EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The visiting Southeast Missouri State Redhawks scored five runs in the first inning on just three base hits, and never looked back Wednesday night, as the Redhawks snapped the University of Evansville baseball team's nine-game winning streak with a 10-4 win at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville.
"It is tough to break our win streak at home, but we just didn't play well enough to win tonight," said UE head coach Wes Carroll. "We are looking forward to getting back at it this weekend at home with Valley play."
The Redhawks loaded the bases in the first inning on three pitches, as UE starter Willard Peterson (0-1) hit the first three batters he faced on three pitches. SEMO third baseman Chance Resetich then followed with a flair single to center field to give the Redhawks a 1-0 lead.
A double to the gap in left-center field by SEMO centerfielder Brett Graber pushed the lead to 3-0, before an RBI ground out and another RBI single by second baseman Caleb Rodgers gave the Redhawks a 5-0 lead.
Evansville would quickly answer back to get one run back, as fifth-year outfielder Eric Roberts blasted the first pitch of the bottom of the first inning over the right-field wall to cut the deficit to 5-1. Evansville would put the next two men on base via walks, but SEMO starter Ethan Osborne (3-3) got a pop up on the infield and a double-play ground ball to end the threat.
The Redhawks would tack on two more runs on a two-run home run by shortstop Peyton Leeper in the third inning to push the lead to 7-1. The two teams would trade three runs each over the final three innings to provide the final margin of victory, 10-4, for SEMO.
Leeper led SEMO offensively by going 2-for-5 with a home run and three runs driven in. Resetich, Graber, and Rodgers all had two-hit evenings as well. Roberts was one of seven different UE players with hits, and he and junior second baseman Kip Fougerousse each had RBI. For Roberts, his first inning home run was his Missouri Valley Conference-leading 10th home run of the year.
With the victory, SEMO improves to 13-14 overall. Evansville, meanwhile, drops to 16-8 overall with the loss and sees its nine-game winning streak come to an end. The Purple Aces will return home this weekend to battle Missouri Valley Conference newcomer Belmont in a three-game series beginning on Saturday with a 1 p.m. doubleheader. Saturday's opener can be seen live on ESPN+ (with the nightcap available on ESPN3), and both games of the twinbill can be heard in the Tri-State area on 107.1 FM-WJPS and the Old National Bank/Purple Aces Sports Network from Learfield.
