Longball leads Redhawks to win over Murray State

Redhawks outfielder Michael Mugan reaches first base and talks with Redhawks coach Tommy Gleason during Southeast's 8-7 win over Murray State on Wednesday, Feb. 21, at Capaha Field.

Clay Herrell ~ cherrell@semoball.com

The ball was flying out of Capaha Field on Wednesday afternoon when the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks squared off with the Murray State Racers.

A four-home run inning in the bottom of the sixth led the Redhawks to an 8-7 win over the Racers.

The Racers started the scoring in the top of the second as Carson Garner blasted a solo home run to lead off the inning.

Following the solo shot, Redhawks right-hander Sam Heyman settled in and retired the next three batters to end the inning.

“I thought he threw the ball pretty good,” Redhawks coach Andy Sawyers said. “It was his first Division I start and only his second appearance at SEMO. I thought he made a lot of good pitches with runners on base and wiggled around a lot of base runners.”

The quick bounce back by Heyman got the Redhawks bats back to work and they rewarded him by scratching across a run.

After Josh Cameron led the inning off with a walk, he advanced to second on a passed ball and eventually came around to score on a fielder’s choice by Ty Stauss.

The game remained tied until the fourth when the Racers took a 2-1 lead courtesy of a sacrifice fly.

Just an inning later Carson Garner would strike again, this time with a 2-run blast to extend the Racers lead to 5-1 in the top of the fifth.

After Payton Lawrence tossed an inning where he allowed two runs, the Redhawks turned to Tommy Windt in the top of the sixth.

Windt tossed a scoreless frame, seemingly generating momentum on his own for the Redhawks.

As outs were dwindling, Ty Stauss ripped a one-out single and Bryce Cannon followed it up with a two-run blast to right-center field to make it 5-3 Racers.

However, two runs weren’t enough for the Redhawks as Ben Palmer went back-to-back with Cannon to make it 5-4.

“We always tell our team that you change the momentum of a game on defense,” Sawyers said. “We never had control of the game. Tommy comes in, and even though we’re down 5-1, Tommy crushes it in the top of the sixth, and it gave everybody a little bit of juice and a little bit of life.”

The fun didn’t stop there, as Peyton Leeper drilled a solo home run onto the Mercy Southeast Party Deck in right field to tie the game at 5.

Michael Mugan also felt left out of the home run parade because he launched a home run, this one of the two-run variety, to plate the sixth run of the inning and make it 7-5 Redhawks.

“We knew what Murray was going to do,” Sawyers said. “They have always pitched us with a heavy, heavy mix and have been like 50/50 off-speed and fastballs. Early in the game we just didn’t execute swings. We finally got the ball to travel a bit more and got it connected.”

Mugan finished the day 3-for-4 with a home run, a walk, and two RBI.

“I was just trying to stay as middle as I can,” Mugan said. “We just wanted to stay consistent with that approach.”

Windt’s impressive appearance continued as he tossed a four-pitch inning to retire the Racers in order and send Southeast back to the plate.

In the bottom of the eighth, SEMO’s Ian Riley connected for his first career home run and first career hit at the Division I level to extend the Redhawks’ lead to 8-5.

“Every team has a guy that is beloved by his teammates regardless of how productive he is,” Sawyers said. “Ian Riley might be the most beloved guy on our team. His nickname is ‘Papaw’ and like he is more mature than I am. He is an old soul and ultra-mature. So, when Papaw does something, everybody’s excited.”

Windt’s day ended after allowing a leadoff single in the top of the 9th, as the Redhawks turned to closer Kyle Miller.

Windt finished tossing three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit.

“Everything was working but it was all my defense,” Windt said. “They turned some big double plays behind me and limited my pitch count.”

Things got interesting in the ninth as Miller allowed one run on one hit, but managed to slam the door on the 8-7 win as the Redhawks earned their first win of 2024.

The Redhawks (1-3) are back home at 3 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 23, when they host St. Thomas at Capaha Field.

Friday begins a unique opportunity for the Redhawks as 9 of their next 10 games are at Capaha Field.

“I just want to play good baseball,” Sawyers said. “I think we have a talented team. We just need to be fundamental and do things right and if we do that, the results should take care of themselves.”