SEMO was victorious against the Southern Illinois Salukis 6-2 in a “fill the hill” game on April 25. The victory was SEMO’s first win against the Salukis since the 2019 season.

The Redhawks were led in part by junior right handed pitcher Payton Lawrence. Lawrence exited the game after 6 ⅓ innings pitched with seven strikeouts and only two earned runs. Lawrence said his goal was simply to compete.

“ I didn't know if I was gonna have my best stuff, I didn’t know if I was gonna have my worst stuff. But when you're on the mound just compete every single pitch,” Lawrence said.

The start was Lawrence’s first since April 15 against Tennessee Tech when he was only able to pitch 1 ⅓ innings before being pulled. Head coach Andy Sawyers said the difference today was Lawrence’s command on his fastball.

“He hasn’t had fastball command, but tonight he had it,” Sawyers said. “He was throwing strikes, moving the ball in and out, up and down, and he was in command of himself and all the pitches.”

On offense SEMO got on the board early in the 1st inning when junior utility player Chance Resetich hit a two-run homerun, even though he was told by coaches to lay off the very pitch he swung at.

“We were told to lay off the breaking ball, and I swung on a breaking ball. It was kind of a reactionary swing, but it worked for the best,” Resetich said.

After Southern Illinois tied the game at two a piece, the Redhawks went back on top when senior outfielder Brett Graber hit a two-run single that scored fellow outfielders Jevon Mason and Josh Cameron. SEMO would not look back from that point and added two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning.