SEMO Hosts Eastern Illinois for ‘Donate Life’ Game Set for Friday

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI) — Southeast Missouri State will resume Ohio Valley Conference play this weekend as the Redhawks (19-14, 6-3 OVC) host Eastern Illinois (14-15, 5-3 OVC) for a three-game series at Capaha Field.

The series opens Friday, April 11, at 6 p.m., followed by games on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.

Friday’s matchup will be Southeast Missouri’s annual “Donate Life Day,” held in partnership with Mid-America Transplant to promote organ and tissue donation during National Donate Life Month. The Redhawks will wear special blue and green jerseys in honor of the occasion.

Head coach Andy Sawyers enters the series with a 10-12 all-time record against EIU. Southeast Missouri swept the Panthers in last season’s series in Charleston, scoring 56 runs across three games.

The Redhawks are coming off a 2-2 stretch, having taken two of three from SIUE before falling to Southern Illinois in a midweek matchup. In Tuesday’s 7-3 loss, Southeast Missouri gave up six runs in the eighth inning after leading 3-1. Outfielders Michael Mugan and Cole Warehime drove in all three of SEMO’s runs.

Junior left-hander Jackson Kranawetter was named the OVC Pitcher of the Week for his performance at SIUE, where he struck out six in 2.2 hitless innings to earn his fifth save of the season. Kranawetter leads SEMO with a 1.65 ERA and is second in the OVC in saves.

The Redhawks enter the weekend 10-3 at home and boast the conference’s top fielding percentage (.971). Their pitching staff leads the OVC with a 4.94 ERA and has allowed the fewest walks (92) in the league.

Right-hander Nathan Mertens leads all NCAA Division I pitchers with a 0.64 walks-per-nine-innings rate and ranks third nationally with a 0.80 WHIP. Lefty Haden Dow is also among the nation’s best with a 1.24 BB/9 rate.

Offensively, SEMO is led at home by Warehime, who is hitting .413 at Capaha Field. The Redhawks are batting .315 as a team at home and have scored 100 runs with 92 RBIs in those games.

Catcher Shea McGahan leads SEMO with a .462 on-base percentage, while graduate student Ty Stauss recently surpassed 100 career RBIs. First baseman Bryce Cannon ranks fifth in the OVC with 10 doubles, and sophomore Brooks Kettering leads the league with 28 walks.

Southeast Missouri is 15-1 this season when outhitting its opponents and has outscored teams 66-30 in the fourth and fifth innings combined.

Tickets for the weekend series are available at semoredhawks.com.