Two trends were colliding at Capaha Field.
Southeast Missouri State has not defeated Southern Illinois since 2019. The Redhawks have also struggled during mid-week games throughout the season.
The Redhawks put both trends to bed by beating their rivals 6-2 on Tuesday, snapping a six-game losing streak to the Salukis.
“We all knew it going in, lost to them already this season, didn't play our best,” SEMO starting pitcher Payton Lawrence said. “We knew having them at home, we really felt the advantage tonight having the crowd with us and everything and everybody seemed pretty locked in today. Really wanted this one as a team as a whole because a lot of guys on the team haven't beaten them since 2019. It really feels good to come together.”
Chance Resetich hit his fifth home run of the season to give the Redhawks a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
“We were told to lay off the breaking ball, and I swung out a breaking ball,” Resetich said. “It was kind of a reactionary swing though, but it ended up working out.”
An RBI single in the second inning by Matt Schark and a solo home run by Pier-Olivier Boucher in the third inning tied the game 2-2 in favor of the Saukis.
The Redhawks loaded the bases in the sixth inning and cashed in on a go-ahead two-run knock by Brett Graber, giving SEMO a 4-2 lead.
The Redhawks started the seventh inning with a leadoff triple by Josh Cameron, which led to him scoring on a sacrifice fly by Lincoln Andrews.
“Got a hanging changeup up and hit it hard flat up the middle and it rolled to the wall, and hustling out the box able to get three late in the game that's big time, Cameron said.
“It's one of the best feelings you could have right there,” he said on his emotions after sliding to third base in front of his teammates. “It's just an adrenaline rush almost, and just just fires me up.”
Lawrence threw 6.1 innings, allowing just two runs on three hits, and struck out seven to earn the win. Kyle Miller closed the game by getting all three of his outs by strikeout.
“P-Law was fantastic,” SEMO coach Andy Sawyers said. “I thought we pitched it fantastic, and zero errors which is a very clean baseball game."
__The Hill was filled__
A fan-friendly weekend tradition was retrofitted to the weekday and brought 855 to Capaha Field to support the Redhawks, which is amazing considering that the total attendance of the entire weekend series against Tennessee Tech was 1,039. The players recognize their presence and play better after feeding off the energy provided by the crowd.
"When there's a lot of people in the crowd, there's a different kind of juice and buzz in the ballpark," Sawyers said, "and certainly our players recognize that and feel that, and certainly we feed off that."
The Redhawks play in a ballpark with unique features. Capaha Field is in the middle of a big public park, central to the city while close to campus. There's standard seating behind home plate that could cover 200 tops, but also a party deck behind rightfield and a grassy hill fit for picnic-style seating.
"You got all these kids here," Resetich said, "it's awesome just to see all the support that the Redhawks bring to this town of Cape Girardeau. So it's big for the community and it's big for us and we love to keep having everyone here."
Whether it's a holiday high school basketball tournament, a St. Louis Battlehawks game, or a SEMO baseball game, fans make the events. The Redhawks always have the support of fellow athletes, regardless of the sport. Sometimes, they are actually covered by their peers, working behind the cameras for broadcasts or local TV news. The support of the peers was combined with the public, and it was appreciated by the players.
"It's a thrill as a player," Cameron said. "You kind of go out there, you play loose, the fans are behind you, and you just have fun. You want to do great things for them as well as your team."
The Redhawks take on newly minted in-state rival Lindenwood at Capaha Field this weekend, April 28-30.
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