Southeast Missouri (7-10, 2-1 OVC) at Belmont (6-9, 2-4 OVC)
Game Information
Dates: March 20-21, 2021
Series Schedule: Mar. 20 - 1 p.m., CT (DH); Mar. 21 - 1 p.m., CT
Location: Nashville, Tenn.
Facility: E.S. Rose Park
Series History: SEMO leads, 15-13
Last Meeting: BEL 7, SEMO 0 (Mar. 24, 2019 | Nashville, Tenn.)
Head Coaches: Mark Redburn (370-389 overall; 156-140 at SEMO; 67-56 OVC). Laura Matthews (6-9 overall; 6-9 at BEL).
Follow the Redhawks
Live Stats: Game 1 |
Game 2 |
Game 3
Twitter: @SEMOsoftball
Notes: Southeast Missouri (PDF)
Conference Play Resumes
Ohio Valley Conference co-leader Southeast Missouri (7-10, 5-1) travels to Belmont (6-9, 2-4) for a three-game series this weekend. The Redhawks and Bruins play a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday before wrapping up with a single game at 1 p.m., CT Sunday.
Follow the Redhawks
Live stats for all games of the Belmont series are available online at BelmontBruins.com. Twitter updates provided @SEMOsoftball.
Series History
Southeast Missouri holds a 15-13 advantage in its all-time series against Belmont. SEMO won seven of the last 10 meetings between these teams. The Redhawks secured series wins against the Bruins on three occasions with the last being a doubleheader sweep in Cape Girardeau on Apr. 29, 2018. SEMO and Belmont split a doubleheader the last time they met in Nashville on Mar. 24, 2019.
Ellis Nabs First OVC Player of the Week Honor
Senior first baseman Ashley Ellis was named Ohio Valley Conference Co-Player of the Week on Mar. 15. A native of Arnold, Missouri, Ellis hit .300 with three home runs, three runs scored and seven RBI to lead SEMO to a series sweep of Tennessee Tech (Mar. 12-13). She hit a two-run home run in game one of the series before slugging two more homers with two runs scored and five RBI in game three. Ellis also boasted a 1.200 slugging percentage and increased her home run total to five this season and 39 in her career. The OVC Player of the Week honor is the first in Ellis' career. Eastern Kentucky's Vianna Barron (Co-Player) and UT Martin's Alexis Groet (Pitcher) rounded out the week's honorees.
Hot Start
The Redhawks are off to a 5-1 start in Ohio Valley Conference play after taking two of three from Austin Peay (Mar. 5-6) at home and sweeping Tennessee Tech (Mar. 12-13) on the road. Southeast Missouri and Eastern Illinois are tied for first in the league standings. SEMO's 6-1 in 2019 is presently Mark Redburn's best start in OVC play.
First Series Sweep
Southeast Missouri completed its first series sweep and second-straight series victory when it beat Tennessee Tech by scores of 7-0. 4-1 and 8-4 on Mar. 12-13. The Redhawks have won five of their last seven games and are 5-2 in March.
Hitting Streak Ends at 10
Right fielder Kaylee Anderson, one of four Redhawks with a batting average of .333 or better, saw her 10-game hitting streak come to an end at Tennessee Tech. Anderson collected multiple hits a total of six times during that stretch which lasted from Feb. 26-Mar. 13. She became the first Redhawk to have a hitting streak consisting of 10 or more games since fellow teammate Rachel Anderson hit safely in 16-consecutive contests during the 2018 campaign (Apr. 13-May 10).
.400 Hitters
Rachel Anderson is one of seven hitters with a .400 or better batting average in the Ohio Valley Conference this season. Anderson boasts a .404 clip which is good for sixth among league foes thus far. UT Martin's Kaci Fuller tops the OVC with a .453 batting average.
Home Run Fun
Southeast Missouri hit a home run in four-straight games and eight of its last 10 contests. The Redhawks had multiple home runs a total of six times this year. Six different players have homered for SEMO this season. The Redhawks rank second in the Ohio Valley Conference with 16 home runs through 17 games.
Two-Home Run Games
Kaylee Anderson and Ashley Ellis each homered twice in a game during the Tennessee Tech series last weekend. Anderson hit a two-run home run in the first inning and added a solo shot in the third in game two, while Ellis delivered a three-run homer in the first and a two-run blast in the third inning of game three. For Anderson, it was the second multiple home run game of her career and for Ellis, it marked the fifth time she had two homers in a game.
Rook Surpasses 250 Career Strikeouts
Pitcher Rachel Rook surpassed 250 career strikeouts during Southeast Missouri's midweek game at Southern Illinois (Mar. 16). Rook struck out five in two scoreless relief innings against the Salukis. She now ranks ninth among the school's all-time career strikeout leaders with 252 Ks.
Celebrating 200 Starts
Rachel Anderson's 200th career start in center field came on Mar. 13, the day Southeast Missouri completed its sweep of Tennessee Tech. Anderson, who has never missed a start in her career, has a total of 201. She became the sixth player in program history to start over 200 career games. Anderson ranks sixth among the school's all-time career leaders in games started.
Ellis is Next
Ashley Ellis is the next to join Rachel Anderson with 200 career starts in a Redhawk uniform. Ellis logged 198 starts to date. She carries a streak of 181 consecutive starts into this weekend's series at Belmont. Ellis is seventh all-time in career starts at Southeast Missouri.
More Notables
Rachel Anderson (245) is five hits away from reaching 250 and five walks (95) to get 100 in her Southeast Missouri career. Anderson is the school's all-time career leader in each of those categories.
Holman Gets First Win
Paytience Holman pitched a two-hit complete game shutout to earn her first win of the season at Tennessee Tech (Mar. 12). Holman struck out two and walked two in seven scoreless innings. It was the fourth complete game of her career and fourth overall by Redhawk pitchers this season.
Wrigley Playing Well
Freshman Kynzie Wrigley has made her way into Southeast Missouri's starting lineup each of the last five games. Wrigley hit safely in four of those contests with multiple hits on two occasions. She had a season-high three hits vs. Austin Peay (Mar. 6) and added two hits at Southern Illinois (Mar. 16).
March 12
Southeast Missouri's 7-0 and 4-1 victories over Tennessee Tech (Mar. 12) was the day exactly one year from the time a global COVID-19 pandemic brought college athletics to an abrupt halt. On Mar. 12, 2020, the NCAA canceled its men's and women's basketball tournaments and conferences across the country changed plans for games in the months ahead. That decision affected championships in all winter and spring sports, including softball. Southeast Missouri's flight was on its descent to the Tampa International Airport for a tournament hosted by the University of South Florida the day the Redhawks learned their 2020 season was canceled.
About Belmont
Belmont is 6-9 overall and 2-4 in Ohio Valley Conference play. The Bruins are eighth in the conference standings one spot above where they were selected in this year's OVC Preseason Poll (ninth). Belmont is under the direction of first-year Head Coach Laura Matthews. The Bruins are last in the league in runs scored. Belmont is averaging under three runs (2.8) per game and was outscored, 74-42, through its first 15 contests. The Bruins also struck out 105 times, second-most in the OVC.
Strikeout Tracker
In 10 starts this season, Rachel Rook recorded 48 strikeouts, including a season-high seven at #23 Tennessee (Feb. 20). Rook currently has 252 strikeouts in her Southeast Missouri career.
Career Record Watch
Rachel Anderson, Southeast Missouri's all-time career leader in triples (29), batting average (.420), slugging percentage (.708), on-base percentage (.509), hits (245), walks (95) and RBI (136), is looking to do more damage on the record books this year. Anderson is also second in runs scored (153) behind Michelle Summers (161, 2005-08), stolen bases (63) behind Lisa Thornton (82, 1987-90) and total bases (413) behind Summers (423).
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 39 home runs. She needs 10 more to surpass Michelle Summers (48, 2005-08) for the new mark.
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 .420 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.
On Deck
Southeast Missouri heads to Saint Louis for a midweek matchup on Mar. 24 before closing out the month with a three-game home series vs. Morehead State (Mar. 26-27).
