CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Milwaukee baseball wrapped up its three-game swing at Southeast Missouri on Sunday afternoon and dropped the rubber match of the three-game set with the Redhawks by a 13-7 score.
 
Milwaukee had a season-high in runs with seven and tied its season-high with 14 on the day, while also tying its season-high with three doubles. The Panthers raised their batting average as a team by over .100 points from the previous game hitting .341 on the day and .268 as a team through the first 10 games.
 
Tommy Benson led the way with four hits in as many at bats as he drove in one and scored a run. Four other Panthers also had multi-hit days as Marcus Cline was 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI, Aaron Chapman was 2-for-5 with a run scored, Justin Hausser was 2-for-3 with a run scored, and Jack Thelen was 2-for-5 with a home run, two RBIs and a pair of runs scored.
 
"We did a lot of good things today, unfortunately we just didn't pitch well enough", said head coach Scott Doffek postgame. "Against an offense like this you're going to get burned."
 
Milwaukee started Eliot Turnquist, who allowed six Redhawk runs over three innings of work with three strikeouts. Dylan Szajkovics let up two runs over 1 1/3 innings, while Gavin Theis yielded two runs over 1 2/3 innings. Tyler Deleskiewicz allowed two in the seventh, and Mike Sullivan let up one in the eighth.
 
"It's disappointing that we were not able to win this series," added Doffek. "We certainly put ourselves in a position to do so but we have to do a better job of competing through the whistle."
 
Southeast Missouri scored two in the bottom of the first inning on a leadoff single, and a two-run home run.
 
The Panthers bounced right back as Chapman opened the top of the second with a single, followed by a base knock off the bat of Hausser. Thelen drove home the first Milwaukee run with a single into left, before Benson tacked on another run with a single to chase Hausser home. Two batters later Ty Olejnik gave Milwaukee the lead with a sacrifice fly to left field.
 
Spotted a one-run lead, Turnquist got the first batter on a groundout before yielding a one-out single. Milwaukee's starter retired the next two to send the game to the third.
 
After MKE went down in order in the top of the third, the Redhawks scored four runs in the bottom of the inning to regain the lead as Southeast Missouri collected five hits in the frame including a pair of doubles.
 
In the fourth, Thelen got the Panthers another run closer with a one-out solo home run, before Benson doubled followed by another double off the bat of Thomas Otto. After the lineup turned back over for Milwaukee Seidel picked up an RBI single to bring Otto around and knot the game at six through four innings.
 
The bottom of the fifth saw SEMO regained the lead as it put together another four-run inning to take a 10-6 lead.
 
Milwaukee got one back in the sixth as Benson reached on an infield single and was erased on a fielder's choice. Olejnik reached on an error to put two runners on as Seidel grounded out to put runners on the corners. Cline pinch hit and drove in Otto to draw the Panthers back within three.
 
Southeast Missouri continued to answer all of Milwaukee's comeback attempts with a two-spot in the bottom of the seventh to take a its largest lead of the game at 12-7. The Redhawks hit a leadoff home run in the bottom of the eighth to cap off the scoring. 
 
Milwaukee does not have a midweek game this week, and will be back in action this coming weekend when the Panthers head to Kentucky for three against the Murray State Racers beginning on Friday, March 10 at 3:00 p.m.