Plainsman Invitational

Tournament Information
Dates: Friday, February 23 - Sunday, February 25, 2024
Participating Teams: #24 Auburn (4-1-1), Longwood (3-8), Northern Iowa (3-2), Southeast Missouri (4-5)
Location: Auburn, Ala.
Facility: Jane B. Moore Field

Follow the Redhawks 
Feb. 23 - SEMO at #24 Auburn, 4 p.m., CT | Live Stats
Feb. 23 - SEMO vs. Northern Iowa, 7 p.m., CT | Live Stats
Feb. 24 - SEMO vs. Longwood, 10 a.m., CT | Live Stats
Feb. 24 - SEMO vs. Northern Iowa, 7 p.m., CT | Live Stats
Feb. 25 - SEMO at #24 Auburn, 4 p.m., CT | Live Stats
Twitter: @SEMOSoftball
SEMO Softball Notes: Southeast Missouri

Plainsman Invitational
Southeast Missouri (4-5) heads to Auburn, Alabama for five games at the Plainsman Invitatinal this weekend. There, SEMO will face tournament host #24 Auburn (4-1-1) Friday and Sunday, Northern Iowa (3-2) Friday and Saturday, and Longwood (3-8) Saturday.

Follow the Redhawks
Live stats will be available for all of Southeast Missouri's games at the Plainsman Invitational at AuburnTigers.com. There will be no video. Updates will be provided on X (formerly Twitter) @SEMOSoftball.

Series History
Southeast Missouri is a combined 8-14 against the three opponents it will play at this weekend's Plainsman Invitational. SEMO is 0-3 all-time against Auburn, 7-10 against Northern Iowa and 1-1 vs. Longwood. The Redhawks last met Auburn in 2021, the year after the COVID-19 pandemic. SEMO and UNI previously played in 2019 where the Redhawks beat the Panthers twice. Meanwhile, SEMO split two games against Longwood during the 2008 campaign.

Tournament Play
The Plainsman Invitational is the third of four tournaments Southeast Missouri plays ahead of its Ohio Valley Conference schedule. So far, SEMO is 4-5 in tournament play after beating Stony Brook twice and Florida International once at the Felsberg Invitational (Feb. 9-11, Miami, Fla.) and upending Big Ten Conference member Maryland at the Lion Classic (Feb. 16-18, Hammond, La.).

Against the SEC
The Redhawks are 14-70 all-time against the SEC. Southeast Missouri has previously played Arkansas (2-10), Auburn (0-3), Kentucky (2-2), Mississippi State (1-7), Missouri (6-34), Texas A&M (0-1), LSU (0-1), Ole Miss (3-10) and Tennessee (0-2). Head Coach Mark Redburn has upended a SEC foe three times in the last six years. SEMO beat Missouri at home on Mar. 21, 2018 (8-2) and knocked off then-#12 Arkansas in Fayetteville on Feb. 21, 2019 (6-1). In 2023, the Redhawks defeated Ole Miss, 1-0, on Mar. 5 in Oxford, Mississippi.

Tough Test Ahead
Southeast Missouri's three opponents at this weekend's Plainsman Invitational combined for 114 wins in 2023. Auburn finished third in the Southeastern Conference with an overall record of 43-19 and 15-9 in SEC play. Northern Iowa went 39-12 and 26-1 in Missouri Valley Confernece action en route to winning the MVC regular-season title. Longwood finished at 32-21 and 15-5 in conference play to claim a share of the Big South regular-season crown.

Redhawks Beat Maryland for Power Four Win
The Redhawks upended Big Ten Conference member Maryland, 9-3, in the final day of the Lion Classic on Feb. 18. Southeast Missouri took its first lead of the game in the bottom of the second inning and never turned back. SEMO blew things open with four runs two innings later. Three-straight hits by Tatum Gerwitz, Sophie Schupp and Sydney Dennis loaded the bases with one out. Brittany Affolter and Paige Halliwill each walked in a run and Aubrie Shore scored Dennis on a sacrifice fly. Halliwill stole second and a throwing error allowed Brittany Affolter to score giving the Redhawks a 7-1 advantage.

Power Four Schools
Auburn is the fourth Power Four team Southeast Missouri faces this season. SEMO is presently 1-3 against such teams with a win and one loss against Big Ten Conference foe Maryland, a loss to fellow Big Ten member Ohio State and a loss to ACC member Syracuse. SEMO also faces SEC schools Arkansas and Missouri in 2024.

Success Against Power Four
Southeast Missouri has had its share of success against Power Four teams under Head Coach Mark Redburn. In fact, SEMO has nine Power Four wins with Redburn at the helm. The Redhawks beat Maryland (2024, Ole Miss (2023), Iowa (2022), Texas Tech (2021), Arkansas (2019), Kansas (2019, two wins), Missouri (2018) and Georgia Tech (2017) during Redburn's career. SEMO has picked up a Power Four win in four-straight seasons.

Strong Start for Shore
Reigning Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year Aubrie Shore is off to a great start in 2024. Shore has hit safely in all nine of her starts this season. She has an 11-game hitting streak dating back to the end of last year. Shore has three multiple-hit games and three multi-RBI performances thus far. She leads the OVC in RBI (10) and total bases (20), and ranks eighth in batting average (.444).

First Career Hits for the Freshmen 
Freshmen Brooklyn Saysoff, Gracie Luna and Sophie Schupp each recorded their first career hits at the Lion Classic last weekend. All three had a hit in Southeast Missouri's win over Maryland (Feb. 18). Saysoff and Luna each had one hit and Schupp led the Redhawks with two. Saysoff, Luna and Schupp combined for half of SEMO's hits against the Terrapins.

Season-High Runs
Southeast Missouri scored a season-high nine runs in its 9-3 victory over Maryland (Feb. 18). SEMO's most runs have come in the third, fourth and sixth innings this young 2024 campaign. The Redhawks scored seven times in each of those frames. SEMO is tied for second in the Ohio Valley Conference with 31 runs through nine contests.

Holman Gets Second Win
Paytience Holman (2-1) earned her team-high second win when she beat Maryland (Feb. 18). Holman worked five innings allowing just one run on two hits. She also struck out two. Holman leads the Redhawks with 15 strikeouts and is one of six Ohio Valley Conference pitchers with two or more wins so far.

A Look at the Field
#24 Auburn enters its own Plainsman Invitational with a 4-1-1 record this season. Three Tigers, including Anna Wohlers (.357), Amelia Lech (.357) and KK McCrary (.313) are hitting over .300 through six starts. Maddie Penta is 2-1 with a 1.12 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 25 innings over four starts. Penta has one complete game and one shutout too. She is tied for fourth in the SEC in strikeouts. Northern Iowa is the Missouri Valley Conference Preseason favorite. UNI holds a 3-2 record and has five Preseason All-MVC selections in Taylor Hogan, Addison McElrath, Alexis Pupillo, Madison Parks and Samantha Heyer. Parks is hitting a team-high .500 with a 1.903 OPS. Heyer was ranked No. 91 on D1Softball's Preseason D100 Player Rankings and is the reigning MVC Pitcher of the Year. She was 23-5 in the circle a year ago. Longwood is 3-8 with four losses to Power Four teams. The Lancers lost twice to nationally-ranked Alabama and two times to ACC member Georgia Tech. LU is the Co-Big South Conference preseason favorite with USC Upstate. The Lancers led the Big South with five preseason selections, including outfielder Lauren Fox, infielders Lauren Taylor and Korynna Anderson, designated player Maryanna Guy and pitcher Er'ron Burton. Fox is a senior, while Taylor and Anderson are both graduates.