Western Kentucky Hilltopper Classic

Dates: Friday-Sunday, February 18-20, 2022
Location: Bowling Green, Ky.
Site: WKU Softball Complex
Participating Teams: Southeast Missouri (3-2), Western Kentucky (3-1), Bellarmine (3-2), Central Michigan (0-0)
Tournament Central: WKUSports.com

Tournament Schedule

Friday, February 18
Southeast Missouri vs. Central Michigan, 10 a.m., CT | Live Stats
Southeast Missouri vs. Bellarmine, 12:30 p.m., CT | Live Stats

Saturday, February 19
Southeast Missouri at Western Kentucky, 12:30 p.m., CT | Video | Live Stats
TBA, 3 p.m./5:30 p.m., CT

Sunday, February 20
TBA, 11 a.m./1:30 p.m., CT

Hilltopper Classic
Southeast Missouri (3-2) will play five games at the Western Kentucky Hilltopper Classic this weekend. The Redhawks will face Central Michigan (Feb. 18), Bellarmine (Feb. 18) and tournament host WKU (Feb. 19) in pool play before finding out who its final two opponents will be. 

Trip to the Bayou
The Redhawks opened their 2022 campaign with three wins at the Southeastern Louisiana Lion Classic in Hammond, Louisiana last week. SEMO beat Nicholls State twice and shutout Alabama A&M during its strong opening weekend. The Redhawks hit .333 and outscored their opponents, 38-19, in those contests. Both of those marks led the Ohio Valley Conference during the opening weekend of play.

Rook Dominates
Rachel Rook had a big tournament inside the circle at the season-opening Lion Classic (Feb. 11-13). Rook went 2-1 with a 1.75 ERA, two complete games and one shutout in three starts. She recorded 28 strikeouts and walked only four in 19 innings. Rook began the season by tossing a one-hit, five-inning shutout with 12 strikeouts in a win vs. Alabama A&M (Feb. 11). Two days later, she no-hit Nicholls State for 6.2 innings and matched a career-high 15 strikeouts in another complete game one-hit victory. Southeast Missouri outscored opponents 23-8 in three games with Rook in the circle.

Shore Off to a Great Start
In her first career games at Southeast Missouri, freshman first baseman Aubrie Shore led the Redhawks with a .500 batting average in five starts at the Lion Classic (Feb. 11-13). A native of Mahomet, Illinois, Shore went 6-for-12 with three runs scored, a double, triple, home run and five RBI. She also boasted a 1.000 slugging percentage and .571 on-base percentage for the weekend. She had two hits, two runs, three RBI, a double and one home run in her first career start vs. Alabama A&M (Feb. 11). Shore added multiple hits again when she went 2-for-2 with a double and one RBI vs. Nicholls State (Feb. 13). 

Redhawk Debuts
Seven players made their Southeast Missouri debuts at the Lion Classic (Feb. 11-13). Kat Sackett, Paige Halliwill, Aubrie Shore, Tori Bradley, Sydney Dennis, Tatum Gerwitz and Kileigh Grisham all played their first career games as Redhawks.

Keep 'Em Coming
The Redhawks pounded out 42 hits in their first five games of the young 2022 season. Southeast Missouri posted double-digit hits against Alabama A&M (11) and Nicholls State (12). A total of 14 different Redhawks got a hit in the Lion Classic. SEMO outhit its opponents by a +18 margin (42-24) in its opening tournament. Additionally, seven of the Redhawks hits went for extra bases.

Road Warriors
Southeast Missouri is away from home for its first 28 games of the season. The Redhawks do not play at home until they begin Ohio Valley Conference play vs. Tennessee State (Mar. 19-20).

On Deck
The Redhawks travel to the Arkansas Razorback Classic on Feb. 25-27. Arkansas, Louisville, Kansas and Nebraska are the other teams participating in that event.