SEMO Baseball geared up for OVC Tourney

SEMO’s Kyle Miller delivers a pitch during the Redhawks’ 9-5 win over UT Martin on Saturday, May 18, at Capaha Field.

Clay Herrell ~ cherrell@semoball.com

The quest for a third Ohio Valley Conference Tournament championship in four years begins at 3 p.m. on Thursday, May 23, for the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks.

The No. 2 seed Redhawks are set to do battle with either Morehead State or SIUE.

A series sweep of UT Martin last weekend was enough for the Redhawks to lock up the No. 2 seed in the tournament.

“I thought we played great baseball,” Redhawks coach Andy Sawyers said. “We were super fundamental. We made one error in three games. We got bunts down, we got timely hits, we played great defense, and we had good pitching.”

A multitude of things have to go right for SEMO to emerge as champions, but Sawyers feels it starts from within.

“You have to want to keep winning,” Sawyers said. “Everybody wants to win, but I promise you with all these teams across the country going to conference tournaments, some of them wake up, and they’re ready to be done. The teams that win want to keep playing. They want to win for their friends and their teammates.”

On the offensive side of the ball, a key will be First-Team All-Ohio Valley Conference member Josh Cameron, who hit 13 home runs and drove in 49 RBIs.

“We have to play team baseball,” Cameron said. “That’s a big thing in the playoffs. We ended up getting the two seed so we get the bye on the first day which is huge. But, to win the tournament we’re going to have to play for each other and try to win each and every pitch.”

There’s something about the postseason in any sport that seems to bring out the best in certain players.

“It’s so fun,” Cameron said. “You’re playing with something on the line. It’s super competitive.”

A guy that’s no stranger to playing with something on the line is Redhawks closer Kyle Miller, who finds himself in high leverage situations all season long that resembles tournament like pressure.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Miller said. “There’s a different buzz and you can feel it in the air. From pitch one everybody’s up and playing for each other.”