CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Southeast Missouri took advantage of four SIUE errors, scoring eight unearned runs. The Redhawks beat the Cougars 15-4 in the opener of a three-game Ohio Valley Conference baseball series Friday.

SIUE is now 2-2 on OVC play and 8-18 overall. Southeast Missouri improved to 4-0 in OVC play and 13-13 overall.

"Anytime you make the defensive miscues that we did tonight it is really difficult to overcome," SIUE Head Coach Sean Lyons said.

Southeast Missouri manufactured a run in the third without a hit, instead using a walk, a hit batter, a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly to bring in the game's first run.

The Redhawks pushed four runs across in the fourth inning on an SIUE error, two doubles and a two-run home run by Brooks Kettering to give SEMO a 5-0 lead.

Kettering was 2-3 with four RBIs for Southeast Missouri.

Two more Redhawk runs in the fifth chased starter Tyler DeLong (1-2). DeLong worked 4.1 innings, allowing seven runs, six of them earned, on four hits.

Southeast Missouri then scored eight times in the sixth, including seven unearned runs, to push its lead to 15-0.

"The wheels sort of came off in the sixth," Lyons said. "When things go south, we have a hard time getting them back on track."

Ian Benner was charged with seven of the runs, all but one of which was unearned.

SIUE sent nine hitters to the plate in the seventh inning and scored four times on five hits. Chase Bloomer and Drew Mize each had RBI-hits in the inning.

SEMO outhit SIUE 15-6 for the game. Six Cougars had a single hit apiece, including Lucas Spence, the OVC's leading hitter. He was 1-3 to extend his hitting streak to 11 games.

Southeast Missouri starter Brian Stange (2-2) allowed three runs in six innings for the win.

Game two of the series is set for a 6 p.m. first pitch Friday night.

"We move on to tomorrow and will try to even the series," Lyons added.