SOUTHEAST ROUNDUP: Three SEMO programs garner academic honors

Three Southeast Missouri State athletic teams were among 1,000 in Division I athletics to receive NCAA Public Recognition Awards for scoring in the top 10 percent of their sport.

The Southeast gymnastics, volleyball and women's cross country teams each earned the awards, which are based on the Academic Progress Rate, an "annual scorecard of academic achievement calculated for all Division I sports teams nationally," according to a press release.

It's the fifth time in six years the gymnastics team has received the award and the first for both women's cross country and volleyball.

Twenty-six Ohio Valley Conference teams received the Public Recognition Awards while the Ivy League led the way with 100 teams recognized.

The APR scores, which are released annually, will come out next Wednesday.

Teams must meet certain APR standards to remain eligible for postseason competition and can be penalized for continued poor performance academically.

Eligibility, graduation rate and retention are factored into the APR for each team.

Football

Southeast football's annual spring game has been cancelled this year due to injuries.

The game was slated to be played April 22, but the Redhawks will go through drills for their final day of spring practice instead.

Southeast will still hold its free youth clinic at 10 a.m. April 22 at Houck Stadium.

The Redhawks are scheduled to scrimmage at the Rosengarten Athletic Complex Friday from 3:30-5:30 p.m. before wrapping up their spring practices next week.

Softball

Saint Louis University swept Southeast in a doubleheader Wednesday night.

The Redhawks were defeated 12-7 and 6-2 at the Billiken Sports Center to drop to 12-24.

SLU held a 4-0 lead after two innings in Game 1 before the Redhawks tied it up in the third.

Center fielder Danielle Turner hit a three-run home run and left fielder Brittany Stevens recorded a sacrifice fly to knot it at 4-4.

A leadoff triple came around to score for the Billikens in the bottom of the fifth before the Redhawks regained the lead with solo home runs by Turner and designated player Haylee Krack in the top of the fifth.

SLU scored in the home half to even it at 6-6 before plating six runs on four hits and two Southeast errors in the bottom of the sixth to make it 12-6.

Darby Pruett's RBI groundout in the seventh scored Turner, who'd led off with a double, but a lineout secured the SLU victory.

Reliever Mackenzie Hoelting dropped to 0-5 on the season with the loss. She allowed five earned runs on three hits with two walks.

Laney Kneib (4-4) was tabbed with the win. She gave up just one earned run on two hits in 2 2/3 innings of relief. She did not issue a walk and struck out one.

The Redhawks never led in Game 2 as the Billikens scored two runs in the bottom of the first.

A two-run single by shortstop Sarah Messex tied it at 2-2 in the fourth, but the Redhawks were retired in order in the fifth and sixth innings and did not record a hit the rest of the game as SLU retook the lead for good.

An RBI double by Elizabeth Everingham and a two-RBI double by Allie Macfarlane put the Billikens up 5-2 after five innings. Everingham drove in SLU's final run in the bottom of the sixth with a two-out single to center.

Starter Maddie Baalman went the distance and improved to 4-6 in the circle, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits with three walks and three strikeouts.

Kelsey Ihns fell to 0-2. She gave up four runs (three earned) on four hits with two walks in 4 1/3 innings.

The Redhawks, who are 6-8 in the Ohio Valley Conference, host UT Martin in a three-game series this weekend. A doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. is scheduled for Saturday with the series finale at 1 p.m. Sunday.