SEMO Baseball drops series opener to WKU

Southeast Missouri State catcher Shea McGahan hit a home run against Western Kentucky on Friday, March 15, at Capaha Field.

Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

Southeast Missouri State (7-12) opened the weekend series against Western Kentucky with an 8-3 loss to the Hilltoppers (13-6) on Friday, March 15, at Capaha Field.

The Redhawks have now lost four straight games and six of its last seven games. Prior to the slump, SEMO won five straight games, including on the road against Missouri, to even its record to 6-6.

SEMO catcher Shea McGahan went 2-for-3 with a home run, his third of the season. The Redhawks are currently second in the Ohio Valley Conference in home runs (28) and are one of four teams with 100+ RBIs.

The Hilltoppers got on the board early by bunting their way to a 2-0 lead in the third inning after a leadoff double by shortstop Zayd Branningan.

WKU added two more runs in the fourth inning and another run in the fifth, two of which came on sacrifice flies.

SEMO staged a rally in the sixth inning on an RBI single from Josh Cameron and Ty Stauss hitting into a fielder's choice with a run scored to close the gap to 5-3.

SEMO would have more runners in scoring position during the seventh and eighth inning, but the Redhawks could not bring them home.

WKU continued to add two runs in the seventh inning on a two-run single by Cristian Garcia, who went 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Branningan went 4-for-4 including an RBI double in the ninth inning to give WKU its eighth run.

SEMO starting pitcher Brian Strange pitched five innings in the loss, allowing five runs on eight hits with two strikeouts. Logan Katen came in relief to throw the final four innings with four strikeouts and three earned runs. SEMO head coach Andy Sawyers credited Katen for saving the bullpen during his postgame radio interview.

The Redhawks finished with 10 hits, including two from centerfielder Michael Mugan, who went 2-for-4 and currently leads the OVC in hits (30).

SEMO and Western Kentucky continue the series at 2 p.m., Saturday at Capaha Field.