SEMO baseball makes a statement, smokes Evansville 17-6 behind Rocha’s 3-run shot

CAPE GIRARDEAU – Out of all of Southeast Missouri State’s 17 runs scored Tuesday evening, the loudest three came from the one player that perhaps needed them the most.

Junior designated hitter Mikey Rocha launched a three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth, and the Redhawks coasted to a 17-6 beatdown over Evansville on Tuesday, Mar. 11, at Capaha Field.

Rocha, who entered the game hitting a team-low .182 average, got his swagger back with the three-run jack, which was his first-career homer at Capaha, to help spark SEMO’s offensive outburst.

“It's pretty special,” said Rocha, who transferred from Santa Ana Junior College this past offseason. “It’s great to come through for this team and this group of guys. They're really supportive, so it means the most.”

Indeed, Rocha needed a game like this, as did the entire team.

“There's no bigger motivation to keep on going after doing something like that,” said Rocha, who went 1-for-2 in the game. “It was difficult at first and I had to adjust. But, stuff like that keeps me going, for sure.”

Senior third baseman Caleb Corbin and junior catcher Liam Forsyth also connected with home runs, as the mercy rule ended the ball game after seven innings.

While SEMO (9-7) slugged its way to a runaway victory over a talented Purple Aces squad that reached an NCAA Super Regional in 2024, starting pitcher Caden Kickhaefer and the bullpen benefitted from a 14-hit barrage and had more run support than they could have asked for.

Kickhaefer, whose previous two appearances this season came as a reliever, fanned six batters and allowed three runs on four hits through 3.2 innings – a performance that was more than enough to impress head coach Andy Sawyers.

“His changeup is unhittable at this point,” Sawyers said. “They knew it was coming and they still couldn't hit it. It's a great, great changeup. The runs were a little bit, ‘eh.’ Thought we could have done a better job with the wall ball that led to an inside-the-park homer, and then he walked the leadoff hitter in the third, and that led to a run. So, I thought those runs could have been fairly easily prevented. He was good.”

After Evansville outfielder Harrison Taubert hit the inside-the-park homer on the second at-bat of the game, SEMO broke things open with a five-run first, aided by a Bryce Cannon RBI double and Corbin’s two-run shot. Rocha’s three-run homer in the fourth made it 11-3 before Cannon’s bases-clearing triple in the sixth put the finishing touches on the evening.

It was the second-largest win of the season for SEMO, which earned its third straight win and avenged a pair of single-run losses to Evansville (5-10) last season. In the month of March, the Redhawks are now averaging six runs per game, even after scoring a combined one run in the first two games of the series against Indiana State this past weekend.

But Sawyers’ biggest takeaway from Tuesday’s victory? Pitching.

“I think we're pitching it really well,” Sawyers said. “We're leading the league in pitching. We're leading the league in strikeouts and have the fewest amount of walks. We're really pitching at a high level. So, I love that. That's what we've done better than anything. We're going to be a very good offense. I know we are. I know we did not score as much as we would have liked early, but we have good hitters and it's only a matter of time. Now we're starting to score.”

Junior reliever Eddie White, who earned All-OVC Freshman honors back in 2023, was credited with the win. The right-hander allowed one run on two hits in 2.1 innings, struck out three, and didn't walk anyone.

Red-hot slugger Cole Warehime, who entered the game with a team-high in batting average (.357) and home runs (4), showed no sign of slowing down after going 2-for-3 with a game-high five RBIs and one walk. Center fielder Michael Mugan impressed as well, going 3-for-4 with three runs scored. Eight other Redhawks reached base in the game.

After playing five games in the past five days, SEMO’s jam-packed schedule continues tomorrow afternoon with a mid-week road trip to Saint Louis University at 2 p.m.

“It's spring break and they’ve got their girlfriends sending them pictures of the beach and all that,” Sawyers said of the busy schedule. “We practiced on Monday, played on Tuesday, and are playing on Wednesday. I think maybe in their hearts they wanted a day off Monday, but I said, ‘We're not there yet, boys. We can get better. So, don't expect a day off.’ Because it comes down to like, ‘Hey, you guys all say you want to play pro ball, right? This is what pro ball is. You're at the yard every day, all day, and then we go get to hop on a bus. This is what it is.’ So, it’s like we're playing pro baseball for 10 days. Let's have some fun with it.”

And if there’s one player who doesn’t want a day off right now, it’s the six-foot, 200-pound California native at DH.

“I feel like I've had a lot better at-bats lately,” Rocha said. “This can be the start of something. I don't want to slow down.”