Southeast Baseball

Former Southeast Missouri State (SEMO) baseball pitcher Noah Niznik has turned a standout college career into a rookie season to remember with the Savannah Bananas, earning the Rookie of the Year award for 2024. Known for his dominance on the mound at SEMO, Niznik has seamlessly transitioned into the high-energy, dance-filled world of Banana Ball, where athleticism meets entertainment...

There hasn’t been much to cheer for throughout the recent five-game losing streak by the Cape Catfish, but if you’re looking for something to hang your hopes on, the return of Brooks Kettering to the squad after a week off is something.

A pair of Southeast Missouri State baseball players found themselves in familiar territory on Sunday but with a very, very different perspective. Redhawk players Cole Warehime and Chance Resetich came back to Cape Girardeau and Capaha Field, this time as visitors, as they are playing for the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp of the Prospect League, and they tried in vain to knock off the home team at Capaha – for a change.

It’s time for a quick update on the Southeast Missouri State alumni in the Major Leagues, with a pair of pitchers still fighting for roster spots in the National League East. The seventh and eighth players respectively to enter the MLB out of SEMO, Joey Lucchesi and Dylan Dodd are both in active battles to get back to the majors in a tight NL East...

Spending a couple hours in the national spotlight, and putting on an unforgettable performance over the weekend, Southeast Missouri’s stay in Fayetteville came to an end with Sunday night’s 7-2 loss to Kansas State. Dominating Arkansas to advance to the program’s first-ever regional final, the Redhawks had a tremendous opportunity against a fearsome Big 12 opponent, but the Wildcats pounced hard early...

Given that the core of this year's Southeast Missouri State baseball senior class has ushered in a dynasty in the Ohio Valley Conference, it was only proper that they go out with one big bang. Thanks to the trio of Collin Wilma, Kyle Miller, and Ty Stauss, who have been at SEMO since their freshman years, the Redhawks end the 2024 season where no other team has been before...

The Southeast Missouri State baseball team went into Baum-Walker Stadium and eliminated the Arkansas Razorbacks, winning 6-3 on Sunday afternoon to keep the Redhawks’ season alive. As if there was ever a doubt. Notching perhaps the single-greatest win in program history, holding the No. 5 team in the country to one if its scoring outputs of the season, it’s a monumental win for Andy Sawyers’ Redhawks...

With the stakes as high as ever, with their backs against the wall, the Redhawks didn’t disappoint as they picked apart Louisiana Tech, 9-3, to keep the dream alive. After a gut-wrenching loss to Arkansas on Friday afternoon, Southeast Missouri knew that the game plan would have to change against the Bulldogs, and the defense stepped up...

Going down across the state’s southern border and into Fayetteville, Arkansas, Southeast Missouri had a chance to do the unthinkable, and it nearly did just that. After falling into an eight-run hole early on Friday, the Redhawks rallied all the way back to tie No. 5 Arkansas there before eventually succumbing, 17-9, in the opening game of their 2024 NCAA Tournament run...

The Southeast Missouri State baseball team (34-25) will make its sixth appearance in program history when the Redhawks go to the Fayetteville regional on Friday, May 31. The Redhawks came up short in every regional, with their only win coming against Alabama in 2002. ...

The Southeast Missouri State baseball team (34-25) is headed to the NCAA Regional in Fayetteville, Arkansas, where they will take on No. 5 national seed Arkansas on Friday, May 31. No. 2 seed Louisiana Tech will take No. 3 Kansas State. The C-USA champion Bulldogs will lead with Charleston High School grad Luke Nichols on the mound...

On a team full of juniors and seniors, it was the freshman who stood out and had the game of his young career. Freshman second baseman Brooks Kettering went 2-for-3 with two home runs and four RBIs to push Southeast Missouri State past Southern Indiana 11-5 in the semifinal round of the OVC Tournament on Friday, May 24, in Marion, Illinois...

In a battle between the top two offenses in the Ohio Valley Conference, Southeast Missouri State proved it had the superior bats by defeating Morehead State 9-4 on Thursday, May 23, in Marion, Ill. The Redhawks advance to the semifinal round of the OVC Tournament at noon, Friday, where they will take on Jackson native Lane Crowden and the Screaming Eagles of Southern Indiana...

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...

Before diving into the storybook collegiate career of Kyle Miller, let’s do an exercise. Think back to the 2021 and 2022 Redhawks baseball teams that won the OVC Tournament. Who was right in the middle of it late in the game? If you said Miller, you would be spot on...

After an embarrassing end to the 2023 season in which the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks went the final month without a win, head coach Andy Sawyers reloaded the roster with a bevy of junior college transfers and one hot-shot freshman. It resulted in a 31-24 season including a 18-9 conference record that had the Redhawks within a single game of the regular season title. ...

The SEMO baseball program has had countless impactful players come through the program over the years. Among them is outfielder Josh Cameron. Cameron hails from Pflugerville, Texas, and is in his second and final season with the Redhawks. He got his start collegiately at Clarendon College, a community college in Texas, where he played in six games in 2020 as he had five hits and four RBIs...

The Southeast Missouri State Redhawks entered Saturday afternoon with a couple of different things at stake. They looked to sweep the UT Martin Skyhawks and secure the No. 2 seed in the OVC Tournament. With all that in play, the Redhawks handed the ball to junior right-handed Brian Strange...

One swing of the bat changed the game and turned the tides in the Redhawks' favor. Ben Palmer hit his 16th home run of the season in the bottom of the eighth inning to break a 1-1 tie and give Southeast Missouri State a 3-2 win over UT Martin on Thursday, May 16, at Capaha Field...

One conversation between friends led to Haden Dow's arrival at Southeast Missouri State. Two seasons later, Dow cements his status as the Redhawks ace in his final career start at Capaha field. Dow stifled the Skyhawks through 6.1 innings, allowing one run on four hits with three strikeouts in the Redhawks' 3-2 win over UT Martin on Thursday, May 16, at Capaha Field...

On a night that was originally reserved as a homecoming for Jackson High School and Cape Catfish alum Caden Bogenpohl, Michael Mugan and the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks stole the show with a 5-3 win over Missouri State on Tuesday, May 7, at Capaha Field...

The Southeast Missouri State baseball team showcased a tribute to the St. Louis Browns, who went to Cape Girardeau for spring training due to World War II travel restrictions and went to the 1944 World Series. The Redhawks wore specially made custom jerseys made out of the style of the Browns from that time period. All the jerseys were then signed and sold in an auction...

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...

The Southeast Missouri State baseball team (21-20) returned to above .500 on the season after a 8-5 win over Southern Illinois on Tuesday, April 23, at Capaha Field. The Redhawks have now played SIU twice, Murray State twice and Missouri once on the road, and have won all five games. For them, playing their rivals means something different, as shortstop Ben Palmer alluded to when he said, “there’s a different kind of energy when you get to the ball field.”...

Capaha Field is the jewel of Cape Girardeau sports. Nestled in the middle of Capaha field, it is home to the oldest amateur baseball team in America, an NCAA Division I baseball team, an exciting collegiate summer baseball team, numerous high school baseball games, and most recently, the Babe Ruth World Series. This old but enduring ballpark is active from mid-February through August...

The Southeast Missouri State Redhawks baseball team hit the road for a three-game set against Tennessee Tech, a battle of two of the top teams in the OVC. Ultimately, a 4-3 loss on Sunday saw the Redhawks drop the series after the two clubs split the opening two games of the series...

Andy Sawyers won his 200th career victory as Southeast Missouri State head baseball coach as the Redhawks (19-18) paced the Racers of Murray State 15-8 in Murray, Ky. Caleb Corbin led the Redhawks with three hits, two home runs, and four RBIs. The Redhawks have hit 61 home runs as a team, which is good for second in the Ohio Valley Conference...

On the day the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks celebrated Masters Sunday at Capaha Field, the Redhawks baseball team channeled their inner Tiger Woods with pure domination while wearing Sunday red. The Redhawks cruised to a 12-2 win over the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles on Sunday to take the rubber match of the three-game series...

Entering the weekend, the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks were 5-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference. Squaring off with a fellow OVC contender in the Little Rock Trojans, the Redhawks dropped the series but salvaged the weekend with a big 16-3 win on Sunday...

A two-home run day by Ty Stauss led the way to a 13-3 win in the rubber match of the three-game series between the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks and the SIUE Cougars. With a sour taste in their mouth after blowing an eight-run lead the night before, the Redhawks bats came out with a purpose...

After finishing the early non-conference schedule with a less-than-desirable record, Southeast baseball (12-13, 3-0) made a loud statement over the weekend in its conference-opening series. The Redhawks went on the road to Charleston, Illinois, for a series at Eastern Illinois (5-16, 0-3) and smothered the Panthers in their house, scoring a whopping 56 runs in the series...

At SEMO athletics, it seems like a tradition to struggle against non-conference opponents and enter the Ohio Valley Conference slate feeling confident in the team's chances of turning the season around and making a run towards the championship. The softball team went 9-12 against non-conference opponents before dominating the OVC on their way to the regular season title. ...

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...

West Virginia, mountain momma. Take SEMO home, country road. The Southeast Missouri State baseball team travels to Marshall for a weekend series at 5 p.m., Friday, 2 p.m., Saturday, and noon Sunday, March 8-10. It will be the first-ever matchup between the Redhawks (6-8) and Thundering Herd (4-8), a member of the Sun Belt Conference. The Redhawks will have the honor of being the third visiting team to play on the newly built Jack Cook Field in Huntington, West Virginia...

Tuesday’s midweek contest between the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders and the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks felt eerily similar to Sunday’s game for Redhawks fans. Like in Sunday’s 10-9 loss to Toledo, one bad inning burned the Redhawks in an 8-2 loss to the Blue Raiders...

Southeast Missouri State shortstop Ben Palmer has been on quite the offensive start three weeks into the 2024 season. The senior has not only reached base safely in every game this season but also tied his career high in home runs when he hit his fifth bomb during Saturday’s doubleheader in which SEMO swept by a combined score of 25-3...

After a rocky beginning to the 2024 season, SEMO baseball got back on track last week with a 4-1 showing. Perhaps the highlight of the week came during the Redhawks’ 8-3 road win at the University of Missouri. With the Redhawks rallying in the fifth, Bryce Cannon launched a grand slam to right field that stunned the Tiger faithful...

If you like offense, then hopefully you were at Capaha Field on Sunday afternoon. After the Redhawks won the first three games of the series, a Sunday slugfest that saw 19 runs and 27 hits swung in favor of the Toledo Rockets as they downed the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks 10-9...

Southeast Missouri State outfielder Josh Cameron started Friday’s game against Toledo by robbing a potential home run and ended it with a homer of his own. On the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the ninth inning, the SEMO senior slammed a walk-off blast to lift the Redhawks over the Rockets 6-5 on March 1, at Capaha Field...

Entering Taylor Stadium four games below even on the season, expectations seemed to be tempered for Southeast’s Tuesday matchup at Missouri – until they weren’t. With the Tigers supposedly running a scheduled “bullpen day,” the Redhawks took stark advantage and jumped out to an early lead...

Southeast Missouri State outfielder Michael Mugan hit his fourth home run of the season to lead the Redhawks to a series-salvaging 10-3 win over St. Thomas on Sunday, Feb. 25, at Capaha Field. "Kind of a frustrating weekend for us on a lot of parts," Mugan said. "We were struggling to let the ball get to us coming off that weekend at Dallas Baptist. We were out in front all weekend and we made some adjustments as a team where we weren't gonna get beat deep and just kind of let it come to me."...

Technology has continued to make its way into the game of baseball. It is now making its way to the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks baseball program as a donation of the Gameday Signals electronic pitch-calling system has changed things for the Redhawks...

It was no coincidence that the first home game of the 2024 baseball season at Southeast Missouri State University was a mid-60 degree day. The sun was out with no sign of winter weather to be seen or felt, and just enough wind for the Redhawks to take advantage of, as they rallied in the sixth inning to beat Murray State 8-7 on Wednesday, Feb. 21, at Capaha Field...

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...

There are few times in which a team can look the part while losing, but Southeast Missouri State baseball may have accomplished that feat over the weekend. Traveling to Dallas to face off against the Dallas Baptist Patriots, one of the country’s top mid-major teams, the Redhawks took a trio of tight losses in which they competed every time...

After spending a year in Cape Girardeau, the one thing that has pleasantly surprised me about this place is how many athletes currently competing at Southeast Missouri State who have aspirations for a career in journalism. Chandler Davis plays on the SEMO women’s basketball team and recently covered the football team as a reporter for the student newspaper, the Southeast Arrow. ...

Jackson native among 2023 SEMO Hall of Fame class Southeast Missouri State announced its 2023 Hall of Fame Class on Wednesday, Dec. 13. Among the six-member class is Jackson native Blake Smith, who currently runs the Cape Girardeau based athletic training center, Prep Athletics...

Have you ever wanted to learn how to camp and fish with an “elite tent camper,” who also serves as the head football coach at Southeast Missouri State (Tom Matukewicz)?

What was made official on Thursday, Dec. 7, began taking place in July, a month for Southeast Missouri State alum Noah Niznik where one path to the dream closed and another opened. After the Redhawks were knocked out of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament this past May, the focus for Niznik was set on getting selected in the MLB Draft, which took place during the All-Star Break in the middle of July...