Redhawk athletics roundup, May 7: Tennis season ends in NCAA Tournament

The Southeast Missouri State tennis season came to a rough end on Friday, with the 17-3 Redhawks facing off against No. 15 Tennessee in the opening round of NCAA Tournament in Knoxville, Tenn.

After rolling off 16 consecutive wins since their Feb. 4 loss to Austin Peay, the streaking Redhawks, who went undefeated in Ohio Valley Conference play, lost 4-0 to the hosting Tennessee Lady Volunteers of the Southeastern Conference by a 4-0 margin.

Daniela Hlacikova, Ksenia Shikanova and Cosima Trinity Calinescu all pushed their matches to three sets, with Romana Tarajova’s unfinished match sitting tight in the second set, but the depth of the Tennessee squad proved too much for the Redhawks.

The season comes to a conclusion for the Redhawk tennis team, perhaps the most successful in program history after dominating Ohio Valley Conference play and losing just three times throughout the season.

Redhawk Baseball

Southeast Missouri State baseball (26-23) traveled to Manhattan, Kan. to take on the Kansas State Wildcats of the Big XII Conference.

While the Redhawks showed some grit in the first two games of the series, losing 2-1 on Friday night and 12-5 on Saturday, the series ended in a sweep as the Wildcats took a seven-inning, 10-0 victory on Sunday afternoon.

Jevon Mason scored the lone run on Friday for the Redhawks, homering in the fifth inning to tie the game at 1-1. Mason notched two of three hits, both extra-base hits with another double, in the game for Southeast Missouri State, with right fielder Josh Cameron singling to round out the hitting.

Pitcher Noah Niznik earned the loss for the Redhawks, slipping to 6-4 after pitching for 7.0 innings, allowing six hits, two walks and two earned runs.

Saturday’s game saw the Redhawks put up more offense, with shortstop Peyton Leeper hitting thrice, scoring twice while batting in four runs. Mason, Chance Resetich, Lincoln Andrews and Brett Graber all hit once for the Redhawks, with the team’s pitching faulting in Kansas State’s 12-run outing.

Esteban Hernandez earned the loss for the Redhawks, with his season record now standing at 2-2. Southeast Missouri State threw seven different pitchers in the loss, earning 11 of the 12 runs scored and allowing 11 hits, four walks and two hit-by-pitches as a team.

The Redhawks hit four times as a team in Sunday’s 10-0 loss, with Danny Sperling reaching base three times on two hits and a walk, with Mason and Leeper tallying a hit each for the Redhawks.

Haden Dow earned Sunday’s loss, his season record dropping to 4-2 after 2.1 innings pitched and seven earned runs. Four pitchers appeared in the game for Southeast Missouri State, with Eddie White’s one inning pitched in the sixth making him the only Redhawks to not earn a run on a day when Kansas State’s bats heated up.

The Redhawks next host Middle Tennessee State (23-23), beginning at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.

__Redhawk Softball__

The Southeast Missouri State softball team (28-12) lost its first conference game since Mar. 18 on Saturday, falling in extra innings to Eastern Illinois on the road before taking the second game of a doubleheader to even the two-game series.

Eastern Illinois took the front end, winning 7-6 in eight innings before the Redhawks came back to take a 5-1 win just a few hours later. Officials canceled Sunday’s rubber match between the two clubs, sending the Redhawks to the Ohio Valley Conference tournament on a split series with the Panthers.

The Redhawks tallied 10 hits in their 5-1 win against the Panthers, with Kynzie Wrigley, Sydney Melton and Zoe Schulte all notching two hits. Melton led the game with three RBIs, hitting a double in the second inning and a home run in the sixth to command the Redhawks offense to a strong win on Sunday.

Jillian Anderson, Abigail Rickermann, Brittany Affolter and Kimmy Fleming all finished with a hit for the Redhawks, who reached base 13 times in the game.

Pitcher Marisa Davis earned the win for the Redhawks, improving to 9-2 on the season after allowing four hits, two walks and striking out five batters without earning a run in 7.0 innings pitched.

As the top seed in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament, the Redhawks await the winner of the No. 4 seed versus the No. 5 or No. 8 seed, with the Redhawks expected to play at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Ala.