McGahan mashes two home runs in SEMO win

SEMO catcher Shae McGahan celebrates hitting a home run against Morehead State on Friday, April 26 at Capaha Field.

Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

SEMO catcher Shae McGahan hit two home runs for the first time in his career to lead the Redhawks to a series-opening 13-11 win over Morehead State on Friday, April 26, at Capaha Field.

As usual, McGahan waits patiently for his pitch like a predator staring at his prey. Once the fastball sails over the plate, it's his time to pounce.

"I'm just sitting on one pitch," McGahan said. "They put two of them over the plate for me, and I took advantage of them and turned on them."

Given that he only had four home runs prior to the first pitch, he couldn't help but admire his achievements.

"I watched them fly," he said. "I'm not gonna lie."

McGahan's home runs came at two different scenarios of the game. His first bomb added to the Redhawk's seemingly insurmountable 9-4 lead in the fifth inning.

After the Eagles came back to tie the game, not just once but twice, McGahan made sure his second home run would truly give the Redhawks the edge in the battle of the birds, breaking an 11-11 tie in the eighth inning.

For him, it's a special feeling to be the one to take the lead with a single swing of the bat and answer the moment.

"It makes you feel like the man," McGahan said. "I thrive off those feelings."

McGahan finished the night with four hits and three RBIs in five at-bats to raise his batting average to .315 on the season. The junior credited the SEMO coaching staff for his success as a first-year Redhawk.

"They set me up for success," McGahan said.

The Eagles took the initial 2-0 lead at the top of the first inning off a home run by Nick Gooden, who finished 2-for-5.

The Redhawks responded with a run in the bottom half of the inning and six more in the second inning to go up 7-2, highlighted by a two-run double by Ty Stauss, who went 2-for-4 on the night.

Colton Becker hit a two-run homer in the third inning but McGahan's first round-tripper for the game nullified the impact.

The Eagles clawed back in the sixth inning after back-to-back home runs from Isaias Guzman and Roman Kuntz (4-for-4) highlighted a five-run rally. Kuntz currently leads the OVC in home runs with 21.

After Ben Palmer (3-for-6) drove Brooks Kettering home for his second RBI of the night, Micheal Mugan hit a solo home run to cap a two-run rally in the seventh inning to take back the lead at 11-9.

Guzman then hit his second home run of the night in the eighth inning to tie the game once again.

Being the catcher involved in trying to contain the lead and having to take it back in the same inning was challenging for McGahan.

"I would say it's pretty stressful," McGahan said. "It is an up and down game so you just got to keep a level head on you and I'm not the best at that. So really I got to work on just staying calm and being the same guy every day."

It was a battle between two of the best offenses in the OVC. Hitting has always been SEMO's strength, so when it comes to high-scoring games at home, the Redhawks are in their element.

"A lot of us get a whole lot more comfortable as the game goes on," McGahan said. "I catch so I see a ton of pitches. I'm always comfortable with what's going on. Once we get going, it's hard to stop us."

With the win, SEMO (22-20, 10-6) is now among Little Rock and Tennessee Tech as the three teams in the Ohio Valley with 10 wins in conference play. Little Rock holds a slight edge for having one less loss. 

"I think we've overcome a lot of adversity and just played through it," McGahan said.