Arkansas Invitational

Game Information
Dates: February 26-28, 2021
Location: Fayetteville, Ark.
Facility: Bogle Park (1,200)
Series Records vs. Participating Teams: 0-1 vs. North Dakota State; 2-6 vs. Arkansas; vs. Texas Tech (First Meeting)
Head Coaches: Mark Redburn (363-384 overall; 149-135 at SEMO; 62-55 OVC). Courtney Deifel (179-135 overall; 152-108 at UA). Darren Mueller (654-366 at NDSU). Sami Ward (261-376 overall; 3-2 at TTU).

Follow the Redhawks
Friday, February 26 - Southeast Missouri (0-5) vs. North Dakota State, 12:30 p.m., CT | Live Stats
Friday, February 26 - Southeast Missouri at #21 Arkansas (5-2), 5:30 p.m., CT | Live Stats
Saturday, February 27 - Southeast Missouri vs. Texas Tech (3-2), 12:30 p.m., CT | Live Stats
Saturday, February 27 - Southeast Missouri at #21 Arkansas, 3 p.m., CT | Live Stats
Sunday, February 28 - Southeast Missouri vs. Texas Tech, 10 a.m., CT | Live Stats 
Twitter: @SEMOsoftball
Notes: Southeast Missouri (PDF)
Arkansas Razorback Invitational 

Redhawks Travel to Arkansas Invitational 
Southeast Missouri (0-5) will play five games at the Arkansas Invitational this weekend. The four-team tournament, hosted by the University of Arkansas, will be contested at Bogle Park in Fayetteville, Arkansas. 

Follow the Redhawks
Live stats for all games at the Arkansas Invitational are available online at ArkansasRazorbacks.com. Twitter updates provided @SEMOsoftball.

Tournament Schedule
#21 Arkansas (5-2), Southeast Missouri (0-5), North Dakota State and Texas Tech (3-2) form this year's Arkansas Invitational field. The Redhawks will face North Dakota State (12:30 p.m.) and Arkansas (5:30 p.m.) Friday, Texas Tech (12:30 p.m.) and Arkansas (3 p.m.) Saturday and Texas Tech (10 a.m.) again on Sunday. 

Against the Field
Southeast Missouri is a combined 2-7 against the teams it will face at this year's Arkansas Invitational. The Redhawks are 2-6 against the host Razorbacks and 0-1 vs. North Dakota State. This year marks the first time SEMO meets Texas Tech.

Another Ranked Foe
The Redhawks play a ranked opponent for the second-straight week when they square off against #21 Arkansas this weekend. Southeast Missouri's other ranked opponent was also out of the Southeastern Conference in #23 Tennessee. The Lady Vols swept SEMO in a doubleheader on Feb. 20 in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Redburn vs. Arkansas 
Seven of Southeast Missouri's eight meetings with Arkansas came with Mark Redburn as head coach. The Redhawks are 2-5 in those matchups. SEMO beat the Razorbacks in Fayetteville on Apr. 29, 2015 (4-3) and Feb. 22, 2019 (6-1). The Redhawks knocked off the then-#12 Razorbacks in 2019 for Redburn's first win over a ranked opponent.

Could be a Hat Trick of Career Records for Anderson 
Center fielder Rachel Anderson is in position to break three Southeast Missouri career records this weekend. Anderson is tied for first among the school's all-time leaders in hits (231) and walks (88), and is second in RBI (131). She needs just two more RBI to break that record. Anderson presently stands tied with Alex Ramirez (2007-10) in career walks and Jenny Oermann (1996-99) in career hits. Meanwhile, she is behind both Renee Kertz (132 RBI, 2009-12) and Michelle Summers (132 RBI, 2005-08) in runs batted in. 

First Home Run Goes to Ellis 
First baseman Ashley Ellis hit Southeast Missouri's first home run of the season when she led off the top of the fourth inning with a solo shot in game two of the Redhawks doubleheader at #23 Tennessee (Feb. 20). Ellis' smash was SEMO's fifth extra base hit of the young season.

Softball and Baseball in Fayetteville
Southeast Missouri's softball and baseball teams will both be in Fayetteville, Arkansas this weekend. While the Redhawks softball team will be in the Arkansas Invitational, the baseball squad is playing a four-game series with the Razorbacks.

Going for 150
Mark Redburn needs just one more win to reach 150 victories as Southeast Missouri's head coach. Redburn is currently 149-135 at SEMO in his seventh year. In the last two-plus seasons, the Redhawks put together an overall record of 91-43 and 32-12 mark in Ohio Valley Conference play. Redburn, the reigning OVC Coach of the Year, guided SEMO to its first OVC regular-season and tournament titles, and NCAA Tournament in 20 years during the 2019 campaign.

Team 45
The 2021 campaign is the 45th season of Southeast Missouri softball. SEMO's softball program has an all-time record of 1,120-828-3. The Redhawks are 760-705-2 all-time since moving to the NCAA Division I ranks in 1992.

Strikeout Counter
In three starts this season, Rachel Rook recorded 14 strikeouts, including a season-high seven at #23 Tennessee (Feb. 20). Rook currently has 218 strikeouts in her Southeast Missouri career. Three more will put her at ninth among SEMO's all-time career strikeout leaders. 

First Career Hits
Katie Dreiling, Jillian Anderson, Karsyn Davis and Abigail Rickermann all recorded their first career hits during the Auburn series last weekend. Dreiling had the first hit of 2021 on a leadoff single in the top of the second inning of game two on Feb. 13. Anderson also had a hit and Davis went 2-for-3 with a RBI-double in that game. Rickermann then got her first hit on a pinch-hit infield single in game three on Feb. 14.

First 10-Hit Game
Southeast Missouri registered 10 hits in a game for the first time this season in game two of its series at Auburn (Feb. 13). SEMO edged the Tigers, 10-9, in the hit column. Ashley Ellis and Karsy Davis paved the way with two hits each. For Davis, it was the first multiple-hit game of her career. For Ellis, it was the 38th time she finished with multiple hits in a game.

Record Watch
Rachel Anderson, Southeast Missouri's all-time career leader in triples (29), batting average (.421), slugging percentage (.719) and on-base percentage (.508), is looking to do much more damage on the record books this year. Anderson (231 hits, 143 runs, 131 RBI, 88 walks) needs only one hit, one walk and two RBI to get those career records. She is also 19 runs away from the career runs scored record.

Approaching 400 Total Bases
Rachel Anderson is five total bases away from reaching 400 in her career. Anderson is second all-time among Southeast Missouri's career leaders with 395 total bases. Michelle Summers (2005-08) presently holds the record in that category with 423 total bases.

All-American Anderson
Southeast Missouri's first All-American in its NCAA Division I era, center fielder Rachel Anderson is returns for her fifth year in 2021. Anderson won the coveted 2019 OVC Player of the Year honor to go along with her Third-Team National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-America award. She is also a three-time First-Team All-OVC and NFCA All-Region selection, and claimed First-Team CoSIDA Academic All-America accolades in her phenomenal career.

Elite .400 Club
Rachel Anderson is currently one of 131 NCAA Division I softball hitters with a career batting average of .400 or better. She is hitting .421 for her college career. Anderson was hitting a team-best .480 and led the Redhawks in runs (19), hits (24), triples (5), slugging percentage (.880), on-base percentage (.541) and stolen bases (9) when play was suspended a year ago.  

Ellis Bashes
Slugger Ashley Ellis, like Rachel Anderson, is also back for her fifth year. A native of Arnold, Missouri, Ellis averaged 8.5 home runs per year in her first four seasons as Southeast Missouri's first baseman. She homered eight times and ranked fourth on the team with a .347 batting average last season. Ellis led the Ohio Valley Conference in home runs during the 2020 campaign and hit two round-trippers in a game three times in her career. 

The Chase is On
Ashley Ellis, who broke Southeast Missouri's single-season home run record with 17 bombs in 2019, is now chasing the school's all-time career home run record. Ellis currently ranks second with 35 home runs. She needs 14 more to surpass Michelle Summers (48, 2005-08) for the new mark. 

Starting Streaks Intact
Rachel Anderson has never missed a start in her career. Anderson has a streak of 189 straight starts in center field. Ashley Ellis carries a streak of 169 consecutive starts into this weekend. Anderson is 10th all-time among Southeast Missouri career leaders in games started.