Southeast Missouri (0-3) at Saint Louis (2-3)

Game Information
Date: Sunday, February 19, 2023
First Pitch: 12 p.m., CT (DH)
Location: St. Louis, Mo.
Facility: Billiken Sports Center
Series: SEMO leads, 74-28
Head Coaches: Mark Redburn (423-423 overall; 209-174 at SEMO; 101-71 OVC). Christy Connoyer (294-304 overall; 294-304 at SLU; 132-98 A-10).

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

Redhawks Head to Saint Louis
Southeast Missouri (0-3) returns to action when it heads to Saint Louis (2-3) for a doubleheader Sunday. First pitch is set for 12 p.m., CT at the Billiken Sports Center. 

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

Doubleheader Shift
This weekend's doubleheader between Southeast Missouri and Saint Louis was initially scheduled to be played in Cape Girardeau. The game was moved to St. Louis instead. SEMO will play its first 15 games of the season away from home.

Series History
Southeast Missouri holds a 74-28 advantage in its all-time series against Saint Louis. SEMO presently has a six-game winning streak in the series. These teams did not play each other in 2022.

Opening Weekend
The Redhawks dropped three games in their season-opening series at Louisiana Tech (Feb. 11-12). Southeast Missouri lost by scores of 4-0, 8-0 and 6-1. SEMO's only run for the weekend came on a two-out double by Alyson Tucker in the top of the seventh inning during game three.

Tucker Starts Strong
Infielder Alyson Tucker started her 2023 campaign by hitting safely in two of Southeast Missouri's first three games. Tucker hit .625 with five hits in eight at-bats against Louisiana Tech (Feb. 11-12). She went 2-for-3 in game two and finished at 3-for-4 with a career-high two doubles and SEMO's only RBI for the series Sunday. Tucker, who was limited to 25 games due to a knee injury last season, played for the first time since Mar. 26, 2022 (at Tennessee Tech).

Season-Openers
With its loss to Louisiana Tech (Feb. 11), Southeast Missouri dropped to 16-16 in season-opening games during its NCAA Division I era. The Redhawks are 4-5 in season-openers under Head Coach Mark Redburn.

Redhawk Debuts
Three players made their Redhawk debuts during Southeast Missouri's series at Louisiana Tech (Feb. 11-12). Freshman Brittany Affolter, junior Zoe Schulte and sophomore Marissa Peek each played for the first time in a SEMO uniform.

OVC Update
Seven of the nine Ohio Valley Conference schools were in action during the opening weekend of the 2023 season. Tennessee State (4-0), UT Martin (1-0) and Lindenwood (1-4) all picked up wins. Eastern Illinois, SIU Edwardsville, Southeast Missouri and Tennessee Tech also played.

Halliwill Scores First Run of the Season 
Southeast Missouri was shutout in its first 19 innings of the season before Paige Halliwill scored the first run of 2023 on a two-out double by Alyson Tucker in the top of the seventh inning at Louisiana Tech (Feb. 12). Halliwill is SEMO's top run scorer back from a year ago. She ranked second on the team in that category with 35 runs scored a year ago.

Team 47
The 2023 season is Southeast Missouri's 47th in program history. SEMO's softball program has an all-time record of 1,180-867. The Redhawks are 820-744-2 since joining the NCAA Division I ranks in 1992.

Redburn One Away from 300 NCAA Division I Wins
Mark Redburn, who begins his ninth year as Southeast Missouri's head softball coach is just one win away from picking up his 300th career victory as an NCAA Division I head coach. Redburn is 299-349 in 14 years as head coach between Evansville (five years) and SEMO (nine years).

Redhawks Tabbed Second in OVC Preseason Poll
Southeast Missouri was picked second in the 2023 Ohio Valley Conference Preseason Softball Poll voted on by the league's head coaches and communications directors. SEMO was selected second behind UT Martin, which tallied 123 points and 11 of the possible 18 first-place votes. The Redhawks accumulated 119 points and seven first-place nods in the voting. Tennessee Tech (91 pts.), Eastern Illinois (86 pts.) and Southern Indiana (70 pts.) rounded out the top-five, while SIU Edwardsville (61 pts.), Lindenwood (45 pts.), Tennessee State (30 pts.) and Morehead State (23 pts.) followed.

Softball Success
In the last five seasons alone, Southeast Missouri has won a total of 151 games for an average of 30 per year during that span. The Redhawks notched a program record 46 wins in 2019 and won 30 games in back-to-back seasons (2021, 2022) for the second time in Mark Redburn's tenure. In terms of winning percentage, softball was the winningest program in SEMO Athletics with a .569 clip over the last seven years. In that time, the Redhawks accumulated 190 victories and boasted a .601 winning percentage with 89 wins in OVC play.

Returning Starters
Five Southeast Missouri position starters and two starting pitchers return from last season. Outfielder Paige Halliwill, infielders Kynzie Wrigley, Aubrie Shore and Abigail Rickermann along with catcher Kat Sackett are back. Wrigley (.323), Rickermann (.296) and Shore (.288) are the top three hitters returning. Halliwill and Shore both made the Ohio Valley Conference All-Newcomer Team in 2022. Meanwhile, Paytience Holman and Marisa Davis are SEMO's returning starting pitchers. Holman ranked second on the team with 51 strikeouts in 81 innings and finished at 6-6 with a 4.49 ERA last season. Davis led the pitching staff with 30 appearances and rated third on the team with 46 strikeouts in 77.2 frames. Holman (4) and Davis (2) combined for six complete games, as well.

Home Winning Streak
The Redhawks carry a 17-game winning streak into their 2023 campaign. For the first time in program history, Southeast Missouri went undefeated at home when it finished the 2022 season at 14-0. The Redhawks were the only Ohio Valley Conference team unbeaten on their home diamond a year ago.

On Deck
Southeast Missouri heads to the Chattanooga Frost Classic on Feb. 24-26.