Redhawks run up stakes, clobber Louisiana Tech in Fayetteville elimination game

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.

Led by an electric start from Brian Strange on the mound, throwing 6.2 innings of three-run ball as the Redhawk offense ran wild, SEMO got the edge it needed to finally get a tournament win.

A win 22 years in the making, having last won an NCAA Tournament game in May 2002 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, over the Crimson Tide in a regional opener.

Ian Riley got the offense going with a two-run shot in the second inning to put the Redhawks up two, which fed into an eventual seven-run fourth that saw SEMO split the game wide open.

Already having five runs on the board, Josh Cameron kept his hot streak alive, mashing a grand slam to put the Redhawks up 9-1 as they cruised to the win after.

In a crushing Friday loss, the Southeast Missouri offense had little-to-no problems generating baserunners, even against some of the Razorbacks’ toughest pitchers.

Having faced some of the best pitchers in the nation already just 24 hours prior, it set up quite well against the Conference-USA opponent on Saturday afternoon.

Riley and Cameron both finished with four RBIs, Cameron’s all coming on one swing, while Riley started the fourth-inning rally with a two-run single to make it a three-run game.

Averaging nine runs a game, obviously, following two nine-run performances on the first two games of the weekend, Southeast Misosuri has the iron red-hot entering Sunday action.

Whether the Redhawks face Kansas State of the Big 12 or create a rematch against the Arkansas Razorbacks, the offense’s confidence is as high as ever following another brilliant performance Saturday.

That’s half the battle for a small mid-major school facing off against power conference foes such as these.

Still with a couple of great pitchers up his sleeve and ace Haden Dow potentially ready to go again after a short appearance Friday, coach Andy Sawyers has options going into Sunday, which is huge.

Any time you schedule a handful of games in a short amount of time, arm management is a huge place of concern, but the SEMO rotation is deep enough to be competitive at this stage.

Moving into a 1 p.m. Sunday game against either No. 5 Arkansas or Kansas State, the Redhawks have a little less than a day to rest and recuperate from a huge win for the program on Saturday.

Against one of the best teams in the nation regardless, with the loser’s time in Fayetteville finished, the Redhawks will look to buy one more game, and maybe one more day in the Natural State.