Southern Illinois (14-9) vs. Southeast Missouri (22-7)

Date: Wednesday, March 20
First Pitch: 3 p.m., CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Facility: Southeast Softball Complex (600)
Series History: SIU leads 69-23-1
Last Meeting: SIU 2, SEMO 1 (9) (Apr. 5, 2018 / Carbondale, Ill.)
Head Coaches: Mark Redburn (279-341 overall; 113-114 at SEMO; 45-50 OVC). Kerri Blaylock (673-377-1 overall; 673-377-1 at SIU).
Live Stats: GoSoutheast.com
Twitter: @SEMOsoftball

Redhawks Face Southern Illinois
Longstanding rivals Southeast Missouri (22-7) and Southern Illinois (14-9) meet in midweek action Wednesday. First pitch is set for 3 p.m., CT, at the Southeast Softball Complex.

Follow the Redhawks
Live stats for Wednesday's game can be accessed online at GoSoutheast.com. Twitter updates provided @SEMOsoftball.

Home Again
Southeast Missouri plays at home for just the second time this season and hosts a Missouri Valley Conference opponent for the second time in six days. The Redhawks are currently 1-0 on their home diamond after beating Missouri State, 5-2, on Mar. 14. Wednesday's game is SEMO's final tune-up before Ohio Valley Conference play begins this weekend.

Southeast Softball Complex
Southeast Missouri holds an all-time record of 155-139 (.527) at the Southeast Softball Complex since it began playing there in 1999. The Redhawks are 32-27 at home under head coach Mark Redburn. SEMO won 16 of its last 20 home contests.

On Fire
The Redhawks enter the week on a season-long 10-game winning streak and winners in 15 of their last 17 contests. At 22-7 overall, Southeast Missouri is off to its best start since 1998 (23-5-1). The Redhawks are on a 10-game winning streak for the first time in 10 years. That winning streak is presently the longest in the Ohio Valley Conference. Additionally, SEMO became the league's first 20-game winner of the season. The next closest OVC team to the Redhawks in wins is UT Martin at 17-10.

22 or More Wins
Southeast Missouri is one of 17 teams in the nation with 22 or more wins this season. The Redhawks rank 28th in the country with a .759 winning percentage at 22-7 overall. Here are the 17 teams with 22 or more victories in NCAA Division I softball this year:
Alabama    31-0 (1.000)
UCLA    25-1 (.962)
Texas Tech    27-2 (.931)
Oklahoma    25-2 (.926)
Florida State    27-3 (.900)
Louisiana    23-3 (.885)
Auburn    26-4 (.867)
Tennessee    22-4 (.846)
UC Davis    22-5 (.815)
Texas    26-6 (.813)
Indiana    25-6 (.806)
Georgia    25-6 (.806)
LSU    24-6 (.800)
Florida    24-6 (.800)
Coastal Carolina    22-6 (.786)
Washington    22-6 (.786)
Southeast Missouri    22-7 (.759)

Against the Missouri Valley Conference
Southeast Missouri is currently 3-4 against the Missouri Valley Conference this season. The Redhawks beat Northern Iowa twice, went 0-3 against Drake and split two games with Missouri State (1-1). The Redhawks last loss came at the hands of a MVC school when MSU won, 7-4, on Mar. 2. SEMO has each of the top four teams in this year's MVC Preseason Softball Poll on its schedule, including Drake (1st), Southern Illinois (2nd), Northern Iowa (3rd) and Missouri State (4th).

Series History
Regional rivals Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois meet for the 94th time Wednesday. SIU holds a 69-23-1 lead in the all-time series which dates back to 1977. Five of the last six matchups between these teams have been decided by one or two runs. The Salukis hold a three-game winning streak in the series after beating the Redhawks in 2016 (3-2), 2017 (3-1) and 2018 (2-1).

Anderson Named OVC Player of the Week
Junior center fielder Rachel Anderson was a unanimous selection for Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week on Mar. 18. Anderson earned the second OVC Player of the Week award of her career and SEMO's first since teammate Addison Barnouski took the honor on Mar. 26, 2018. Anderson hit .600 with multiple hits in four of five games to lead SEMO to a 5-0 record last week. She went 9-for-15 with eight runs scored, three triples, two home runs and nine RBI. Anderson broke the school's all-time career triples record when she began the week by going 2-for-4 in the Redhawks home-opening victory over Missouri State (Mar. 14). A native of Edwardsville, Illinois, Anderson tripled in three of five games and homered in back-to-back contests (vs. Northern Illinois, vs. Omaha) as SEMO won the Saint Louis Billiken Spring Tournament. She also boasted a 1.400 slugging percentage and .684 on-base percentage for the week. Defensively, Anderson did not commit an error and made an outstanding diving catch in center field to end the Redhawks win over Missouri State. She raised her batting average by 25 points, from .453 to .478, during that five-game stretch.

Home Run Streak
Southeast Missouri has hit a home run in five-straight games. The Redhawks hit a total of 10 home runs last week, including a season-high six in a dominating 14-4 win over Northern Illinois (Mar. 16). It was the first time SEMO finished with six home runs in a game since Apr. 25, 2015 (vs. Eastern Illinois). The Redhawks rank second in the Ohio Valley Conference with 32 home runs this year. SEMO, Austin Peay (38) and Jacksonville State (31) each have over 30 home runs.

Anderson Breaks Career Triples Record
With her one-out RBI-triple in the first inning against Missouri State (Mar. 14), Rachel Anderson broke Southeast Missouri's all-time career triples record. Anderson currently has 21 triples in her career, including an Ohio Valley Conference and team-high seven this season. That is a +5 margin over any OVC player in that category. Anderson surpassed Kathy Rediger (18, 1981-84), who held the previous record for 35 years.

Thogmartin Clears 200 Career Strikeouts
Senior pitcher Haley Thogmartin went over 200 strikeouts in her career against Detroit Mercy (Mar. 17). Thogmartin struck out Jen Lorenz in the bottom of the sixth inning for her 200th career strikeout. She averaged one strikeout per inning as she fanned 10 and did not allow a walk in 10 innings through four appearances and one start last week. Thogmartin improved her record to 9-3 this season and has won in each of her last three starts.

Redhawks Win Second Tournament
The Redhawks went 4-0 to win the Saint Louis Billiken Spring Tournament (Mar. 16-17), their second tournament title of the season. Southeast Missouri also won the Jayhawk Classic (Mar. 8-10) with a perfect 5-0 mark. In the last 10 games, which include these two tournaments, SEMO hit .326 with 66 runs scored, 87 hits, 12 doubles, four triples, 13 home runs and 54 RBI. The Redhawks also walked 35 times, were hit by pitch on 13 occasions and stole 14 bases. SEMO boasted a .547 slugging percentage and .425 on-base percentage in that span as well.

Approaching 10
Haley Thogmartin (9-3) is approaching 10 wins  inside the circle this season. With another win, Thogmartin will get 10 victories in a season for the second year in a row. She finished with a 12-7 record in 2018. Behind Thogmartin in wins are Alexis Estes (6-1) and Rachel Rook (6-2). 

Barnouski Crushes It
Third baseman Addison Barnouski hit a home run in three of her last five starts. Barnouski delivered 11 hits, scored nine times, hit two doubles, notched three home runs and finished with nine RBI in the Redhawks last 10 games. She is third on the team with five home runs this year.

20 Wins
The 2019 club is Southeast Missouri's quickest team to reach 20 wins under head coach Mark Redburn. The earliest the Redhawks picked up 20 wins under Redburn was on Apr. 6, 2018 (11-2, at Austin Peay). SEMO had never won 20 non-conference games in a season with Redburn as its coach until this year. The last time the Redhawks finished with 20 or more non-conference victories was in 1998 (22-11-1).

Tough Trio
Pitchers Haley Thogmartin, Alexis Estes and Rachel Rook are all over 100 strikeouts in their respective Southeast Missouri careers. Thogmartin recorded 205, Estes has 105 and Rook has 102. That trio has also combined for 57 wins in the circle to date.

Number 100
Rachel Anderson is closing in on 100 runs scored and 100 RBI in her Southeast Missouri career. Anderson needs one more run and 10 more RBI to hit that mark. Anderson is hitting .412 with 99 runs, 162 hits, 26 doubles, 21 triples, 14 home runs, 90 RBI, 60 walks and 38 stolen bases in her career.

Getting Ahead Early
Southeast Missouri has scored in the first inning in 10 games this season and is 9-1 in those contests. The Redhawks have scored first 16 times this year and are 15-1 in such games. SEMO has scored 65 of its 183 runs in the first two innings, including 31 in the first and 34 in the second.

Halfway There
First baseman Ashley Ellis is tied for third in the Ohio Valley Conference with eight home runs this season. Ellis also ranks 32nd in the nation in that category. One more home run and Ellis will tie her total she had in her first two years at Southeast Missouri combined (9). She now stands tied for sixth all-time at SEMO with 17 career home runs. She shares that spot with Savannah Carpenter (2013-16). Ellis is already halfway to the Redhawks all-time single-season record of 16 home runs presently held by Kayla Fortner (2015). 

Bombs Away
Ashley Ellis (17), Addison Barnouski (15), Sarah Messex (15) and Rachel Anderson (14) are Southeast Missouri's active players with 10 or more career home runs. That group has accounted for 23 of Southeast Missouri's 32 round-trippers this season. Mykaela Arellanes (9) is next in line to get 10 career home runs.

Over .300
The Redhawks are the only Ohio Valley Conference team with a batting average above .300 this season. Southeast Missouri is hitting .315 and ranks 26th among the nation's NCAA Division I softball teams in batting average.

National Front
Southeast Missouri ranks among the top 50 NCAA Division I teams in triples per game (5th, .52), slugging percentage (22nd, .524), scoring (24th, 6.3 rpg), home runs per game (32nd, 1.1), win-loss percentage (28th, .759) and batting average (26th, .315). Individually, Rachel Anderson is second in the nation in triples (7), third in total bases (80), fourth in hits (43), third in triples per game (.24), 19th in slugging percentage (.889), 22nd in RBI (31) and 16th in batting average (.478); and Ashley Ellis is 14th in RBI (32).

Tops in the OVC
The Redhawks lead the Ohio Valley Conference in batting average (.315), slugging percentage (.524), on-base percentage (.396), runs scored (183), hits (246), RBI (157), doubles (38), triples (15), wins (22), total bases (410), walks (88), hit by pitch (20), batters struck out (162), batters struck out looking (45) and saves (5). Rachel Anderson leads the league in batting average (.478), slugging percentage (.889), on-base percentage (.557), hits (43), triples (7) and total bases (80); Mykaela Arellanes is first in runs scored (31) and walks (16); Ashley Ellis ranks first in RBI (32); Claudia Gallo is first in hit by pitch (8); and Haley Thogmartin leads the league in 20 appearances.

Strong March
Southeast Missouri is off to a blazing 13-1 record in March. SEMO has a total of nine games remaining in March, including this week. The Redhawks were 12-7 during that month a year ago.

Extra Base Hits
Southeast Missouri has had multiple extra base hits in 23 of 29 games this season. The Redhawks presently have a total of 85 extra base hits, including 38 doubles, 15 triples and 32 home runs. SEMO's 85 extra base hits are most in the Ohio Valley Conference. Rachel Anderson (18) and Ashley Ellis (14) have combined for 32 extra base hits through 29 games this season.

Stealing the Show
Rachel Anderson leads the Redhawks with 11-of-14 stolen bases this season. Anderson is 47-of-59 on the basepaths in her career and is tied for sixth on Southeast Missouri's all-time career stolen base list.  

On the Run
Southeast Missouri ranks second in the Ohio Valley Conference with 42 stolen bases through 29 games this year. That mark is over halfway to its single-season school record total of 70 a year ago. The Redhawks have averaged over 50 stolen bases per season under head coach Mark Redburn for a total of 275 over four-plus years. Redburn's 2018 (1st, 70), 2017 (3rd, 65) and 2016 (5th, 58) clubs are among SEMO's top five single-season stolen base leaders in program history.

Scoring Jump
Southeast Missouri scored an Ohio Valley Conference high 183 runs (6.3 per game) through its first 29 contests this season. The Redhawks have scored 10 or more in five games. SEMO scored 258 runs in 53 games a year ago.

Starting Streaks
Two Redhawks have never missed a start in their careers. Senior shortstop Sarah Messex has started 181 consecutive games and junior center fielder Rachel Anderson has made 132 straight starts.

More with 100 Starts
In addition to Sarah Messex and Rachel Anderson, junior first baseman Ashley Ellis, senior second baseman Parker Bandy, senior right fielder Mykaela Arellanes and junior third baseman Addison Barnouski have started over 100 games at Southeast Missouri. Ellis logged a total of 129 starts, Bandy started 124 contests, Arellanes has started 121 and Barnouski started 102 games. 

10 or More Hits
The Redhawks registered 10 or more hits in 11 games this season with a season-high 14 vs. Abilene Christian (Feb. 15) and at Central Arkansas (Mar. 1). Southeast Missouri outhit its opponent in 19 of 29 games and is 19-0 in those contests. SEMO's total of 246 hits lead the Ohio Valley Conference.

Triple Threat
Center fielder Rachel Anderson, first baseman Ashley Ellis and right fielder Mykaela Arellanes have provided Southeast Missouri with a nice one-two-three punch in the top half of its lineup. Anderson leads the team with a .478 batting average, while Ellis is hitting .427 and Arellanes is hitting .391. The trio has combined for 112 hits, 75 runs, 11 doubles, nine triples, 18 home runs and 78 RBI this season.

Getting On Base
Mykaela Arellanes and Sarah Messex are first and second in the Ohio Valley Conference in walks with 16 and 15, respectively, this season. Claudia Gallo also leads the league in hit by pitch after being plunked eight times. As a team, Southeast Missouri hitters have walked 88 times and have been hit by pitch on 20 occasions. Both of thos marks are league-highs.

Experienced Infield
First baseman Ashley Ellis (129), second baseman Parker Bandy (124), shortstop Sarah Messex (181) and third baseman Addison Barnouski (102) have combined for 536 career starts on Southeast Missouri's infield. Ellis (.427) and Barnouski (.385) rank second and fourth on the team in batting average, respectively.

Six Shutouts
Southeast Missouri has six shutouts so far this season. The Redhawks blanked Northern Iowa, 16-0, on Feb. 9, Fairleigh Dickinson, 8-0, on Feb. 16, Mississippi Valley State, 7-0, on Feb. 17, UL Monroe, 8-0, on Mar. 1, Kansas, 2-0, on Mar. 8 and Detroit Mercy, 9-0, on Mar. 17. SEMO matched its six shutout victories from a year ago.

Tournament Play
Southeast Missouri went 21-7 in tournament play this season. The Redhawks played in six tournaments and claimed two tournament titles.

Every Start
A total of five players have started all 29 games for the Redhawks this season. Rachel Anderson (CF), Ashley Ellis (1B), Addison Barnouski (3B), Mykaela Arellanes (RF) and Sarah Messex (SS) form that group.