Southeast Missouri (21-17, 10-5 OVC) at Murray State (30-11-1, 14-3 OVC)

Dates: Saturday-Sunday, April 23-24, 2022
Series Schedule: 
Saturday - 3 p.m., CT
Sunday - 1 p.m., CT (DH)
Location:  Murray, Ky.
Facility: Racer Field
Series History: SEMO leads, 16-13
Last Meeting: SEMO 3, MSU 2 (May 2, 2021 | Cape Girardeau, Mo.)
Head Coaches: Mark Redburn (200-164 at SEMO; 95-66 OVC). Kara Amundson (261-234-1 at MSU; 128-87 OVC).

Follow the Redhawks
Video: ESPN+ Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Live Stats: GoRacers.com Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Twitter: @SEMOSoftball
Series Notes: Southeast Missouri (PDF)

Redhawks Head to OVC Leader Murray State
Southeast Missouri (21-17, 10-5) travels to Ohio Valley Conference leader Murray State (30-11-1, 14-3) this weekend. SEMO and MSU will play a single game at 3 p.m. Saturday followed by a 1 p.m., CT doubleheader Sunday.

Follow the Redhawks
Video for this weekend's series can be accessed online at ESPN+ Live stats are available at GoRacers.com. Twitter updates provided @SEMOsoftball.

Series History
Murray State holds a 16-13 lead in the all-time series between the teams. Southeast Missouri went 6-1 in the previous seven matchups with the Racers. The Redhawks swept MSU in Cape Girardeau last season.

Preseason #1 vs. Preseason #3
Preseason Ohio Valley Conference favorite and reigning back-to-back OVC regular-season champion Southeast Missouri will face its second-straight Preseason top-three OVC contender. Murray State was picked third in the predicted order of finish behind SEMO and Austin Peay. The Racers are the first team in the OVC to 30 wins as the league's current leader. 

Seven of Eleven
The Redhawks won seven of their 11 games in April. Southeast Missouri swept both Morehead State (Apr. 2-3) and Eastern Illinois (Apr. 9-10), and dropped two of three at Austin Peay (Apr. 15-16) in Ohio Valley Conference action this month. SEMO (10-5) enters the weekend at fourth in the OVC standings behind Murray State (14-3), Belmont (13-4) and UT Martin (10-4).

Redburn Reaches 200 SEMO Wins
After getting his 400th career win as a head coach earlier this season, Mark Redburn claimed his 200th career victory as Southeast Missouri's skipper when the Redhawks beat Austin Peay, 3-2, on Apr. 15. The reigning back-to-back Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year, Redburn holds a 200-164 record in eight years at SEMO.

Good Pitching Ahead
Murray State's Hannah James and Southeast Missouri's Rachel Rook are the top two strikeout leaders in the Ohio Valley Conference. James leads the OVC with 168 strikeouts and Rook follows with 144. James (15) and Rook (12) have combined for 27 wins in the circle this year.

Halliwill Claims First OVC Player of the Week Honor
Marshall University transfer Paige Halliwill claimed her first Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week honor on Apr. 10. A native of Mogadore, Ohio, Halliwill hit .625 (5-for-8) with six runs scored, two home runs, seven RBI and one stolen base to lead Southeast Missouri to its series sweep of Eastern Illinois (Apr. 9-10). She recorded multiple hits in two of her three starts in the series. Halliwill homered in games one and three, and matched a career-high four RBI in the series finale. Defensively, she did not commit an error and made an outstanding highlight-reel catch to rob Kendall Fields of a home run in the series opener. Halliwill is the second SEMO player win the league's Player of the Week honor in as many weeks.

Davis Tosses First Shutout
Left-hander Marisa Davis pitched the first shutout of her career in an 8-0 victory over Eastern Illinois (Apr. 10). Davis went the distance and struck out a career-high seven in five innings. For the EIU series, she went 2-0 with 5.2 scoreless innings and no walks.

Anderson Named OVC Player of the Week
Southeast Missouri outfielder Kaylee Anderson won her first career Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week honor on Apr. 4. A native of Warrenton, Missouri, Anderson hit .667 (6-for-9) with two grand slams, five runs scored and 10 RBI to lead SEMO to a series sweep of Morehead State (Apr. 2-3). She recorded two hits in all three games of the series and hit a grand slam in consecutive at-bats while finishing with a career-best eight RBI in game two. Anderson also boasted a 1.333 slugging percentage and .700 on-base percentage against the Eagles. UT Martin's Erin Gallagher (Pitcher of the Week) rounded out the week's honorees.

Walk it Off
The Redhawks came on strong in their final two games of the Morehead State series to earn back-to-back walk-off wins in five innings.  In game two, Southeast Missouri scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth and ended things with a walk-off grand slam by Kaylee Anderson. In game three, the Redhawks scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning again to polish off a 8-0 shutout. In all, SEMO has six run-rule victories in five innings this season. The Redhawks outscored their opponents, 69-14, in those contests. In last weekend's series vs. Eastern Illinois (Apr. 9-10), SEMO added three more walk-off wins, including two in five innings.

10 OVC Wins
Southeast Missouri (10-5) is one of four Ohio Valley Conference teams with 10 or more league victories. Murray State (14-3), Belmont (13-4) and UT Martin (10-4) are the others.

Keep on Scoring
So far in Ohio Valley Conference play, Southeast Missouri is outscoring opponents by a +56 margin (89-33). SEMO is outscoring its foes by a combined 82-27 in the first five innings.

Anderson Moves to Fifth on SEMO's Home Run List
Kaylee Anderson is fifth on Southeast Missouri's all-time career home run list with 28. Anderson homered in each of the final two games of the Eastern Illinois series (Apr. 10) and leads the team with 10 round-trippers this year. She surpassed Lindsey Patterson (23, 2012-15) for the fifth-place spot.

Career Best Hitting Streak
Kaylee Anderson recently saw a career-best 11-game hitting streak end at #6 Arkansas (Apr. 12). Anderson has hit safely in 14 of her last 16 games.

Rook Reaches 50 Wins
Rachel Rook went 2-0 and did not allow a run in seven innings during two appearances and one start vs. Morehead State (Apr. 2-3). Rook registered 15 strikeouts and walked only two in that span. She also combined on a two-hit shutout with Paytience Holman in Southeast Missouri's series-opening win. Rook (52-27) became just the seventh pitcher in program history to get 50 or more career wins. She joined Tracie Eudaley (79, 1984-87), Debbie Schmelz (62, 1996-99), Alice Marler (59, 1990-92), Elaine Fischer (54, 2005-08), Chris Engelhardt (54, 1996-99) and Sara Reichert (51, 1994-97) on that list. 

Seeing Double
Kynzie Wrigley doubled in all three of her at-bats in Southeast Missouri's 12-2 win over Morehead State (Apr. 3). Wrigley's three doubles marked a career-high. She is second on the team with eight doubles this season.

Rickermann Gets it Done
Abigail Rickermann has filled in nicely at shortstop after starter Alyson Tucker suffered a season-ending knee injury. Rickermann knocked in both game-winning runs in the final two games of Southeast Missouri's series vs. Eastern Illinois (Apr. 10). She scored Kynzie Wrigley on a sacrifice fly in game two and delivered a single to score Kelby Robinson in game three. 

Second in the OVC
Kaylee Anderson ranks second in the Ohio Valley Conference with a .430 batting average through 38 games. Anderson is behind Austin Peay's Lexi Osowski (.449). She also rates among OVC leaders in slugging percentage (2nd, .794). on-base percentage (2nd, .500), runs (t6th, 33), hits (t9th, 46), RBI (7th, 32), home runs (3rd, 10) and total bases (6th, 85). Nationally, Anderson is 27th in batting average.

Great Home Start
Southeast Missouri is off ot a perfect 9-0 start at home. SEMO won its first nine home games of a season for the first time under Head Coach Mark Redburn. It is the Redhawks best start at home since it started the 1997 campaign at 10-0.

Rook Breaks SEMO Career Strikeout Record
Rachel Rook broke Southeast Missouri's all-time career strikeout record during her team's series sweep of Tennessee State (Mar. 19-20). Entering the series, Rook needed 13 strikeouts to get the record. She recorded all of those in game one after giving up just two hits and walking two to go along with her 13 Ks in six innings. Rook, who now has 544 strikeouts, surpassed Elaine Fischer's previous record of 501 (2005-08).

Wrigley Earns Co-OVC Player of the Week Honors
Sophomore infielder Kynzie Wrigley was named Co-Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week on Mar. 21 earning the first OVC weekly honor of her career. Wrigley hit .400 (6-for-15) with nine runs scored, two doubles a pair of home runs and seven RBI to lead Southeast Missouri to a 5-1 record last week. Wrigley hit her first home run of the season at Kansas City (Mar. 15), where she went 2-for-4 with three runs and two RBI. She also recorded two hits and two RBI vs. Tennessee State (Mar. 20), and hit her other home run, a three-run shot, vs. the Tigers. Additionally, Wrigley hit a leadoff double and scored the tying run in the top of the seventh inning during SEMO's come-from-behind win over Iowa (Mar. 15). SIU Edwardsville's Grace Lueke (Co-Player), Eastern Illinois' Alexa Remeier (Co-Pitcher) and Murray State's Hannah James (Co-Pitcher) rounded out the week's winners.

Home Run Update
Southeast Missouri started Ohio Valley Conference play by hitting 20 home runs in 15 games. SEMO hit nine home runs alone during its sweep of Tennessee State (Mar. 19-20). The Redhawks closed out the series with a season-best five round-trippers in the finale. SEMO unloaded to hit four home runs in the second inning to blow by the Tigers, 11-3, in game three. The Redhawks now have 29 home runs through 38 games this year.

Holman Tosses Shutout
Paytience Holman threw her first shutout of the season when she went the distance in a 6-0 victory over Tennessee State (Mar. 20). Holman recorded a season-high eight strikeouts and allowed five hits. She also did not give up a walk in her seven-inning gem. Holman tossed two shutouts this year.

Two-Home Run Games
Paige Halliwill and Kat Sackett, who were teammates at Marshall University before transferring to Southeast Missouri, each hit two home runs on the same day. In the Redhawks doubleheader sweep of Tennessee State (Mar. 20), Halliwill hit two bombs in game two and Sackett did the same prior to that in game one. Kaylee Anderson became the third Redhawk to hit two homers in a game when she had a pair of grand slams vs. Morehead State (Apr. 3). Anderson (10), Halliwill (7) and Sackett (2) combined for 19 of Southeast Missouri's 29 round-trippers this season.

Power Five Win
Down 3-2 in the top of the seventh inning, Kynzie Wrigley hit a leadoff double to rally Southeast Missouri to its come-from-behind win over Big Ten Conference member Iowa (Mar. 15). After Kaylee Anderson walked, Tori Bradley doubled down the left field line and Wrigley scored the tying run. After a pitching change, Anderson touched home on a wild pitch for the winning run. SEMO beat a Big Ten opponent for the first time in 21 years. Its last win over a Big Ten school was in 2001 (vs. Indiana).

Back-to-Back Champions
Preseason Ohio Valley Conference favorite and reigning back-to-back regular-season champion Southeast Missouri is 33-11 in league play since the start of the 2021 campaign. SEMO had a program record 23 conference wins in 2021 (23-6). The Redhawks posted 11 series wins against league opponents since the start of the 2021 campaign.

Grand Slamboree
Southeast Missouri has hit three grand slams this 2022 season. Center fielder Paige Halliwill hit her first career grand slam vs. Missouri State (Mar. 13). Kaylee Anderson then hit a grand slam in consecutive at-bats against Morehead State (Apr. 3).

800th NCAA Division I Win
Southeast Missouri picked up its 800th win as an NCAA Division I program when it beat Kansas City, 7-1, on Mar. 15. SEMO first moved to the Division I ranks in 1991-92. The Redhawks are 811-734-2 all-time as an NCAA Division I program.

Every Game Starters
Kaylee Anderson and Paige Halliwill have started all 38 games for Southeast Missouri this season. Anderson made 37 starts in right field and one as designated hitter. Halliwill started every game in center field. 

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).

Over 10 Strikeouts
Rachel Rook had double-digit strikeouts in five of her starts this season. Rook matched a career-high 15 vs. Nicholls (Feb. 13). She also had 12 strikeouts against both Alabama A&M (Feb. 11) and Central Michigan (Feb. 18), and 13 vs. Tennessee State (Mar. 19). Rook is second in the Ohio Valley Conference with 144 strikeouts through 27 appearances and 17 starts.

First Inning Fun
Southeast Missouri is outscoring opponents 52-31 (+21) in the first inning through 38 games this season. 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 1,171-857-3. The Redhawks are 811-734-2 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.