TUESDAY'S SCORES
@Southeast Missouri 13, Harris-Stowe 0
@#8 Louisville 5,
Eastern Kentucky 1
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 13, HARRIS-STOWE 0
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Hunter Southerland went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, a double, grand slam and career-high four RBI as Southeast Missouri (4-0) blew out Harris-Stowe (5-7), 13-0, Tuesday afternoon at Capaha Field.
SEMO is undefeated through its first four games of a season for the first time since 2013. The 4-0 start is also the best under head coach Andy Sawyers.
The Redhawks loaded the bases in the bottom of the first and took an early lead when Tyler Wilber grounded out and Peyton Faulkner scored to make it 1-0.
SEMO scored in four more innings putting up three tallies in each of the fourth and seventh frames, one in the fifth and five in the eighth.
Garrett Stephens led off the bottom of the fourth with a walk and later scored on Alex Canty's sacrifice. Faulkner knocked in Southerland on a single to right field. Alex Nielsen, who reached on an error, scored an unearned run when Brett Gonzalez grounded out to push SEMO's lead to 4-0.
After Tyler Wilber touched home in the fifth, the Redhawks used back-to-back home runs to tack on three more runs in the seventh. Turner Fritts hit a two-run bomb to left center and Stephens immediately followed with a solo shot to left. The home runs were the first of the season for both Fritts and Stephens.
Still not finished, SEMO completed its shutout with a big five-run eighth inning.
Wilber ripped a single to right center to score Keegan Meyn. With two outs following a Stephens strikeout, Southerland hit his first career grand slam to put the finishing touches on the 13-0 win.
Five SEMO pitchers had a hand in the Redhawks first shutout of the season.
Blake Cisneros (1-0) was credited with the decision allowing one hit and striking out two in three innings. Nathan Bock, Bryce Grossius, Andrew Frank and Matthew Cook also threw scoreless innings.
SEMO outhit Harris-Stowe, 9-4, and collected four extra base hits, including three home runs.
Weber went 2-for-3 with three runs scored, a home run and one RBI, and Faulkner finished at 2-for-3 with a run scored as the other Redhawks with multiple hits.
#8 LOUISVILLE 5, EASTERN KENTUCKY 1
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Eastern Kentucky University’s baseball team had three stolen bases and moved up to first in the nation in that category, but the Colonels lost 5-1 at eighth ranked University of Louisville on Tuesday.
The top-10 ranked Cardinals held EKU to just three hits, but UofL had just five hits.
Will Johnson drew a walk to lead off the game and stole second base later in the inning. Christian Lucio had a steal in the second inning. Johnson recorded his second steal of the game and sixth of the season in the sixth inning. Eastern’s season total of 20 stolen bases is two more than Eastern Michigan for the Division I lead.
The Colonels (2-2) got within two, 3-1, when Corey Conklin drew a two-out walk in the top of the fifth inning and then scored from first on a bad pick-off throw that rattled around in the right field corner.
The Cardinals (2-2) scored twice more in the bottom half of the frame. Tyler Fitzgerald led UofL with a 2-for-3 day, two runs scored and two driven in.
Johnson, Lucio and Ryland Kerr recorded Eastern’s three hits. Relievers Jacob Ferris, Brennan LeBarbera and Aaron Ochsenbein combined for five and one-third innings of scoreless relief with seven strikeouts.