Kansas Jayhawk Invitational

Dates: Sunday-Monday, March 13-14, 2022
Schedule: 
Sunday - vs. Missouri State, 10 a.m., CT
Sunday - vs. Wichita State, 5:30 p.m., CT
Monday - vs. Kansas, 4 p.m., CT
Location: Lawrence, Kan.
Facility: Arrocha Ballpark (1,100)

Follow the Redhawks
Live Stats: KUAthletics.com
Twitter: @SEMOSoftball
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri (PDF)

Redhawks Head to Kansas 
Southeast Missouri (9-7) travels to Kansas for the Jayhawk Invitational this weekend. Due to weather concerns, SEMO will play three games, including two on Sunday and one Monday at the event.

Follow the Redhawks
Live stats are available at KUAthletics.com. Twitter updates provided @SEMOsoftball.

Weekend Schedule
Southeast Missouri was initially scheduled to play five games in Lawrence, Kansas this weekend, but weather concerns shifted its schedule. SEMO will face Missouri State (10 a.m.) and Wichita State (5 p.m.) Sunday and tournament host Kansas (4 p.m.) Monday.

Series Records
The Redhawks are a combined 12-33 against the teams they face at the Jayhawk Invitational. Southeast Missouri holds a 1-1 record vs. Wichita State, a 9-28 mark vs. Missouri State and a 2-4 record vs. Kansas. The Redhawks beat the Jayhawks twice the last time they faced them at Arrocha Ballpark in 2019.

Redhawks Win Purple & Gold Challenge
Southeast Missouri won the Lipscomb Purple & Gold Challenge with a 4-1 record last week. Southeast Missouri beat Charleston, 5-4, 3-2, defeated tournament host Lipscomb, 7-1, and took care of Dayton, 10-6. It was SEMO's first tournament win of the season. 

Spring Break Ahead
After its trip to Lawrence, Kansas this weekend, Southeast Missouri will head to Kansas City, Missouri take on both Kansas City and Iowa on Mar. 15. SEMO will play five games in three days. The Redhawks then head home to host Tennessee State in its home and Ohio Valley Conference opening series on Mar. 19-20.

Tournament Play
The Jayhawk Invitational marks the fourth tournament Southeast Missouri plays in this season. SEMO is 9-6 in tournament play after going 3-2 at the Lion Classic (Feb. 11-13) in Hammond, Louisiana, 2-3 at the Hilltopper Classic (Feb. 18-20) in Bowling Green, Kentucky and 4-1 at the Purple & Gold Challenge in Nashville, Tennessee.. The Redhawks won the Purple & Gold Challenge.

Holman Returns
Right-hander Paytience Holman returned from injury at the Purple & Gold Challenge (Mar. 4-6). Holman went 1-1 with a 1.05 ERA and one save in three appearances and two starts. She struck out nine in 13.1 innings, allowing just two earned runs. Holman threw a complete game victory with four strikeouts in her first start of the season at Lipscomb (Mar. 4).

800th NCAA Division I Win on the Horizon
Southeast Missouri needs just one win to get 800 in its NCAA Division I era. SEMO first moved to the Division I ranks in 1991-92. The Redhawks are 799-777-2 all-time as a NCAA Division I program.

.400 Hitters
Outfielder Kaylee Anderson is one of five players in the Ohio Valley Conference hitting .400 or better. Anderson boasts a team-high .400 batting average through 16 starts. She leads Southeast Missouri in hits (18), doubles (5), runs (14), walks (8) and on-base percentage (.500). She ranks fifth in the OVC in batting average.

Approaching 400 Wins
Mark Redburn is five wins away from reaching 400 as a head coach. Redburn is in his 18th year as a head coach and his career includes 13 years at the NCAA Division I level (5 at Evansville; 8 at SEMO). Overall, Redburn is 395-392. That record includes a 184-153 mark in eight seasons with the Redhawks. 

Rook Throws No-Hitter
Rachel Rook threw a no-hitter and struck out 12 to lead Southeast Missouri to a 6-0 win over Central Michigan (Feb. 18). At the time, Rook tossed the ninth non-combined no-hitter in NCAA Division I softball this season. She retired 20-straight prior to Shannon Stein's two-out walk in the top of the seventh inning. Stein was CMU's only baserunner of the game as Rook was perfect through 6.2 frames. She recorded the second-no-hitter of her career and first seven-inning no-hitter as a Redhawk.

OVC Pitcher of the Week
Rachel Rook was voted Ohio Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 21. A native of Republic, Missouri, Rook threw a no-hitter with 12 strikeouts in Southeast Missouri's win over Central Michigan (Feb. 18). She tossed two complete games and struck out 25 in 19 innings en route to going 2-1 at the Western Kentucky Hilltopper Classic (Feb. 18-20).

Marshall Transfer Tandem
Outfielder Paige Halliwill and catcher Kat Sackett were teammates at Marshall University as freshmen in 2021 before joining the Redhawks this year. Halliwill has started all 16 games and Sackett started 14 in their first seasons at Southeast Missouri. Halliwill has been in the lineup every game in center field.

Statistically Speaking
Southeast Missouri is among the top two in the Ohio Valley Conference earned run average (2nd, 2.88), fielding percentage (2nd, .974), opposing batting average (2nd, .227), batters struck out (t1st, 103), fewest hits allowed (2nd, 87) and fewest doubles allowed (1st, 9). Kaylee Anderson ranks second among league leaders in on-base percentage (.500), Paytience Holman is tied for first in ERA (1.05) and Rachel Rook tops the conference in strikeouts (75) and is tied for first in wins (6). 

Over 10 Strikeouts
Rachel Rook registered over 10 strikeouts in three of her first four starts in the circle this season. Rook struck out 12 in a season-opening complete game shutout against Alabama A&M (Feb. 11) and matched a career-high 15 strikeouts in a seven-inning one-hitter vs. Nicholls (Feb. 13). She then opened the Hilltopper Classic with 12 strikeouts in a complete game no-hitter vs. Central Michigan (Feb. 18). She leads the Ohio Valley Conference and ranks 29th in the nation with 75 strikeouts. In addition, Rook has pitched five complete games and two shutouts in 11 appearances and nine starts this year.

Rook Joins SEMO's Top-10 in Wins
Rachel Rook, who is presently 6-3 in 11 appearances and nine starts this season, joined Southeast Missouri's all-time career list in wins. Rook is 46-23 in a Redhawk uniform and is ninth on that list. 

Strikeout Counter
Rachel Rook has 475 strikeouts in her Southeast Missouri career. Seventh-five of those have come already this season. Rook is now second on SEMO's all-time career list in strikeouts. She surpassed Tracie Eudaley (471, 1984-87) for that spot. Elaine Fischer (501, 2005-08) is presently the school's all-time career strikeout leader.

First Inning Rout
Southeast Missouri is outscoring opponents 30-1 in the first inning through 16 games this season. Nicholls State is the only team that scored on the Redhawks in the first inning all year. SEMO put up seven or more runs in the first inning on three occasions.

OVC Preseason-Favorite
The reigning back-to-back Ohio Valley Conference Champion softball team is the preseason favorite in the 2022 Ohio Valley Conference Preseason Poll. SEMO garnered 16 of the possible 20 first-place votes and accumulated 157 points in the overall voting by OVC Head Coaches and Communication Directors. Austin Peay (140 pts.), Murray State (121 pts.), Eastern Illinois (107 pts.) and UT Martin (107 pts.) rounded out the top five. SIU Edwardsville (82 pts.), Tennessee Tech (69 pts.), Belmont (63 pts.), Tennessee State (33 pts.) and Morehead State (21 pts.). SEMO is coming off a season where it went 30-17 overall en route to winning its second-straight and seventh overall OVC regular-season title. The Redhawks finished with a 23-6 record in league play with their 23 conference victories marking the most in program history. In the last two-plus seasons, SEMO put together an overall record of 121-60 and 55-18 mark in OVC play. Mark Redburn picked up his second OVC Coach of the Year accolade and Rachel Rook became only the second SEMO player in program history to win the league's coveted Pitcher of the Year honor. Rook returns for her final season in a Redhawk uniform after leading the OVC in wins (20), innings (163), strikeouts (196), shutouts (7) and opposing batting average (.191).

Team 46
The 2022 campaign is the 46th season of Southeast Missouri softball. SEMO's softball program has an all-time record of 1,159-847-3. The Redhawks are 799-777-2 all-time since moving to the NCAA Division I ranks in 1992. SEMO has accumulated eighteen 30-win seasons, two 40-win campaigns, seven Ohio Valley Conference regular-season titles, six OVC Tournament crowns and two NCAA Tournament berths in its program history.

30-Win Seasons
Southeast Missouri registered over 30 wins in each of its last three complete seasons. The Redhawks went 30-17 en route to winning their second-straight Ohio Valley Conference regular-season title in 2021 and finished with a 33-20 record and fourth-place finish in the OVC in 2018.. In 2019, SEMO set a program record in wins when it went 46-18 overall and won the OVC regular-season and tournament titles. The Redhawks also made the NCAA Tournament that year. SEMO has a total of 18 seasons with 30 or more wins in its program history.