Southeast Missouri (3-8, 0-0 OVC) vs. UT Martin (9-9, 0-0 OVC)

Game Information
Date: Tuesday, Mar. 17, 2015
Time: 3 p.m., CT (DH)
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Stadium: Southeast Softball Complex (600)
Head Coaches: Mark Redburn (169-235 overall; 3-8 at Southeast; 0-0 OVC). Donley Canary (443-325-2 overall; 443-325-2 at UT Martin; 201-118 OVC).
Weather Forecast: Mostly Sunny, 56 degrees

Media Coverage
Live Stats: Game 1 | Game 2
Twitter Updates: @SEMOsoftball
Southeast Missouri Notes

Redhawks Open Ohio Valley Conference Play
Southeast Missouri (3-8) opens Ohio Valley Conference play when it hosts UT Martin (9-9) in a doubleheader Tuesday. Start time is 3 p.m., CT, at the Southeast Softball Complex.

Closing in on 100
First-year Southeast head coach Mark Redburn is closing in on 100 NCAA Division I career wins. Prior to taking over the Redhawks helm, Redburn spent five seasons as head coach at the University of Evansville. He presently has 93 victories as an NCAA Division I head coach. Redburn got his first win at Southeast when the Redhawks beat Grambling State, 11-7, on Feb. 14 at the Mardi Gras Classic in Monroe, La.

OVC Openers
Southeast is 14-9 all-time in Ohio Valley Conference openers. This year marks the sixth time the Redhawks and UT Martin meet to start league play. These teams also started the conference season against each other in 1992, 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2005. Southeast won its OVC-opener in three of the last four seasons.

Home Openers
The Redhawks own a 17-6 record in home-openers since moving to the NCAA Division I level in 1992. Southeast is 123-112 (.523) all-time at the Southeast Softball Complex.

Schedule Shift
The Redhawks and Skyhawks were initially scheduled to meet in a three-game series on Mar. 14-15. That was condensed into a doubleheader due to inclement weather in Cape Girardeau over the weekend.

Weather Intrudes
Southeast has been limited to 11 games due to inclement weather this season. The Redhawks 11 games are the fewest of any Ohio Valley Conference school at this point in the year. Southeast had a total of 11 cancellations since the start of the 2015 campaign.

Southeast Drops Doubleheader at #19 Missouri
The Redhawks dropped a doubleheader on the road at in-state rival and No. 19/21 Missouri (Mar. 11). Southeast had a 1-0 lead with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning of game one when Kelsea Roth delivered a game-winning two-RBI single to left. Missouri went on to sweep the doubleheader with a 10-1 win in the nightcap.

Southeast Leads OVC in Hitting
Southeast currently leads the Ohio Valley Conference with a .312 batting average through 11 games this season. The Redhawks have pounded out double-digit hits three times, with a season-high 18 at Grambling State (Feb. 15).

Over .400
The Redhawks enter their Ohio Valley Conference opener with three players hitting over .400. Kayla Fortner leads the team and the conference with a .467 clip, while  Lindsey Patterson and Nicole Deering follow hitting .429, respectively.

Yard Work
Kayla Fortner has homered in six of her 11 starts during her first year at Southeast. Fortner hit a home run in her first four games of the season, becoming the first Redhawk to homer in four-straight games since Shelby Kuryllo in 2011. She ranks second in the Ohio Valley Conference in home runs. Fortner also rates second in the nation in RBI per game, third in home runs per game and seventh in slugging percentage (1.067).

Toughest to Strikeout
Outfielder Alexis Anderson leads the nation in toughest to strikeout. Anderson has struck out only one time in 29 at-bats through 11 games and nine starts. She did not strike out in her first 24 at-bats of the season. Anderson played in just eight games due to injury in 2014 and was later granted a medical hardship. As a team, Southeast has struck out a league-low 32 times.

Keep it Going
Kayla Fortner has reached base in all 11 of Southeast's games this season. Lindsey Patterson also carries a five-game hitting streak into this weekend's series against UT Martin.

We Meet Again
Southeast and UT Martin have already played this season at the Southeastern Louisiana Lion Classic Scramble on Feb. 27. UTM won that game by a score of 2-1 in extra innings. The game was tied 1-1 after seven innings before Carly Gonzales scored the decisive run on a walkoff walk. Gonzales scored both of the Skyhawks runs in that game. UTM holds a nine-game winning streak in its all-time series against Southeast. The Skyhawks are 15-1 in the last 16 meetings between these teams.

Spring Break
Southeast's spring break is this week. With the addition of Tuesday's twin bill against UT Martin, the Redhawks have eight games scheduled during their break. Southeast will remain home to host Indiana State Wednesday before resuming Ohio Valley Conference action at Tennessee Tech (Mar. 21) and Jacksonville State (Nov. 22).

McDannold Playing Strong
Freshman outfielder Taylor McDannold is off to a nice start in her rookie season at Southeast. A native of Rocheport, Mo., McDannold is fourth on the team with a .389 batting average through 11 starts. She leads the team in doubles (5), ranks second in runs scored (7) and is third in RBI (6), as well. McDannold is one of four Redhawks who have started all 11 games, along with Kayla Fortner, Lindsey Patterson and Savannah Carpenter.

Young Pitching
Three underclassmen, including sophomores Aubrey Denno and Keaira Schilling, and freshman Madeline Krumrey form Southeast's pitching staff this season. Schilling presently leads the Redhawks with two wins in five starts. Krumrey, who also made five starts, boasts a team-high 13 strikeouts in 31.1 innings. She also worked 6.2 innings en route to her first career win at Southeastern Louisiana (Feb. 27), the longest outing of any Redhawk pitcher this year.