Troy University Tournament

Date: Friday-Sunday, February 14-16, 2020
Location: Troy, Ala.
Facility: Troy Softball Complex
Participating Teams: Troy (3-1); Kennesaw State (4-0); Purdue Fort Wayne (0-3); Southern Mississippi (4-1); Eastern Illinois (4-1); Southeast Missouri
Series Records: 0-1 vs. Kennesaw State; 2-0 vs. Purdue Fort Wayne; First Meeting vs. Southern Mississippi; 0-2 vs. Troy

Media Coverage
Friday, Feb. 14
Southeast Missouri vs. Kennesaw State, 10 a.m., CT | Live Stats
Southeast Missouri vs. Purdue Fort Wayne, 12:30 p.m., CT | Live Stats

Saturday, Feb. 15
Southeast Missouri vs. Southern Mississippi, 9 a.m., CT | Live Stats
Southeast Missouri at Troy, 2 p.m., CT | Video | Live Stats

Sunday, Feb. 16
Southeast Missouri vs. Kennesaw State, 2 p.m., CT | Live Stats

Troy Tournament Central | Southeast Missouri Game Notes

Redhawks Open Season
Southeast Missouri opens its 2020 season with five games at the Troy University Tournament this weekend. The Redhawks will face Kennesaw State (10 a.m., CT) and Purdue Fort Wayne (12:30 p.m., CT) to start the tournament Friday.

Follow the Redhawks
Live stats for all games of the Troy University Tournament will be available online at TroyTrojans.com. Video can be accessed for Southeast Missouri's game vs. tournament host Troy (Feb. 15) only.Twitter updates provided @SEMOsoftball.

Tournament Field
This year's six-team Troy University Tournament includes host Troy (3-1), Kennesaw State (4-0), Purdue Fort Wayne (0-3), Southern Mississippi (4-1) and Southeast Missouri. The Redhawks are the only team in the field who didn't open their season last week. 

Series History
Southeast Missouri is a combined 2-3 against teams it faces in the Troy University Tournament. That record includes a 0-2 mark vs. Troy, a 2-0 mark vs. Purdue Fort Wayne and a 0-1 mark vs. Kennesaw State. This year is the first meeting SEMO has with Southern Mississippi.

Team 44
The 2020 campaign is the 44th season of the Southeast Missouri softball program. This year also marks the 29th season at the NCAA Division I level. SEMO's softball program has an all-time record of  1,108-918-3. The Redhawks are 748-695-2 all-time since moving to the NCAA Division I ranks in 1992. 

Away From Home
Southeast Missouri plays its first 10 games of the 2020 season outside of Cape Girardeau. After this weekend, the Redhawks head to Montgomery, Alabama for the Alabama State Tournament on Feb. 21-23. SEMO's home-opener vs. Kansas City is scheduled for Feb. 29.

OVC Preseason Favorite
Reigning Ohio Valley Conference regular-season and tournament champion Southeast Missouri was picked to win the league in 2020.  SEMO earned 16 first-place votes and a total of 236 points in this year's Preseason Poll selected by OVC Head Coaches and Sports Information Directors. Jacksonville State, which picked up six first-place votes, is second with 221 points while Eastern Kentucky earned the two remaining first-place nods and 195 points. Murray State followed in fourth place with 171 points and Austin Peay rounded out the top-five with 168 points. Belmont (138), SIUE (123), Tennessee Tech (95), UT Martin (92), Eastern Illinois (76), Tennessee State (43) and Morehead State (26) completed the poll. 

Senior Power
The Redhawks have eight seniors on this year's roster, including center fielder Rachel Anderson, first baseman Ashley Ellis, catcher Rachael Donald, outfielders Madison Harris and Claudia Gallo, third baseman Addison Barnouski, pitcher Alexis Estes and infielder Austine Pauley.  Anderson, Ellis, Donald, Harris, Gallo, Barnouski and Estes have combined for 892 games and 692 starts in their careers. Pauley transferred to SEMO from Lindenwood University for her final college season.

Starting Streaks
Three Redhawks enter the year with starting streaks over 100 games. Rachel Anderson, who never missed a start in her career, has started 167 consecutive games. Ashley Ellis has started 143 straight games and Addison Barnouski has started 111 consecutive contests. 

Redburn Enters Sixth Year
Mark Redburn enters his sixth year as head coach at Southeast Missouri. Redburn, the 2019 Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year, led the Redhawks to their first OVC regular-season and tournament titles, and NCAA Tournament appearance in 20 years. Last year's team won a program record 46 games. Redburn has guided SEMO to a combined 102 wins over the last three years for an average of 34 victories per season in that span.

Thirteen to Go
Mark Redburn is 13 wins away from reaching 150 at Southeast Missouri. Redburn is 137-125 (.523) in five years at the helm. For his career, Redburn is 351-374 in 15 years as a head coach.

Season-Openers
Southeast Missouri is 15-13 in season-opening games during its NCAA Division I era. SEMO is 3-2 in season-openers under head coach Mark Redburn. The Redhawks opened a season with a win in each of the last three years.

Anderson Ranked 54th Among Softball America's Top 100 Players
Southeast Missouri star center fielder Rachel Anderson was ranked 54th among Softball America's Top 100 players for the 2020 season. A native of Edwardsville, Illinois, Anderson is the only Ohio Valley Conference player on the nation's elite list. She is a three-time First-Team All-OVC pick and became SEMO's first All-American during the program's NCAA Division I era. Anderson was named the league's Player of the Year in 2019 and garnered OVC Freshman of the Year honors during her rookie season in 2017 Anderson has started all 167 games of her college career in center field. 

2020 Preview

Catcher

Senior Rachael Donald (Dupo, Ill.) and sophomore Chelsy Pena (Columbia, Ill.) will again share the catching duties this season Donald made 51 starts and hit .202 with eight runs scored, 21 hits, three doubles and seven RBI in 2019. Pena saw action in 46 games and tallied 15 starts as a freshman. Karsyn Davis (Harrisburg, Ill.) widens the depth at catcher. Davis joins the Redhawks from Harrisburg High School, where she hit .484 as a senior.

Infield
Southeast Missouri returns both of its starting corner infielders in senior first baseman Ashley Ellis (Arnold, Mo.) and senior third baseman Addison Barnouski (O'Fallon, Ill.). Both Ellis and Barnouski started all 64 games a year ago. A First-Team All-OVC and National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA All-Mideast Region selection, Ellis hit .330 as SEMO's fourth-leading hitter. She led the Redhawks with a single-season school record 17 home runs and 60 RBI. Ellis was the OVC leader in RBI and fielding double plays (15), as well. Barnouski ranked ahead of Ellis with a .345 batting average as one of five SEMO players to hit over .300 in 2019. She accumulated 59 hits, nine doubles, seven home runs, 26 runs scored and 41 RBI. Barnouski was named to the OVC All-Tournament Team. Freshman. Keira Hance (Marion, Ill.) will back up Barnouski at third and sophomore Anna Griffin (Bentonville, Ark.) is behind Ellis at first base. Hance was part of two regional championships and 78 wins in three seasons at Marion High School. She hit .488, held a .954 slugging percentage and boasted a .596 on-base percentage in her prep career. Griffin participated in 23 games as a freshman. As far as the middle of the infield goes, SEMO must replace Sarah Messex (shortstop) and Parker Bandy (second base), who made 64 and 58 starts, respectively. Lindenwood University transfer Austine Pauley (St. Charles, Mo.) is expected to start at shortstop and Ashley Emert (East Peoria, Ill.) is the frontrunner at second base. Pauley garnered All-Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) honors multiple times at Lindenwood. In 2019, she had one of the top offensive seasons in Lindenwood history, hitting .362 with school records in slugging percentage (.754) and on-base percentage (.429) in 46 starts. Emert played in 20 games and started four contests in her first season at SEMO in 2019. She can also play shortstop if the need arises. When not pitching, junior Kaylee Anderson (Warrenton, Mo.) is another option at second base. Anderson hit .246 with 21 runs scored, eight doubles, a home run and 19 RBI in 50 games and 37 starts last season. Other infielders include Carlie Sanders (De Soto, Mo.) and Leaha Wininger (Johnston City, Ill.). Sanders joins the Redhawks from Boston College, where she played in 50 games and made 38 starts as a freshman. Wininger saw limited action playing in 11 games her freshman season in 2019.

Outfield
Center fielder Rachel Anderson (Edwardsville, Ill.) is back for her final season in 2020. A three-time First-Team All-OVC pick, Anderson is ranked 54th among the Top-100 players by Softball America. The 2019 OVC Player of the Year, Anderson became SEMO's first All-American in the NCAA Division I era following a stellar season. She broke a total of six single-season school records during her junior year, hitting .454 with 53 runs scored, 83 hits, 12 doubles, 10 triples, 13 home runs and 56 RBI. Anderson, who never missed a start, carries a streak of 167-consecutive starts into this year. Alongside Anderson in the outfield will be seniors Claudia Gallo (Arnold, Mo.) and Madison Harris (Imperial, Mo.). Gallo, who earned Second-Team All-OVC honors, returns in left field after hitting .308 last season. She started 60 games and was hit by a pitch a SEMO single-season high 17 times. Harris is expected to make her starting debut in right field. She saw action in 38 games and made six starts a year ago. Junior Danina Marton (Northridge, Calif.) and freshman Kimmy Wallen (Park Hills, Mo.) could also contribute in the outfield. Marton participated in 23 games and hit .214 for the Redhawks in 2019. Wallen comes to SEMO from Central High School, where she hit .571 without striking out as a senior. Abby Rollet (Perryville, Mo.) rounds out the outfielders. Rollet played her first two college seasons at Jefferson College and broke the school's record with a .521 batting average in 2019.

Pitching
Senior Alexis Estes (Lane, Ill.) is projected to be the Redhawks number one pitcher after being in that role this past fall. Estes put together a 7-2 record with a 3.26 ERA in 25 games and 16 starts last season. Her seven victories are the most in a season in her career to date. Junior Rachel Rook (Republic, Mo.) is SEMO's other big threat inside the circle after pitching as both a starter and reliever.Rook posted an 11-4 record with a 2.52 ERA en route to breaking the Redhawks single-season record in strikeouts per seven innings (7.78) a year ago. She started 14 games and made 37 appearances, while recording 99 strikeouts in 89 innings. Rook is tied for first among SEMO's all-time single-season leaders with four saves and pitched a perfect game, as well. Returnees Kaylee Anderson (Warrenton, Mo.) and Marisa Davis (Kansas City, Mo.), and freshman Paytience Holman (Mexico, Mo.) complete this year's pitching staff. Anderson was 5-4 with 32 strikeouts and three saves in 27 games and two starts in 2019. Davis made 18 appearances and one start as a freshman last season. She tallied 20 strikeouts in 28 innings of work. Holman was a First-Team Class 3 All-State pitcher at Mexico High School. She helped lead the Lady Bulldogs to a state title, while setting several team records both offensively and inside the circle. SEMO graduated First-Team All-OVC pitcher Haley Thogmartin. Also a Second-Team NFCA All-Mideast Region selection, Thogmartin was the Redhawks top pitcher with a 22-7 record and 1.78 ERA in 2019.   She had 142 strikeouts in 177 innings, pitched nine complete games, picked up four saves and tossed three shutouts. Thogmartin started 31 games.