Louisiana Tech Invitational

Dates: Friday-Sunday, February 15-17, 2019
Location: Ruston, La.
Facility: Lady Techster Softball Complex
Participating Teams: Southeast Missouri (4-1), Louisiana Tech (5-0), Wichita State (2-3), Fairleigh Dickinson (0-0), Abilene Christian (1-3), Mississippi Valley State (0-5)
Series Records: vs. Louisiana Tech (1-3); vs. Wichita State (1-0); vs. Mississippi Valley State (0-1)
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri
Follow on Twitter: @SEMOsoftball

Friday, February 15
Southeast Missouri vs. Wichita State, 10 a.m., CT | Live Stats
Southeast Missouri vs. Abilene Christian, 2 p.m., CT | Live Stats

Saturday, February 16
Southeast Missouri at Louisiana Tech, 9 a.m., CT | Watch (Payment Required) | Live Stats
Southeast Missouri vs. Fairleigh Dickinson, 11 a.m., CT | Live Stats

Sunday, February 17
Southeast Missouri vs. Mississippi Valley State | Live Stats

Redhawks Continue Tournament Play
Southeast Missouri (4-1) participates in the Louisiana Tech Invitational in Ruston, Louisiana this weekend. The Redhawks play five games at the six-team event.

Follow the Redhawks
Live stats for all of Southeast Missouri's games at the Louisiana Tech Invitational will be available online at LATechSports.com. Video for the Redhawks game against Louisiana Tech on Feb. 16 will be available at CUSATV.com (subscription required). Twitter updates available @SEMOsoftball.

Tournament Field
Tournament host and Preseason Conference USA favorite Louisiana Tech highlights this year's tournament field. The Bulldogs enter the weekend with a 5-0 record, while Southeast Missouri follows close behind at 4-1. Louisiana Tech has C-USA's Preseason Player (Morgan Turkoly) and Pitcher (Preslee Gallaway) of the Year. Wichita State (2-3) was picked second in this year's American Athletic Conference Preseason Poll. Meanwhile, Abilene Christian (1-3), Mississippi Valley State (0-5) and Fairleigh Dickinson (0-0) round out the Redhawks opponents this weekend. 

Against the Field
Southeast Missouri faces Abilene Christian and Fairleigh Dickinson for the first time at the Lousiana Tech Invitational this weekend. The Redhawks are a combined 2-4 against the rest of the field with a 1-3 record vs. Louisiana Tech, 1-0 mark vs. Wichita State and 0-1 record vs. Mississippi Valley State.

Strong Start
The Redhawks began the 2019 season with a second-place finish at the UNI Dome Classic in Cedar Falls, Iowa (Feb. 8-10). Southeast Missouri won its first four games and, as a result, started a season at 4-0 for the first time since 1996. The current 4-1 start is the best under head coach Mark Redburn. In addition, the Redhawks put together the best record of any Ohio Valley Conference team during this season's opening weekend.  

100 Wins in Sight
Fifth-year head coach Mark Redburn is five wins away from reaching 100 at Southeast Missouri. Redburn holds a 95-108 record since taking over as the Redhawks head coach in 2015. He led SEMO to 33 wins in 2018, its most in a season in 20 years.

The Chase is On
Junior center fielder Rachel Anderson needs just three more triples to break Southeast Missouri's all-time career record. Anderson enters the weekend with 16 triples and has led the team in that category every season she's played. Kathy Rediger presently holds the record with 18 triples from 1981-84.

Getting On Base
Rachel Anderson has reached base in 28 consecutive games dating back to last season. Anderson reached base in each of the last 23 games of 2018 and the first five contests of this year. The last time Anderson did not get on base was vs. Jacksonville State on Mar. 25, 2018.

Starting Streaks
Two Redhawks have never missed a start in their careers. Senior shortstop Sarah Messex has started 157 consecutive games and junior center fielder Rachel Anderson has made 108 straight starts.

More with 100 Starts
In addition to Sarah Messex and Rachel Anderson, junior first baseman Ashley Ellis and senior second baseman Parker Bandy have started over 100 games at Southeast Missouri. Ellis logged a total of 105 starts, while Bandy started 104 contests. 

Experienced Infield
First baseman Ashley Ellis (105), second baseman Parker Bandy (104), shortstop Sarah Messex (157) and third baseman Addison Barnouski (78) have combined for 444 career starts on Southeast Missouri's infield. Barnouski (.545), Ellis (.467) and Messex (.333) are all hitting over .330 this young 2019 season.

Two-Out Hits
Southeast Missouri recorded 22 hits and scored 21 runs with two outs in five games at the UNI Dome Classic (Feb. 8-10). The Redhawks hit .415 (22-for-53) in two-out situations. Rachel Anderson did the most damage going 7-for-8 (.875) with five RBI with two outs. Mykaela Arellanes (2), Parker Bandy (2), Addison Barnouski (3), Ashley Ellis (2) and Claudia Gallo (2) also contributed multiple-hits with two outs.

Pena Sisters
Freshman Chelsy Pena was in the starting lineup at catcher when Southeast Missouri faced her older sister's team, the Drake Bulldogs, on Feb. 10. Senior Taryn Pena is Drake's starting third baseman. Taryn was a First-Team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection for the Bulldogs a year ago.

Triples Leader
The Redhawks led the Ohio Valley Conference and ranked among the top national leaders in triples each of the last two seasons. After one weekend of play, Southeast Missouri is back in that spot. The Redhawks had five triples in five games at the UNI Dome Classic (Feb. 8-10). SEMO leads the nation and the OVC in that category this young season. Individually, Rachel Anderson and Parker Bandy stand tied for third in the nation with two triples each.

Arellanes Clears 100 Hits
Starting right fielder Mykaela Arellanes went over 100 career hits with her 2-for-3 effort vs. Toledo (Feb. 9). Arellanes now has 102 hits in 97 starts as a Redhawk. She is the second active Southeast Missouri player with over 100 career hits behind teammate Rachel Anderson (129). Shortstop Sarah Messex is next closest to that mark with 95 career hits.

Tournament Action
The Louisiana Tech Invitational is the second of six tournaments Southeast Missouri will play in during its non-conference slate. The Redhawks will also compete at the Arkansas Razorback Invitational (Feb. 21-23), Central Arkansas Classic (Mar. 1-3), Kansas Jayhawk Classic (Mar. 8-10) and Saint Louis Billiken Spring Tournament (Mar. 16-17).