Jayhawk Classic

Dates: Friday-Sunday, March 8-10, 2019
Location: Lawrence, Kan.
Facility: Arrocha Ballpark (1,100)
Participating Teams: Southeast Missouri (12-7), Kansas (4-14), UMKC (13-5), Maine (2-7)
Series Records: vs. Kansas (0-4); vs. UMKC (7-4); vs. Maine (3-2)
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri (PDF)
Follow on Twitter: @SEMOsoftball

Friday, March 8
Southeast Missouri vs. UMKC, 10 a.m., CT | Live Stats
Southeast Missouri at Kansas, 3 p.m., CT | Watch | Live Stats

Saturday, March 9
Southeast Missouri vs. UMKC, 1 p.m., CT | Live Stats

Sunday, March 10
Southeast Missouri vs. Maine, 10 a.m., CT | Live Stats

Redhawks Head to Kansas
Southeast Missouri (12-7) will compete in the Jayhawk Classic hosted by the University of Kansas this weekend. The Redhawks will play five games at the three-day event which also includes host Kansas (4-14), UMKC (13-5) and Maine (2-7).

Follow the Redhawks
Live stats for this weekend's tournament will be available online at KUAthletics.com. Video for the Redhawks game against Kansas on Mar. 8 can be accessed on ESPN+. Twitter updates provided @SEMOsoftball.

Heating Up
Southeast Missouri enters the weekend after winning five of its last seven contests. The Redhawks recently went 3-1 at the Central Arkansas Adam Brown Memorial Shamrock Classic (Mar. 1-2). SEMO's 12 wins this season are currently most in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Redhawks and Austin Peay (11-9) are the only two OVC schools with over 10 wins to date.

Anderson Ties Career Triples Record
Junior center fielder Rachel Anderson tied Southeast Missouri's all-time career triples record when she collected her 18th triple during her second at-bat of the game against Central Arkansas (Mar. 1). Anderson leads the Ohio Valley Conference and ranks second in the nation with four triples this year. She shares SEMO's record with Kathy Rediger (18 triples, 1981-84).

Home-Opener vs. Loyola-Chicago Cancelled
Southeast Missouri's home-opener against Loyola-Chicago, initially scheduled for Mar. 5, was cancelled due to frigid weather conditions in Cape Girardeau. The doubleheader will not be rescheduled. SEMO's first home game is slated for Mar. 14 vs. Missouri State.

Long Stretch
Including this weekend, Southeast Missouri plays outside of Cape Girardeau for its first 24 games this season. The Redhawks are 4-2 in true road games and 8-5 in neutral site games this season. SEMO's lengthy road stretch involved trips to Cedar Falls, Iowa, Ruston, Louisiana, Fayetteville, Arkansas and Conway, Arkansas so far.

Against the Field
Southeast Missouri is an even 10-10 all-time against the Jayhawk Classic field. SEMO is 0-4 against host Kansas, 7-4 vs. UMKC and 3-2 against Maine. This year marks the second time in three seasons where the Redhawks participate in the Jayhawk Classic.

The Chase is On
Senior pitcher Haley Thogmartin is 15 strikeouts away from getting 200 in her Southeast Missouri career. Thogmartin has 185 strikeouts in 284.2 innings over 82 appearances and 50 starts in her career. 

Ellis Tied for 10th in Home Runs
First baseman Ashley Ellis cracked Southeast Missouri's all-time career top 10 list when she launched a three-run home run in the top of the fourth inning at Central Arkansas (Mar. 1). Ellis currently has 15 home runs in her career, including a team high six this season. She is tied for 10th with Taylor Cowan (15, 2011-13) and Renee Kertz (15, 2009-12) on SEMO's all-time career home runs list.

Bombs Away
Ashley Ellis (15), Addison Barnouski (12), Sarah Messex (13) and Rachel Anderson (11) are Southeast Missouri's active players with 10 or more career home runs. That group has accounted for 13 of Southeast Missouri's 19 round-trippers this season. 

Power Five Wins
Mark Redburn currently has three wins against Power Five Conference schools. Those wins include two victories over Southeastern Conference member Arkansas and one over SEC foe Missouri. The Redhawks upset then-#12 Arkansas, 6-1, on Feb. 22 giving Redburn his first win over a ranked opponent.

Against the Big 12
Southeast Missouri is 3-10 all-time against the Big 12 Conference with a 3-3 record vs. Iowa State, 0-4 mark vs. Kansas, 0-1 record vs. Oklahoma and 0-2 mark vs. Oklahoma State. SEMO dropped a 6-5 decision at Kansas in the Jayhawk Classic in its last meeting against a Big 12 opponent on Mar. 19, 2017.

Over .300
The Redhawks are the only Ohio Valley Conference team with a batting average above .300 this season. Southeast Missouri is hitting .309 and ranks 42nd among the nation's 300 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, .58), slugging percentage (28th, .513), scoring (34th, 6.1 rpg), home runs per game (41st, 1.0) and stolen bases per game (42nd, 1.6 per game). Individually, Rachel Anderson is second in the nation in triples (4), 17th in total bases (49), 14th in hits (28) and 18th in triples per game (.21); Ashley Ellis is 20th in home runs (6) and 29th in RBI (29); and Rachel Rook is 23rd in strikeouts per seven innings (9.5).

Getting Ahead Early
Southeast Missouri has scored first in eight games this season and is 7-1 in those contests. The Redhawks outscored their opponents 68-37 (+31) in the first three innings and own a 21-2 advantage in the third inning alone.

Rook Hits Career-High
Rachel Rook posted a career-high nine strikeouts in a victory over UL Monroe (Mar. 1). Rook, who improved to 2-1 this season, struck out five of the first seven hitters she faced and struck out the side in the second inning. She also retired nine-straight Warhawks between the second and fourth innings. Rook's nine strikeouts are the most in a game by any Southeast Missouri pitcher this year.

Tops in the OVC
The Redhawks lead the Ohio Valley Conference in batting average (.309), slugging percentage (.513), runs scored (117), hits (159), RBI (103), doubles (26), triples (11), wins (12) and saves (2). Rachel Anderson leads the league in batting average (.475), hits (28) and triples (4); Mykaela Arellanes is first in runs scored (20); and Ashley Ellis ranks first in RBI (22).

Redburn Picks Up 100th Win at SEMO
Fifth-year head coach Mark Redburn picked up his 100th win at Southeast Missouri when the Redhawks ended the Razorback Invitational with a 5-3 win over IUPUI (Feb. 23). Redburn is now 103-114 at the SEMO helm. He led the Redhawks to 33 wins in 2018, their most in a season in 20 years. Additionally, Redburn has accumulated 269 wins in 15 years as a head coach.

Messex Leads Off
Shortstop Sarah Messex was in the starting lineup as Southeast Missouri's leadoff hitter for the first time since 2017 when she played all four games in that spot at the Adam Brown Memorial Shamrock Classic (Mar. 1-2). Messex  hit .333 (4-for-12) with five runs scored, a double, home run, three RBI, one stolen base and a walk in the leadoff position. Prior to this year, Messex was the Redhawks leadoff hitter on just three occasions (2 in 2017, 1 in 2016).

Extra Base Hits
Southeast Missouri has had multiple extra base hits in 15 of 19 games this season. The Redhawks presently have a total of 56 extra base hits, including 26 doubles, 11 triples and 19 home runs. SEMO's 56 extra base hits are most in the Ohio Valley Conference. Rachel Anderson (11) and Ashley Ellis (10) have combined for 21 extra base hits through 19 games this season.

Stealing the Show
Rachel Anderson leads the Redhawks with a near-perfect 7-of-8 stolen bases this season. Anderson is 34-of-47 on the basepaths in her career and recently took over the eight-place spot on Southeast Missouri's all-time career stolen base list. She surpassed Julie Davis (33, 1992-95) for that position. 

On the Run
Southeast Missouri ranks second in the Ohio Valley Conference with 32 stolen bases through 19 games this year. That mark is nearly halfway to its single-season school record total of 70 a year ago. The Redhawks have averaged 53 stolen bases per season under head coach Mark Redburn for a total of 265 over five-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 117 runs (6.2 per game) through its first 19 contests this season. The have scored 10 or more in four games. SEMO is at a +28 scoring jump from from where its run total was at this time a year ago (89). 

Redhawks Take Down #12 Arkansas
Southeast Missouri beat a ranked opponent for the first time in its NCAA Division I era (since 1992) when it knocked off #12 Arkansas on Feb. 22 in Fayetteville. SEMO was 0-17 all-time against ranked opponents and head coach Mark Redburn never had a win over a ranked opponent until that victory. The Redhawks registered 10 hits and knocked out Second-Team All-SEC pitcher Mary Haff after 4.1 innings. Down, 1-0, after four innings, Sarah Messex hit her first home run of the season to give SEMO a 2-1 edge in the top of the fifth. The Redhawks scored four more runs courtesy of a two-RBI double by Mykaela Arellanes and two-run home run by Rachel Anderson to bury the Razorbacks for good in the top of the seventh. Arkansas, one of five NCAA Tournament teams from last season on the Redhawks 2019 schedule, made it to the Super Regionals before being eliminated by #4 Oklahoma during the 2018 campaign.

Home Run Train
Eight different Redhawks have homered through 19 games this season. Ashley Ellis leads the team with six round-trippers and Rachel Anderson follows with three. Addison Barnouski, Mykaela Arellanes and Sarah Messex each have two, while Claudia Gallo, Parker Bandy and Anna Griffin have one apiece. Southeast Missouri's 19 home runs rank second in the Ohio Valley Conference behind Austin Peay (28).

Starting Streaks
Two Redhawks have never missed a start in their careers. Senior shortstop Sarah Messex has started 171 consecutive games and junior center fielder Rachel Anderson has made 122 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 119 starts, Bandy started 116 contests and Arellanes has started 111. 

10 or More Hits
The Redhawks registered 10 or more hits in eight 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 11 of 19 games and is undefeated in those contests. SEMO's total of 159 hits lead the Ohio Valley Conference.

Triple Threat
Center fielder Rachel Anderson, first baseman Ashley Ellis and third baseman Addison Barnouski have provided Southeast Missouri with a nice one-two-three punch in the top half of its lineup. Anderson leads the team with a .475 batting average, while Barnouski is hitting .413 and Ellis is hitting .396. The trio has combined for 68 hits, 34 runs, 10 doubles, five triples, 11 home runs and 56 RBI this season.

Walk This Way
Sarah Messex ranks third in the Ohio Valley Conference with 10 walks this season. For her career, Messex has walked a total of 66 times. She is fifth all-time in career walks at Southeast Missouri.

Experienced Infield
First baseman Ashley Ellis (119), second baseman Parker Bandy (116), shortstop Sarah Messex (171) and third baseman Addison Barnouski (92) have combined for 498 career starts on Southeast Missouri's infield. Barnouski (.413) and Ellis (.396) rank second and third on the team in batting average, respectively.

Four 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, Mississippi Valley State, 7-0, on Feb. 17 and UL Monroe, 8-0, on Mar. 1. SEMO posted six shutout victories a year ago.

Tournament Play
The Jayhawk Classic is the fifth of six tournaments Southeast Missouri will play in during its non-conference slate. The Redhawks will also compete at the Saint Louis Billiken Spring Tournament (Mar. 16-17). SEMO is presently 12-7 in tournament play.

Every Start
A total of five players have started all 19 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.