Eastern Kentucky (25-10, 16-4 OVC) vs. Southeast Missouri (20-12, 15-3 OVC)

Game Information
Dates: April 17-18, 2021
Schedule: Apr. 17, 12 p.m. (DH); Apr. 18, 12 p.m., CT 
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Facility: Southeast Softball Complex (600)
Series History: SEMO leads, 41-35
Last Meeting: SEMO 11, EKU 8 (May 10, 2019 | Oxford, Ala.)
Head Coaches: Mark Redburn (383-391 overall; 169-142 at SEMO; 77-58 OVC). Jane Worthington (818-679 overall; 818-679 at EKU).

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

OVC Clash
The top two teams in the Ohio Valley Conference go head-to-head when first-place Southeast Missouri (20-12, 15-3) hosts second-place Eastern Kentucky (25-10, 16-4) in a three-game series this weekend. The Redhawks and Colonels play a 12 p.m. doubleheader Saturday followed by a single game at 12 p.m., CT Sunday. 

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 Kentucky meet for the 77th time when they open their series Saturday. SEMO leads the all-time series by a count of 41-35. The Redhawks won each of the last four meetings between the teams and posted 21 victories in their series against the Colonels in Cape Girardeau.

Hot Redhawks
Since the start of March, the Redhawks have won 18 of 22 contests. Southeast Missouri swept Tennessee Tech, Belmont and Morehead State, and posted series wins against every Ohio Valley Conference team it has faced thus far. The Redhawks won 12-straight conference games before their 5-1 loss to Eastern Illinois (Apr. 3). That OVC winning streak is the longest in the league to date. SEMO's 13-1 OVC start marked its best with Mark Redburn at the helm.

Ellis Close to Home Run Record
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 46 home runs. She needs three more to surpass Michelle Summers (48, 2005-08) for the all-time mark. Ellis ranks 19th in the nation in home runs this year.

Anderson One Start Away from Career Record
Rachel Anderson will break Southeast Missouri's all-time career record in games started when she takes the field for her 217th game Saturday. Anderson has started every game of her career and will surpass former teammate Sarah Messex (216, 2016-19) for the new mark. She is the school's all-time career leader in triples (30), batting average (.415), slugging percentage (.707), on-base percentage (.506), hits (261), walks (102), RBI (153), total bases (445) and runs scored (164).

Honoring the 2020 Seniors
Southeast Missouri did not get the opportunity to formally recognize its seniors when COVID-19 cut its season short in 2020. SEMO will honor the seniors from that team during a special presentation prior to Saturday's doubleheader against Eastern Kentucky. Addison Barnouski, Rachael Donald, Alexis Estes, Claudia Gallo and Madison Harris finished their careers at SEMO a year ago. 

Top of the Standings
First-place Southeast Missouri (15-3) is currently a game ahead of Eastern Kentucky (16-4) in the Ohio Valley Conference standings entering this weekend's series. The Colonels lead the league with 16 conference victories, while the Redhawks and Austin Peay follow close behind with 15 apiece.  

20-Game Winners
The Redhawks picked up their 20th win of the season when they beat Saint Louis, 2-0, on Apr. 14. Southeast Missouri (20-12) is one of four teams in the Ohio Valley Conference with 20 or more wins this season along with Eastern Kentucky (25-10), Austin Peay (20-9) and UT Martin (20-11). 

Rickermann Delivers
Freshman Abigail Rickermann broke a scoreless drought when she delivered a pinch-hit RBI-single in the bottom of the sixth inning to help send Southeast Missouri to a 2-0 victory over Saint Louis (Apr. 14). With a runner on second base, Rickermann came to the plate and singled to center to score Rachel Anderson. She then later scored on an error. Rickermann singled in each of the last five games she played and four of those came when she pinch hit. 

Shut Them Out
Southeast Missouri has been involved in 11 shutouts this season and is 9-2 in those contests. SEMO blanked its opponent in six of the last 11 games outscoring opponents by a combined 35-0 in those victories. 

RPI Update 
The Redhawks are 54th in NCAA Division I Softball RPI. Southeast Missouri presently has the highest RPI of any softball team in the Ohio Valley Conference. Austin Peay (65) and Eastern Kentucky (73) are the next closest OVC schools. The Redhawks have one win over a team ahead of them in the RPI rankings.SEMO beat Southern Illinois (43) on Mar. 31. 

League Play
Southeast Missouri leads the league in batting average (.354) and ERA (1.53) in Ohio Valley Conference games this season. Ashley Ellis has an OVC best 10 home runs and 1.039 slugging percentage through 18 conference games. Rachel Rook paves the way with 75 strikeouts (7.9 per game) and four shutouts. Jillian Anderson is first in doubles (8) and Paytience Holman ranks first in opposing batting average (.156) in league games.

Wrigley Hitting Streak
Freshman Kynzie Wrigley carries a 14-game hitting streak into this weekend's series against Eastern Kentucky. Wrigley's streak began at Belmont on Mar. 20. Her hitting streak is the longest of any Redhawk this season and the longest since Rachel Anderson hit safely in 16-straight games from Apr. 13-May 10, 2018. 

All 32 Games
Three players, including Rachel Anderson, Ashley Ellis and Kaylee Anderson have started all 32 games this season. R. Anderson is third on the team in batting average (.376) and leads the Redhawks in hits (35) and on-base percentage (.491). Ellis tops the team with 12 home runs, 32 RBI and a .750 slugging percentage. K. Anderson leads the team with 23 runs scored.

Over .300
Five of Southeast Missouri's starters are hitting over .300 this season and three of them are freshmen. Katie Dreiling and Kynzie Wrigley lead the way hitting .390 and .388, respectively. Senior Rachel Anderson (.376) is third, while freshman Jillian Anderson (.318) and sophomore Alyson Tucker (.311) round out that group.

Home Run Power
Ashley Ellis homered seven times in her last 11 games. Ellis hit two home runs vs. Morehead State (Mar. 27) and Eastern Illinois (Apr. 2) during that stretch. Twelve of her 27 hits this season have come on the long ball. Ellis is second in the Ohio Valley Conference with 12 home runs. 

Putting Up the Runs
Southeast Missouri has scored 116 runs for an average of 6.4 per game in 18 Ohio Valley Conference contests this season. The Redhawks 116 runs in league games top the OVC. SEMO is outscoring its opponents by a +80 (116-36) margin. SEMO also hit 26 home runs during that span which rank first in OVC games.

Davis Saves the Day
Left-hander Marisa Davis is second in the Ohio Valley Conference and ranks 12th 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 seven of its last 12 contests. The Redhawks had multiple home runs a total of 13 times this year. Nine different players have homered for SEMO this season. The Redhawks rank second in the Ohio Valley Conference with 35 home runs through 32 games. They are one of three OVC teams with 25 or more home runs this season. Eastern Illinois (40) and Eastern Kentucky (32) are the others.

10 or More Hits
Southeast Missouri pounded out 10 or more hits a total of 13 times this season and is 10-3 in those contests. The Redhawks finished with a season-high 15 hits at SIU Edwardsville (Apr. 10) and have collected double-digit hits in 10 of their last 15 contests.

Career Record Watch
Rachel Anderson, Southeast Missouri's all-time career leader in triples (30), batting average (.415), slugging percentage (.707),  on-base percentage (.506), hits (261), walks (102), RBI (153), total bases (445) and runs scored (164), is looking to do more damage on the record books this year. Anderson is also second in stolen bases (66),  behind Lisa Thornton (82, 1987-90) and tied for first in games started (216) with Sarah Messex (216, 2016-19).