Southeast Missouri (14-27) vs. Southern Illinois (20-24)
Game Information
Date: Thursday, April 25, 2013
Host: Southeast Missouri State
First Pitch: 5:00 p.m.
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Stadium: Southeast Softball Complex
Head Coaches:
Lana Richmond (872-670-2 overall, 31st season);
Southern Illinois: Kerri Blaylock (14th year)
Weather Forecast:
Thursday: sunny, high of 65°
Complete Redhawks Softball Notebook
Scouting the Salukis
Southern Illinois is currently 21-24 on the season and are sixth in current Missouri Valley Conference standings. On Tuesday, SIU defeated MVC foe Evansville 4-3 in Carbondale. The game started with a first inning grand slam by the Salukis. SIU held off an Aces rally late in the game for the win. Morgan Barchan is leading the Salukis with a .371 batting average with nine doubles and a team-high 39 runs scored. Jayna Spivey is hitting .304 with 11 home runs and an impressive 40 RBIs this season. The Salukis' go-to pitcher is Brittney Lang. Lang has pitched 164.0 innings, holds a 4.31 ERA, and has struck out 111 batters. Katie Burtelsen has a team-best 2.70 ERA with a 3-2 record.
Series History
All-time against the Salukis, the Redhawks are 28-76-1 as SIU has won the last 14 meetings. The last time Southeast defeated SIU came in 2001. Last season, SIU posted four runs in the fifth inning to take a 7-5 lead and was able to hold off the Redhawk offense for the win.
Last Time Out
Southeast hosted the final OVC inter-division series of the season Apr. 20-21 against Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State. Southeast split both doubleheaders; winning game one against the Colonels,12-11, dropping game two, 6-4, and losing game one to the Eagles, 7-6, winning game two, 5-4. The Redhawk offense hit .351 on the weekend with Alexis Anderson leading the way with a .563 batting average. Anderson scored six runs with one double and four RBI. Half of Anderson's runs came in game one against Morehead State. Anderson had at least two hits and at least one run in each contest.
31 Years of Excellence
Lana Richmond is in her 31st season as the head coach of the Redhawks. Coach Richmond's career record at Southeast is 872-670-2. She is currently one win away from capturing her 600th NCAA Division I victory (599-530-2). The five-time Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year currently ranks 40th in victories of all NCAA Division I head coaches.
Montgomery Bank Athlete of the Week
Anderson was named the Montgomery Bank Female Athlete of the Week for the second time this season last week. Anderson, who hails from Buford, Ga., hit .556 (5-for-9) in a three-game series against Ohio Valley Conference leader Eastern Illinois last weekend. Anderson went 4-for-6 with two home runs helping the Redhawks split a doubleheader with the Panthers Saturday. She then added one hit in Sunday's series finale. Anderson boasted a 1.222 slugging percentage for the week, as well.
Preseason Poll
The 2013 Preseason OVC Poll was released Jan. 16. Southeast was picked to finish fifth in the West Division of the conference. With the inclusion of Belmont and SIUE, 2013 is the first year for divisional play in the league, which features 12 teams for the first time in league history. Defending champion UT Martin led the West Division in voting while Jacksonville State led the East.
New OVC Formatting
With the inclusion of Belmont and SIUE into the conference this season, the conference has 12 schools for the first time in conference history: six teams in the East division, six in the West. Division play will consist of three-game series while inter-division play will consist of two-game doubleheaders.
Up Next...
The Redhawks travel to Austin Peay for a three-game series Saturday and Sunday. The Austin Peay series will be the last road trip for the Redhawks of the regular season. Southeast returns home for a doubleheader against Saint Louis May 1.
