SEMO Prepares for Oxford Regional

By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com

The Southeast Missouri State Redhawks enter the Oxford Regional as the four seed by claiming the Ohio Valley Conference Championship. SEMO will take on the host school Ole Miss on Friday. The first pitch is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN3.

SEMO is 30-20 overall after winning 19 of their last 27 games.

“We played well all season,” head coach Andy Sawyers said. “We have been consistent all year. We have won 12 of the 14 series.”

Back in February, the Redhawks took on the Arkansas Razorbacks in a four-game series in Fayetteville. In the first game, SEMO took Arkansas to extra innings to fall by the score of 6-5. 

“We dropped all four games at Arkansas,” Swayers said. 

According to Swayers, his club has been steady and consistent and stayed in the middle emotionally.

“That is what we need in front of 16,000 fans in Swayze tomorrow night,” Swayers said. “When we were at Fayetteville, the park was not fully open and only 4,000 fans (were) there and (it was) all-day games.”

This season, the Redhawks have played steady-and-even baseball.

“They play with a ton of confidence in Dylon (Dodd),” Swayers said. “They feel like he is going to keep them in the game. The biggest challenge for us is mastering the emotions and the environment.”

Dodd’s the ace of the staff for SEMO. On the season, he has tossed over 90 innings with a 2.78 ERA.

“(Dylan) added the breaking ball this season,” Swayers said. “He has always been a fastball change-up guy.”