Eastern Illinois (16-8, 9-4 OVC) vs. Southeast Missouri (15-10, 11-1 OVC)

Game Information
Dates: April 2-3, 2021
Series Schedule: Apr. 2, 2 p.m., CT; Apr. 3, 12 p.m., CT (DH)
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Facility: Southeast Softball Complex
Series History: SEMO leads, 43-38
Last Meeting: SEMO 8, EIU 5 (Apr. 20, 2019 | Cape Girardeau, Mo.)
Head Coaches: Mark Redburn (378-389 overall; 164-140 at SEMO; 73-56 OVC).Tara Archibald (27-18 overall; 27-18 at EIU).

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

Happy Easter
Ohio Valley Conference leader Southeast Missouri (15-10, 11-1) hosts Eastern Illinois (16-8, 9-4) in a three-game series on Easter weekend. The Redhawks and Panthers play a single game at 2 p.m. Friday and a doubleheader at 12 p.m., CT Saturday.

Follow the Redhawks
Live stats for all three games of this weekend's series will be available at GoSoutheast.com. Twitter updates provided @SEMOsoftball.

Series History
Southeast Missouri and Eastern Illinois meet for the 82nd time when they open their series Friday. The Redhawks hold a 43-38 lead in the all-time series which began in 1983. SEMO swept EIU in a doubleheader by scores of 11-3 (5 innings) and 8-5 the last time these teams met on Apr. 20, 2019 in Cape Girardeau. The Redhawks are 26-14 against the Panthers at the Southeast Softball Complex.

Redhawks are Rolling
The Redhawks are currently on a season-best eight-game winning streak and have heated up to win 12 of their last 13 contests. Southeast Missouri swept each of its last three Ohio Valley Conference opponents (Tennessee Tech, Belmont, Morehead State) and has posted series wins against every OVC team it faced thus far (also won series vs. Austin Peay, 2-1). The Redhawks have won 10 in a row against league foes and are presently on the longest winning streak in conference games of any OVC opponent. SEMO's 11-1 OVC start is its best with Mark Redburn at the helm.

Conference Win Streak
Southeast Missouri is on a 10-game winning streak in Ohio Valley Conference play for the first time since 2009. SEMO won 13-straight OVC games that year. The Redhawks longest conference winning streak in program history is 21 games (Mar. 23-Apr. 27) in 1996. SEMO won a school record 22 OVC games that year.

What a Month
The Redhawks finished March with a 13-2 record, their second-best record in March under Head Coach Mark Redburn. Redburn's best record in March came during the 2019 campaign (16-2).  In the last four years, Southeast Missouri went a combined 44-14 in March. 

Anderson Breaks Two More Career Records
Rachel Anderson has broken five of Southeast Missouri's all-time career records this season. Anderson, who broke program records in hits (256), walks (99) and RBI (147) earlier in the year, recently established new career marks in runs scored (162) and total bases (436). She got the total bases record vs. Morehead State (Mar. 26) and the runs record vs. Southern Illinois (Mar. 31). Anderson surpassed Michelle Summers (423 total bases, 161 runs, 2005-08) for both of those records. 

OVC Leader
Ohio Valley Conference leader Southeast Missouri leads the league in batting average (.361) and earned run average (1.53) through its first 12 league contests. The Redhawks have scored a conference-best 85 runs and are outscoring opponents by a +64 margin (85-21) in OVC play this season.

250th Hit
Rachel Anderson, Southeast Missouri's all-time career hits leader, recorded her 250th career hit on a single to left field in the first inning against Morehead State (Mar. 26). Anderson had six hits in three games against the Eagles.

Redhawks Blank Southern Illinois
Rachel Rook pitched a two-hit shutout with nine strikeouts to lead Southeast Missouri to a 5-0 victory over longtime rival Southern Illinois (Mar. 31). SEMO and SIU split a home-and-home series this season. The Redhawks shutout the Salukis for the first time in 20 years. SIU is now 23-6 overall and is 48th on the NCAA Division I softball RPI list. 

Over .400
Freshman Katie Dreiling and senior Rachel Anderson are hitting over .400 entering this weekend's series against Eastern Illinois. Dreiling leads the Redhawks with a .466 batting average and .741 slugging percentage, and Anderson is hitting .411 with a team-best .517 on-base percentage. Dreiling is second in the Ohio Valley Conference in batting average, as well.

Redhawks Get Sixth Shutout
Southeast Missouri posted its sixth shutout victory of the season when it beat Southern Illinois, 5-0, on Mar. 31. The Redhawks are 6-2 in shutouts this season. SEMO is also 11-0 in games where holds opponents to 0-2 runs.

Ellis and Rook Win OVC Honors
Southeast Missouri won a pair of Ohio Valley Conference honors on Mar. 29. Senior Ashley Ellis was named the league's Player of the Week and junior Rachel Rook won her second-straight OVC Pitcher of the Week award on Mar. 29. A native of Arnold, Missouri, Ellis hit .625 with four runs scored, four home runs and 10 RBI to lead SEMO to four wins last week. She homered in all three games of the Redhawks series sweep of Morehead State (Mar. 26-27). Ellis added two round-trippers and matched a career-high five RBI in game two of that series for her second multi-home run game this season. For the week, Ellis boasted a 2.125 slugging percentage and .700 on-base percentage with all but one of her hits coming on the long ball. She leads SEMO and ranks third in the Ohio Valley Conference with nine home runs in 2021. Rook, who hails from Republic, Missouri, went 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA, a shutout and one save in three appearances and two starts. Rook, who has won in each of her last seven starts, tossed a one-hit five-inning shutout with seven strikeouts against Morehead State (Mar. 26). A day later, she added her second complete game win of the week when she struck out five in six innings to beat the Eagles on Mar. 27. Rook also came on in relief to pitch three innings with seven strikeouts en route to earning her first save of the season at Saint Louis (Mar. 24). She recorded 19 strikeouts and walked only one for the week. SEMO swept the league's weekly honors for the first time since 2010. Renee Kertz (Player of the Week) and Whitney Dupuis (Pitcher of the Week) were the last to accomplish the feat on Feb. 15 that year. Ellis and Rook have each won two OVC weekly accolades this season.

Rook One Away from 300 Strikeouts
Rachel Rook, who ranks seventh among Southeast Missouri's all-time career strikeout leaders, needs just one more to get 300 in her career. Rook has 299 career strikeouts, including 95 this season. 

That's Impressive
Nine of Ashley Ellis' 16 hits this season are home runs. That equates to 56 percent of her total hit output. Ellis collected multiple home runs in two games this season and has homered in three of her last four contests. She ranks third in the Ohio Valley Conference in home runs.

The Chase is On
Ashley Ellis, who broke Southeast Missouri's single-season home run record with 17 bombs in 2019, is chasing the school's all-time career home run record. Ellis currently ranks second with 43 home runs. She needs six more to surpass Michelle Summers (48, 2005-08) for the all-time mark. 

Getting On Base
Jillian Anderson, Rachel Anderson and Katie Dreiling have each reached base in 15-straight games. Their reached base streaks started vs. Austin Peay on Mar. 5.

Rook Gets 10th Win
Rachel Rook picked up her 10th win of the season when she tossed her two-hit shutout vs. Southern Illinois (Mar. 31). Rook, who holds a record of 10-5, leads the Ohio Valley Conference in wins. She has also thrown six complete games and four shutouts this season. Rook ranks 13th in the nation in shutouts and 19th in wins.

Closing in on 100 Strikeouts
Rachel Rook, who has 95 strikeouts in 79.2 innings through 18 appearances and 15 starts in 2021, needs five more strikeouts to get 100 this season. If she reaches that mark, it will mark the first time in Rook's career that she recorded 100 strikeouts in a season.

Home Run Fun
Southeast Missouri hit a home run in 11 of its last 15 contests. The Redhawks had multiple home runs a total of 11 times this year. Nine different players have homered for SEMO this season. The Redhawks rank second in the Ohio Valley Conference with 29 home runs through 25 games. They are one of four OVC teams with 20 or more home runs this season. Eastern Illinois (33), Eastern Kentucky (23) and UT Martin (21) are the others.

10 or More Hits
Southeast Missouri pounded out 10 or more hits a total of nine times this season and is 8-1 in those contests. The Redhawks finished with a season-high 14 hits at Belmont (Mar. 21) and have collected double-digit hits in six of their last eight contests.

Career Record Watch
Rachel Anderson, Southeast Missouri's all-time career leader in triples (30), batting average (.420), slugging percentage (.716),  on-base percentage (.510), hits (256), walks (99), RBI (147), total bases (436) and runs scored (162), is looking to do more damage on the record books this year. Anderson is also second in stolen bases (65),  behind Lisa Thornton (82, 1987-90) and tied for third in games started (209) behind Sarah Messex (216, 2016-19) and Renee Kertz (214, 2009-12).