Razorback Invitational

Dates: Thursday-Sunday, February 21-24, 2019
Location: Fayetteville, Ark.
Facility: Bogle Park (1,200)
Participating Teams: Southeast Missouri (7-3), #12 Arkansas (8-1), Drake (5-4), SIU Edwardsville (4-1), IUPUI (2-8)
Series Records: vs. Arkansas (1-5), Drake (0-3), IUPUI (8-3)
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri (PDF)
Follow on Twitter: @SEMOsoftball

Thursday, February 21
Southeast Missouri at #12 Arkansas, 5 p.m., CT | Watch | Live Stats

Friday, February 22
Southeast Missouri vs. Drake, 12:15 p.m., CT | Live Stats
Southeast Missouri at #12 Arkansas, 4:45 p.m., CT | Live Stats

Saturday, February 23
Southeast Missouri vs. Drake, 10 a.m., CT | Live Stats
Southeast Missouri vs. IUPUI, 12:15 p.m., CT | Live Stats

Redhawks Continue Tournament Play
Southeast Missouri (7-3) plays five games at the Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas this week. The Redhawks face host #12 Arkansas (8-1) Thursday, Drake (5-4) and #12 Arkansas Friday, and Drake and IUPUI (2-8) Saturday.

Follow the Redhawks
Live stats for the Razorback Invitational will be available online at ArkansasRazorbacks.com. Video for the Redhawks game against #12 Arkansas on Feb. 21 will be available at SEC Network+. Twitter updates available @SEMOsoftball.

Tournament Field
Southeast Missouri (7-3), #12 Arkansas (8-1), Drake (5-4), SIU Edwardsville (4-1) and IUPUI (2-8) make up this year's Razorback Invitational field. Arkansas and Drake are both NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago. The Razorbacks made it to the Super Regionals where they dropped two games to #4 Oklahoma in 2018.

Against the Field
The Redhawks are a combined 9-11 against the teams they face at the Razorback Invitational. Southeast Missouri is 1-5 all-time vs. Arkansas, 0-3 vs. Drake and 8-3 against IUPUI.

Strong Start
Southeast Missouri's seven wins are most in the Ohio Valley Conference through the first two weeks of the 2019 softball season. The Redhawks are 7-3 overall and stand tied with UT Martin (7-3). SEMO began the season with a second-place finish at the UNI Dome Classic in Cedar Falls, Iowa (Feb. 8-10). The Redhawks started the year at 4-0 for the first time since 1996. It was the best start under head coach Mark Redburn.

100 Wins in Sight
Fifth-year head coach Mark Redburn is just two wins away from reaching 100 at Southeast Missouri. Redburn holds a 98-110 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.

Record in Reach
Junior center fielder Rachel Anderson needs two more triples to break Southeast Missouri's all-time career record. Anderson enters the week with 17 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.

Thogmartin Earns OVC Pitcher of the Week
Senior Haley Thogmartin was named Ohio Valley Conference Co-Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 18. Thogmartin put together a 2-0 record with a 1.38 ERA in three appearances and two starts at the Louisiana Tech Invitational (Feb. 15-17). She combined on two shutouts and recorded 20 strikeouts to just three walks in 13 innings. Thogmartin struck out seven and allowed only one hit in three innings vs. Fairleigh Dickinson (Feb. 16) and beat Mississippi Valley State (Feb. 17) after striking out six, walking one and scattering three hits in five innings. She is SEMO's first OVC Pitcher of the Week honoree in nine years. Whitney Dupuis was the last to win the award on Feb. 15, 2010.

All-Tournament Accolades
Center fielder Rachel Anderson, first baseman Ashley Ellis and pitcher Haley Thogmartin were among 15 players named to the Louisiana Tech Invitational All-Tournament Team. Anderson hit .467 with three runs scored, seven hits, two doubles, a triple, one home run and five RBI for the tournament. Ellis followed with a .417 batting average, scored two runs, collected five hits, had a double, hit two home runs and finished with eight RBI. Thogmartin was 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 13 innings of work.

Two-Out Hits
Southeast Missouri currently has 30 hits and 25 runs scored with two outs this season. The Redhawks are averaging three hits and 2.5 runs in two-out situations per game. SEMO boasts a .341 batting average (30-of-88) with two outs as a team. Meanwhile, its opponents only have 12 hits and eight runs scored with two outs this year.

Home Run Train
Seven different Redhawks have homered through 10 games this season. Ashley Ellis leads the team with four round-trippers, while Rachel Anderson, Addison Barnouski, Mykaela Arellanes, Claudia Gallo, Parker Bandy and Anna Griffin follow with one apiece. Southeast Missouri's 10 home runs rank third in the Ohio Valley Conference behind Jacksonville State (15) and Eastern Kentucky (13).

Starting Streaks
Two Redhawks have never missed a start in their careers. Senior shortstop Sarah Messex has started 162 consecutive games and junior center fielder Rachel Anderson has made 113 straight starts.

More with 100 Starts
In addition to Sarah Messex and Rachel Anderson, junior first baseman Ashley Ellis, senior second baseman Parker Bandy and senior right fielder Mykaela Arellanes have started over 100 games at Southeast Missouri. Ellis logged a total of 110 starts, Bandy started 109 contests and Arellanes has started 102. 

Experienced Infield
First baseman Ashley Ellis (110), second baseman Parker Bandy (109), shortstop Sarah Messex (162) and third baseman Addison Barnouski (83) have combined for 464 career starts on Southeast Missouri's infield. Barnouski (.417) and Ellis (.444) are hitting over .415 this season.

Three Shutouts
Southeast Missouri has four shutouts so far this season. The Redhawks blanked Northern Iowa, 16-0, on Feb. 9, Fairleigh Dickinson, 8-0, on Feb. 16 and Mississippi Valley State, 7-0, on Feb. 17. SEMO posted six shutout victories a year ago.

10 or More Hits
The Redhawks registered 10 or more hits in five games this season with a season-high 14 vs. Abilene Christian (Feb. 15). Southeast Missouri outhit its opponent in seven of 10 games and is undefeated at 7-0 in those contests. SEMO's total of 87 hits lead the Ohio Valley Conference.

Getting it Done
Five of Southeast Missouri's starters are hitting .321 or better through 10 games this season. Rachel Anderson leads the team and the Ohio Valley Conference with a .515 batting average. Ashley Ellis (.444), Addison Barnouski (.417), Mykaela Arellanes (.345) and Claudia Gallo (.321) are the others. As a team, SEMO tops the OVC with a .333 batting average.

We Meet Again
Southeast Missouri and Missouri Valley Conference preseason-favorite Drake meet again at the Razorback Invitational this week. The Redhawks and Bulldogs will play twice in Fayetteville, Arkansas. SEMO and Drake last met on the final day of the UNI Dome Classic (Feb. 10). The Bulldogs handed the Redhawks their first loss of the season. SEMO freshman catcher Chelsy Pena and Drake senior third baseman Taryn Pena are sisters. The two were in the starting lineup for their respective teams in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Taryn was a First-Team All-MVC selection for the Bulldogs last season.

National Leader
Southeast Missouri leads the nation with eight triples this season. Rachel Anderson tops all of NCAA Division I with three triples. Anderson also ranks among the top 10 national leaders in hits (5th, 17) and triples per game (8th, 0.3).

Tournament Play
The Razorback Invitational is the third of six tournaments Southeast Missouri will play in during its non-conference slate. The Redhawks will also compete at the Central Arkansas Classic (Mar. 1-3), Kansas Jayhawk Classic (Mar. 8-10) and Saint Louis Billiken Spring Tournament (Mar. 16-17). SEMO is presently 7-3 in tournament play.

View From the Top
Southeast Missouri leads the Ohio Valley Conference in several categories through two weeks of the 2019 softball season. The Redhawks are first in batting average (.333), slugging percentage (.552), hits (87), triples (8) and total bases (144). Individually, Rachel Anderson is first in triples (3), Sarah Messex is first in walks (9) and Haley Thogmartin is tied for first in wins (4).

Seven with 10
A total of seven players have started all 10 games for the Redhawks this season. Rachel Anderson (CF), Ashley Ellis (1B), Addison Barnouski (3B), Mykaela Arellanes (RF), Claudia Gallo (LF), Parker Bandy (2B) and Sarah Messex (SS) form that group.