COLUMN: Like momentum, SEMO bats run cold against Murray State

With a rare win over their long-standing rivals (Southern Illinois) and a dominating sweep over their newly minted in-state rivals (Lindenwood), the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks built up plenty of momentum over the past week.

Unfortunately for SEMO, momentum can dissipate at any moment, and in this case, a 5-0 shutout loss to Murray State on Tuesday at Capaha Field.

The Redhawks combined to score 42 runs this past weekend against Lindenwood. Jevon Mason and Josh Cameron hit three home runs each and Brett Graber drove in a total of nine runs during that series.

Against Murray State? Only three hits as a team.

And it can't even be chalked up to a dominating performance from a starting pitcher. The Racers sent six pitchers to the mound the group combined to rack up 15 strikeouts against five walks.

"I'm surprised at the results," SEMO head coach Andy Sawyers said. "I'm not sure what was so effective about (MSU pitching). They did a nice job and they've thrown enough strikes. They had some guys that threw some offspeed pitches and fastball counts, but it's nothing we haven't seen before. I'm not sure why we struggled so badly tonight."

It wasn't without intrigue, at least. After Dustin Mercer hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning to break the scoreless tie, the Redhawks loaded the bases in the bottom half to give themselves an opportunity to rally back.

One pitching change and fly out later, and the Redhawks left the inning emptyhanded. SEMO left runners in scoring position eight different times throughout the game.

"Sometimes you just don't have it," Graber said. "It's one of those nights where I think we got a little bit emotional at times, and zones were a little bit big, but that's not something that we have any control over."

It's understandable to look back at the Southern Illinois win and realize just how rare that was. The Redhawks are 18-6 at home, and five of those losses came during midweek games, which is historically a test of pitching depth. Payton Lawrence has started the last two midweek games and has been a force on the mound. He tossed six innings allowing two runs on three hits with a career-high 10 strikeouts.

"It's the best I've felt easily this year," Lawrence said.

Lawrence, a junior transfer from Blackhawk College, was originally in the weekend rotation but was recently replaced by Esteban Hernandez. He has seemed to find his stride in the past two Tuesdays.

"He's a weekend starter in terms of talent," Sawyers said. "He and coach (Matthew) Kinney figured some things out in the delivery, and he's pitched pretty darn well the last two weeks. So he's not your normal Tuesday pitcher."

The Redhawks will have one more Tuesday game left in the regular season. After traveling to Manhattan, Kansas, to take on Kansas State, SEMO returns home for a Tuesday tilt against Middle Tennessee State on May 9.