number 35 on the 2026 campaign. The Redhawks are just four wins away from tying the all-time single season program record for wins which was set by the 2016 team with 39 wins. The 2016 team then went on to win the OVC regular season and OVC Tournament and played in the Starkville Regional that season. 
 
Eyeing More History 
With just two more wins, SEMO Baseball will tie the program's most wins in Andy Sawyers' tenure. The 2022 team ranks second all-time in single season wins with 37 and is the most wins in a season under Sawyers. The Redhawks enter the final week with 35 wins which ties for seventh in program history. The 2022 team went on to win the OVC Tournament and competed in the Louisville Regional and marked back-to-back tournament championships and regional appearances. 
 
The Table
SEMO Baseball enters the final week of the regular season tied for third place with Eastern Illinois as both sit at 15-9 in league play. The Redhawks, who face off with second place Little Rock, are just one game behind the Trojans for second while SIUE sits atop the table with an 18-6 record after sweeping EIU this past weekend. 
 
Free Pass
The Redhawks have done a great job of seeing pitches and getting on base via the walk. Through 51 games, SEMO has drawn an OVC-best 255 walks which ranks 65^th in the entire country. First baseman Cal Sullivan leads the Redhawks in base-on-balls with 38 and ranks second in the league behind Liam Bushey of Western Illinois (42). 
 
We Got Ice
Center fielder Caleb Klein leads the league in getting on base via hit-by-pitch. This season, Klein has been plunked 19 times by opposing pitchers from his leadoff spot in the SEMO lineup. After getting hit for the 19^th time, Klein now ranks second all-time in single season program history surpassing Jason Blum in 2015 with 18 HBPs. Blum is the single season record holder for HBPs when he was plunked 23 times in the 2013 season. 
 
Another Salami
Right fielder Ryan Lopetegui recorded the fourth grand slam of the season for SEMO Baseball on Sunday afternoon and his second of the season. In the second inning of the series finale, Lopetegui left the yard to left field with the bases loaded to give SEMO a 6-0 advantage. The grand slam marked his second of the season after hitting one earlier against Morehead State (4/12). The blast marked Lopetegui's seventh home run of the year as he ranks fourth on the team in round trippers. DH/OF Joe Hall has two grand slams this season as well for the Redhawks. 
 
Nation's Best
RHP Nathan Mertens continues to lead the country in strikeout-to-walk ratio. This season, Mertens has punched out 50 opposing hitters and just surrendered his third walk of the year on Sunday afternoon. Mertens has pitched 57.0 innings and has a 16.67 strikeout-to-walk ratio to his name. 
 
Welcome Back, Gavin
Senior RHP Gavin Johnston returned to the mound last week and made three appearances for the Redhawks out of the bullpen. The Arnold, Missouri-native made his return to the mound against Austin Peay (5/6) after last pitching on March 14 at Wright State. Johnston then pitched twice in the series against USI allowing just one hit and no runs to the Screaming Eagles over 2.1 innings. He also picked up his second save of his season against USI on Friday night. 
 
Home Fortress
SEMO wrapped up the home portion of the schedule over the weekend, ending the home season with an impressive 23-5 record in Cape Girardeau. Of their five losses at Capaha Field, only two of them came in Ohio Valley Conference play losing just a single game to Morehead State and SIUE.