Doyle leads Redhawks over Western Illinois

A big day from Gunnar Doyle led the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks to a 10-3 win over the Western Illinois Leathernecks on Friday at Capaha Field.

With the Redhawks leading 1-0 in the bottom of the 6th Doyle came through with a 2-run single to extend the lead to 3-0.

“It was really nice to break it open,” Doyle said. “I felt like I was on the barrel a lot and the hits weren’t falling and it was nice to get two today.”

Redhawks coach Andy Sawyers credited Doyle for staying ready despite limited opportunities.

“We’ve had a hard time getting him consistent at-bats,” Sawyers said. “He is a good hitter. He’s a bat-to-ball guy, he’s a high average guy and sometimes guys just need at-bats in a row to get going.”

The Redhawks would strike first in the bottom of the 3rd courtesy of a RBI groundout from Chance Resetich.

The 6th inning is where Southeast put the game out of reach as they plated 7 runs to go up 8-0.

Noah Niznik pitched into the 7th inning before being removed with 2 outs after allowing 2 runs on 6 hits while also picking up 7 strikeouts.

“That was the fifth consecutive really competitive start from Noah Niznik,” Sawyers said. “The plan was to throw a lot of fastballs today. We thought that was a good matchup for us with the wind blowing in.”

While the Redhawks picked up the win on the scoreboard, they suffered a loss when Lincoln Andrews, the team leader in runs batted in, went down with a shoulder injury.

“We don’t know what his timetable to return is going to be,” Sawyers said. “He jammed his shoulder.”

Following up Doyle’s big day at the plate was Mason Ackerman, Jevon Mason and Chance Resetich who all had 2 RBIs a piece. Peyton Leeper also drove in a run in the win.

The win pushes SEMO to 8-12 on the season and the Redhawks will be back in action on Saturday, March 18 at 2 p.m., when game 2 of the series with the Leathernecks begins at Capaha Field.