Redhawks season ends with early OVC exit

The Southeast Missouri State baseball season came to an end on Wednesday after a 7-6 loss to Eastern Illinois in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament at Mountain Dew Park in Marion, IL. This was the eleventh straight loss for the defending OVC Champion Redhawks who have not won a game since sweeping Lindenwood at home on April 30.

Eastern Illinois wasted no time getting on the board scoring three runs off four hits in the first inning. Southeast senior pitcher Noah Niznik struggled a bit while the Panthers scored those three earned runs. Redhawks head coach Andy Sawyers said Eastern Illinois did a good job of getting the barrel on the ball and forced SEMO to adjust.

“I mean in the top of the first they came out and they were on the barrel, I thought Noah might have been tipping a little bit because they were on the barrel, they were on time with everything he threw,” Sawyers said. “We tried to make some adjustments of his handset, how he's holding the baseball and it seemed like it maybe slowed them down a little bit but they came out on fire offensively, they were on the barrel and put up five hits and three runs I think in the top of the first.”

Niznik settled in and went 5.2 innings with no more earned runs before SEMO went to the bullpen for the remainder of the game. After going down 3-0 in the first, the Redhawks responded in the third with three runs of their own to tie the game. The first came when junior Nolan Ackerman scored on a Panthers throwing error and the other two came off a junior Lincoln Andrews double down the right field line that scored senior Jevon Mason and junior Josh Cameron.

Southeast Missouri State outfielder Jevon Mason connects on a pitch during an Ohio Valley Conference Tournament game against Eastern Illinois on Wednesday, May 24, in Marion, Illinois.Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

The action slowed down until the final two innings when Eastern Illinois extended their lead and SEMO responded, coming up just one run shy of forcing extra innings. The Panthers got to another three-run lead before a two-run home run by senior Carlos Aranda brought the game to 6-5.

Eastern Illinois got an insurance run in the top of the ninth to bring their lead to 7-5. In the bottom of the ninth, the Redhawks got another home run, this time from freshman Caleb Rodgers to bring the game to within one before the Panthers put them away.

Coach Sawyers said even though they did not complete the comeback he was happy they never gave it up.

“For a true freshman that’s a big home run there in the ninth inning to get it within one and then Peyton Leeper singles and we get them in scoring position with RBI opportunities that could tie it up,” Sawyers said. “They competed and get themselves a chance to win, we just weren't good enough to knock it down there today.”

Five Redhawks did earn All-OVC Honors before the tournament began, Niznik was named First-Team All-OVC, Cameron and Haden Dow were selected to Second-Team All-OVC, and Gavin Johnston along with Eddie White made the All-Freshman team.