Southeast Missouri (5-14, 2-4 OVC) vs. SIU Edwardsville (24-6, 6-1 OVC)

Series Information
Dates: Saturday-Sunday, Mar. 28-29, 2015
Schedule: Saturday - 1 p.m., CT (DH); Sunday - 1 p.m., CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Stadium: Southeast Softball Complex (600)
Head Coaches: Mark Redburn (171-241 overall; 5-14 at Southeast; 2-4 OVC). Sandy Montgomery (938-470-2 overall; 938-470-2 at SIUE; 74-38 OVC).
Weather Forecast: Saturday - Partly Couldy, 45 degrees; Sunday - Mostly Sunny, 59 degrees

Media Coverage
Live Stats: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Video: OVC Digital Network (Sunday Only)
Twitter Updates: @SEMOsoftball
Southeast Missouri Notes

Redhawks Host SIU Edwardsville
Southeast Missouri (5-14, 2-4) continues Ohio Valley Conference play when it hosts preseason favorite SIU Edwardsville (24-6, 6-1) this weekend. The Redhawks and Cougars will play a doubleheader at 1 p.m., CT, Saturday before wrapping up their series with a single game at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Follow the Redhawks
Live stats for all three games of this weekend's series between Southeast and SIU Edwardsville can be accessed online at GoSoutheast.com. Twitter updates will be provided @SEMOsoftball. Sunday's game will be webcast live online at the OVC Digital Network.

Soles4Souls
Southeast Missouri will be collecting new and gently worn shoes to support the Soles4Souls campaign at this weekend's softball series against SIU Edwardsville. The campaign honors the memory of Athletics Hall of Famer Moose Meystedt.

Dogs at the Diamond
Sunday's series finale will feature "Dogs at the Diamond." Bring your dog out to the game to win some raffle prizes and FREE treats!

Good to be Home
Southeast plays at home for just the third time this season when it takes the field against SIU Edwardsville. The Redhawks are currently 1-3 at home after splitting a doubleheader with UT Martin (Mar. 17) and dropping two games against Indiana State (Mar. 18). Southeast owns an all-time record of 124-115 (.519) at the Southeast Softball Complex.

Series History
The Redhawks hold a record of 7-11 against SIU Edwardsville since their move to the NCAA Division I level in 1992. SIUE owns a six-game winning streak in the series. The Cougars have outscored Southeast 55-4 over that span. The Redhawks last beat SIUE in 2012 (4-1, 9-8, in Cape Girardeau).

Let's Do it Again
Southeast will look to end a losing streak of six or more games in a series with an Ohio Valley Conference opponent for the third time this season. The Redhawks put an end to an eight-game skid in their series against UT Martin with a league-opening 9-6 victory on Mar. 17. Southeast then snapped a seven-game losing streak in its all-time series against Tennessee Tech with a 6-4 win on Mar. 21.

March Winds Down
The Redhawks play their final games in March against SIU Edwardsville this weekend. Southeast is 2-9 overall and 2-4 in the Ohio Valley Conference this month.

Weather Intrudes
Southeast has been limited to 19 games due to inclement weather this season. The Redhawks 19 games are the fewest any Ohio Valley Conference school has played at this point in the year. Southeast had a total of 11 cancellations in 2015. Both SIU Edwardsville (24) and Jacksonville State (20) presently have more wins than the Redhawks have games played.

Fortner is Rolling
Outfielder Kayla Fortner is on a tear in her first year at Southeast this season. Fortner leads the Ohio Valley Conference in batting average (.481 among individuals who played a minimum of 19 games) and RBI (29), and is tied for second in home runs (8). She was second in the nation in RBI per game (1.6) and 12th in both batting average and home runs per contest through games of Mar. 22. Fortner also boasts a 1.019 slugging percentage, ranking seventh nationally in that category.

Extra, Extra
Of Kayla Fortner's team-high 25 hits, 12 have gone for extra bases. Fortner homered in each of her first four games of the season and leads Southeast with eight this year. She reached base in 18 of her 19 games this season and sports a team-best .586 on-base percentage (16th in the nation). Fortner needs just two more home runs to join Southeast's all-time single-season leaders.

Southeast Leads OVC in Hitting
Southeast currently leads the Ohio Valley Conference with a .314 batting average through 19 games this season. The Redhawks have pounded out double-digit hits six times, with a season-high 18 at Grambling State (Feb. 15). Southeast and Murray State (.312) are the only OVC teams hitting over .300 this year.

Over .340
The Redhawks enter the weekend with five starters hitting over .340. Kayla Fortner leads that group with a .481 clip, while Lindsey Patterson (.381), Savannah Carpenter (.361), Taylor McDannold (.348) and Alexis Anderson (.345) follow. Fortner, Patterson, McDannold and Carpenter have started all 19 games, while Anderson has made 17 starts.

Five to Go
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 95 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.

Patterson Delivers
Lindsey Patterson saw her batting average jump 21 points over the last three games. Patterson, who started all 19 games at first base this season, hit .461 (6-for-13) with three runs scored, a home run and three RBI during that stretch. Her three-run homer gave Southeast a 5-4 lead in the sixth inning at Jacksonville State (Mar. 23). Patterson's strong week raised her average from .360 to .381 on the year.

Yard Work
The Redhawks have homered in 10 games and have a total of 15 through 19 contests this year. Southeast recently ended a streak of six games it went without hitting a home run when it had two at Jacksonville State (Mar. 23). Five different Redhawks have hit a home run this season, including Kayla Fortner (8), Lindsey Patterson (3), Leah Duffe (2), Alexis Anderson (1) and Darby Pruett (1).

Krumrey Goes the Distance
Freshman Madeline Krumrey became the first Redhawk pitcher to throw a complete game this season. Krumrey recorded a season-high four strikeouts in eight innings during a loss to Indiana State (Mar. 18). She leads Southeast in complete games (2), wins (3), strikeouts (27), ERA (4.91), innings pitched (57) and starts (9). Krumrey has gone the distance in two of her last three starts.

McDannold Playing Strong
Freshman outfielder Taylor McDannold is having a strong rookie season at Southeast. A native of Rocheport, Mo., McDannold is fourth on the team with a .348 batting average through 19 starts. She leads the team in doubles (6), ranks third in runs scored (8) and is third in RBI (11). McDannold is one of only four Redhawks who have started every game.

Fortner Does it Again
Outfielder Kayla Fortner was named the adidas® Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week for the second time this season on Mar. 23. Fortner hit .556 in six starts for Southeast last week. She went 10-for-18 with four runs scored, four doubles, a home run and 12 RBI. Fortner narrowly missed hitting for the cycle in Southeast's OVC opening win against UT Martin (Mar. 17), going 3-for-3 with two runs scored, a home run, double and three RBI. She ended her strong week with a 4-for-4 effort in the Redhawks win at Tennessee Tech (Mar. 21). Fortner joined SIU Edwardsville's Haley Chambers who was tabbed Pitcher of the Week.

Honor Alert
Kayla Fortner's two Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week honors this year surpass Southeast's entire total of OVC weekly awards in the last four seasons combined. The Redhawks won only one OVC award in that span when Haylee Krack was named Player of the Week on Mar. 31, 2014. This year marks the first since 2010 where Southeast has won multiple OVC weekly awards in the same season.

Extra Bases
Southeast matched a season-high seven extra base hits in its win over UT Martin on Mar. 17. The Redhawks had two home runs, four doubles and a triple in that game. Southeast had an extra base hit in each of its last eight games.

Late Game Leads
The Redhawks dropped a total of 11 games when leading after four or more innings this year and were defeated four times in walkoff fashion. Southeast also lost three extra-inning games and four one-run contests.

About SIU Edwardsville
Ohio Valley Conference preseason favorite SIU Edwardsville comes to Cape Girardeau on a seven-game winning streak. The Cougars, who have won 15 of their last 17 games, lead the league in overall (24) and OVC (6) wins this season. SIUE is currently second in the league standings behind Jacksonville State, which owns a 4-0 league mark. The Cougars lead the OVC and rank 16th in the nation with a 1.95 ERA this year. SIUE is also the conference's top fielding team, committing just 20 errors and boasting a .975 fielding percentage through 30 games. This week's OVC Pitcher of the Week, Haley Chambers tops the league in ERA (1.29), wins (14), innings pitched (114.1) and strikeouts (170). She ranks fifth in the nation in strikeouts and eighth in strikeouts per seven innings (10.4 per game). Meanwhile, Baylee Douglass stands fifth in the country with four saves. Offensively, SIUE is eighth among OVC teams with a .274 batting average.