Morehead State (6-14, 0-11 OVC) vs. Southeast Missouri (11-10, 8-1 OVC)

Game Information
Dates: March 26-27, 2021
Series Schedule: Mar. 26 - 6 p.m., CT; Mar. 27 - 2 p.m., CT (DH)
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Facility: Southeast Softball Complex
Series History: SEMO leads, 61-22
Last Meeting: SEMO 9, MSU 0 (May 3, 2019 | Cape Girardeau, Mo.)
Head Coaches: Mark Redburn (374-389 overall; 160-140 at SEMO; 70-56 OVC). Samantha Jones (15-66 overall; 15-66 at MSU).

Follow the Redhawks
Watch: ESPN+ Friday | Saturday Game 1 | Saturday Game 2
Live Stats: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Twitter: @SEMOsoftball
Notes: Southeast Missouri (PDF)

Conference Play Resumes
Ohio Valley Conference leader Southeast Missouri (11-10, 8-1) hosts Morehead State (6-14, 0-11) in a three-game series this weekend. The Redhawks and Eagles will play a single game at 6 p.m. Friday and a doubleheader at 2 p.m., CT Saturday.

Follow the Redhawks
Fans can watch all three games of this weekend's series online at ESPN+. Live stats will also be available at GoSoutheast.com. Twitter updates provided @SEMOsoftball.

Alumni Weekend
Southeast Missouri's softball program will welcome its alumni back to Cape Girardeau for Alumni Weekend when Morehead State comes to town. Alumni from different teams over the years are planning to return to their alma mater and celebrate this weekend. 

Series History
Friday's series opener marks the 84th meeting between Southeast Missouri and Morehead State. The Redhawks lead the all-time series by a count of 61-22. SEMO won five of its last six matchups with the Eagles.

What a Night
Southeast Missouri claimed a share of the 2019 Ohio Valley Conference regular-season title when it swept Morehead State in a doubleheader the last time these teams played on May 3, 2019. The Redhawks posted a pair of shutout victories, winning by scores of 7-0 and 9-0 at the Southeast Softball Complex. SEMO set a new program record in wins and received a perfect game from Rachel Rook in game two.  Rook retired all 15 hitters she faced and struck out 12 in five innings.

Redhawks are Rolling
The Redhawks are currently on a four-game winning streak and have heated up to win eight of their last nine contests. Southeast Missouri is coming off back-to-back series sweeps after taking three games on the road at both Tennessee Tech (Mar. 12-13) and Belmont (Mar. 20-21). The Redhawks have won seven in a row against Ohio Valley Conference foes and are presently on the longest winning streak in conference games of any league opponent. SEMO's 8-1 OVC start is its best with Mark Redburn at the helm.

Stay Tuned
With a sweep of Morehead State this weekend, Southeast Missouri will run its Ohio Valley Conference winning streak to 10 games. If that happens, it will mark the first time since 2009 where SEMO put together a streak of 10 or more conference wins. The Redhawks won 13-straight OVC games that year. Additionally, it will mark the first time SEMO opened its conference schedule with three-consecutive series sweeps. That is something that hasn't been done in over 20 years as the 1999 club was the last to accomplish the feat when it began OVC play with four-straight series sweeps (all doubleheaders).

Great Month
Southeast Missouri is 9-2 in March with three games remaining this month. SEMO's best March record under Head Coach Mark Redburn stands at 16-2 in 2019. In the last four years, the Redhawks went a combined 40-14 in March. 

Anderson Eyes Total Base Record
Rachel Anderson, who already broke Southeast Missouri career records in hits (249), walks (96) and RBI (139) this season, needs just four more total bases to claim a new program record in that category. Anderson has a total of 420 total bases and ranks behind Michelle Summers who accumulated 423 from 2005-08.

One More to 250
One hit against Morehead State will mark the 250th for Rachel Anderson. Anderson is Southeast Missouri's all-time career hits leader with 249.

Rook Wins OVC Pitcher of the Week
Junior Rachel Rook was unanimously voted Ohio Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week on Mar. 22. A native of Republic, Missouri, Rook went 2-0 with a complete game shutout and recorded 24 strikeouts in 13 scoreless innings over three appearances and two starts last week. She held opponents to a staggering .049 batting average. Rook recorded a season-high 13 strikeouts and allowed her only two hits in a seven-inning shutout against Belmont (Mar. 20). A day later, she threw four no-hit innings with six strikeouts to lead SEMO to its second-straight series sweep. Rook leads the league with seven wins and ranks second with 67 strikeouts. The OVC Pitcher of the Week honor is the third in her career.

Hitting Streaks Intact
Freshmen Jillian Anderson and Katie Dreiling look to extend their hitting streaks when they take the field against Morehead State this weekend. Anderson is currently on a 10-game hitting streak, while Dreiling has hit safely in nine-straight contests. Anderson is the second Redhawk to be on a 10-game hitting streak this season. If Anderson gets a hit Friday, she will have the longest hitting streak since her current teammate Rachel Anderson got a hit in 16-consecutive games during the 2018 campaign. 

Dreiling Now Second in the OVC in Batting Average
Freshman Katie Dreiling is among three freshmen currently hitting .440 or better in the Ohio Valley Conference. Dreiling boasts a .447 batting average which is good for second in the league. UT Martin's Anna Blanton (.500) and Kaci Fuller (.440) are first and third in the OVC, respectively.

Wins Leader
Rachel Rook tops the Ohio Valley Conference with seven wins in the circle this season. Rook is 7-5 thus far. She also leads the league with two shutouts.

Ellis Clears 200 Career Starts
Ashley Ellis recently joined Rachel Anderson with over 200 career starts in a Redhawk uniform. Ellis has 202 starts to date. She carries a streak of 185 consecutive starts into this weekend's series vs. Morehead State. Ellis is sixth all-time in career starts at Southeast Missouri.

Huge Week for Dreiling
Katie Dreiling hit .643 with three runs scored, a double, two home runs and three RBI in four games last week. Dreiling registered multiple-hits in three of her four starts. She went 6-for-7 with three runs scored, a double, two home runs and three RBI in Southeast Missouri's doubleheader sweep of Belmont (Mar. 20). Dreiling homered in each of her first two at-bats in game two of the twin bill. She also turned in a 1.143 slugging percentage and .643 on-base percentage for the week. Dreiling raised her batting average by 99 points, from .333 to .432 over her big four-game stretch. 

Extra Base Hits
The Redhawks notched a total of 16 extra base hits in four games a week ago. Southeast Missouri hit 12 doubles, a triple and three home runs over that span. It was the most extra base hits SEMO accumulated in a four-game stretch since it had 22 (14 doubles, 1 triple, 7 home runs) between its doubleheaders with Eastern Kentucky and SIU Edwardsville in 2019.

First Midweek Win
Southeast Missouri picked up its first midweek win of the season when it used a five-run fifth inning to propel a 6-1 victory at Saint Louis (Mar. 24). SEMO's win came in Mark Redburn's 300th game as the Redhawks head coach. 

First Career Home Run for Wrigley
Freshman Kynzie Wrigley's first career home run gave Southeast Missouri an early lead in its recent win over Saint Louis (Mar. 24). Wrigley led off the third inning with a solo shot to left field. She became the eighth different Redhawk to hit a home run this year.

Davis Saves the Day
Left-hander Marisa Davis is tied for first in the Ohio Valley Conference and ranks fourth in the nation in saves. Davis has three saves thus far. Prior to this year, she had no saves in 20 relief appearances during her first two seasons as a Redhawk.

Home Run Fun
Southeast Missouri hit a home run in eight of its last 11 contests. The Redhawks had multiple home runs a total of eight times this year. Eight different players have homered for SEMO this season. The Redhawks rank third in the Ohio Valley Conference with 20 home runs through 21 games. They are one of three OVC teams with 20 or more home runs this season. Eastern Illinois (30) and Eastern Kentucky (21) are the others.

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 278 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 205. 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.

More Notables
Rachel Anderson (249) is one hit away from reaching 250 and three walks (97) to get 100 in her Southeast Missouri career. Anderson is the school's all-time career leader in both of those categories. 

Wrigley Playing Well
Freshman Kynzie Wrigley has made her way into Southeast Missouri's starting lineup each of the last nine games. Wrigley hit safely in seven 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).  

Strikeout Tracker
In 15 appearances and 12 starts this season, Rachel Rook recorded 74 strikeouts, including a season-high 13 at Belmont (Mar. 20). Rook currently has 278 strikeouts in her Southeast Missouri career. 

10 or More Hits
Southeast Missouri pounded out 10 or more hits a total of six times this season and is 5-1 in those contests. The Redhawks finished with a season-high 14 hits at Belmont (Mar. 21) and have collected double-digit hits in five of their last nine contests.

Career Record Watch
Rachel Anderson, Southeast Missouri's all-time career leader in triples (29), batting average (.418), slugging percentage (.705), on-base percentage (.508), hits (249), walks (97) and RBI (139), is looking to do more damage on the record books this year. Anderson is also second in runs scored (155) behind Michelle Summers (161, 2005-08),  stolen bases (64) behind Lisa Thornton (82, 1987-90) and total bases (420) 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. 

On Deck
Southeast Missouri concludes its season-long seven-game home stand when it hosts Southern Illinois on Mar. 31 and welcomes Eastern Illinois for a three-game series on Apr. 2-3.