Valparaiso dropped both games of Friday afternoon’s twinbill against Southeast Missouri State, falling 17-4 and 5-3 at Capaha Field in Cape Girardeau, Mo.

The Crusaders started quickly in the opener, scoring three times in the opening inning.  Kyle Muhlsteff (Yorba Linda, Calif./Esperanza H.S.) led off with a homerun.  Will Hagel (Arlington Heights, Ill./Prospect H.S.) added a two-out single to score Justin Frane (Huntertown, Ind./Carroll H.S.) and Paul Heinkel (Fond du Lac, Wis./Winnebago Lutheran Academy) followed with another run-scoring hit to plate Kyle Gaedele (Arlington Heights, Ill./Prospect H.S.).

The Redhawks responded in the bottom of the first scoring four times.  A Kody Campbell three-run homer put the hosts on top after a run-scoring single.

Four more hits by SEMO in the second led to three more runs, increasing the lead to 7-3.

Robbie Robinson (Brea, Calif./Olinda H.S.) added a RBI groundout in the third to plate Gaedele to cut Valpo’s deficit to three, but the Redhawks scored the game’s next 10 runs.

Five more runs came home in the fourth and five more scored in the eighth, four of which were unearned, as SEMO earned the victory.

Gaedele and Hagel led Valpo in the opener with two hits each as the Brown and Gold tallied 10 on the afternoon.  Michael Adamson led Southeast Missouri State’s 20-hit attack, going 4-for-5 with four runs batted in.

Kyle Guimieny went the distance for the complete game victory (3-0) for the Redhawks, striking out three and not walking a hitter.  Bryce Shafer (Wabash, Ind./Northfield H.S.) suffered the loss (2-2) for the Crusaders, pitching three innings and allowing 11 runs and 11 hits.

“We didn’t get the ball down today and we got hit hard,” head coach Tracy Woodson said.  “We jumped on them in the opener with three in the first, but then let them pitch a complete game.  That can’t happen.”

In the nightcap, SEMO took the lead in the opening inning, scoring on an opening inning fielder’s choice.  A three-run third, keyed by four hits, including a two-run double by Blake Slattery, increased the lead to 4-0.

A Frane sacrifice fly in the fifth put Valpo on the scoreboard, but the Redhawks got the run back in the bottom of the inning.

The Crusaders tried to rally in the seventh, and final inning, scoring twice.  David Klein (Aurora, Ill./Oswego East H.S.) plated one when he reached on an error while Heinkel followed with a RBI after being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.  The sacks remained full with one out, but a strikeout and a ground out ended the game.

Frane and Klein each had two hits as part of the nine-hit attack for the Crusaders while Jim Klocke went 3-for-3 to lead Southeast Missouri’s 11-hit effort.

Jordan Underwood (1-3) earned the win for the Redhawks, pitching five innings, allowing just one run and five hits while Shae Simmons got the final two outs in the seventh for his first save of the season.  Jon Gulbransen (Appleton, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran H.S.) suffered the loss (1-2), pitching 4.1 innings and allowing five runs and 11 hits.

Valparaiso (5-14) and Southeast Missouri State (10-8) are scheduled to wrap up their weekend series on Saturday afternoon with a 1 p.m. contest.