Southeast Missouri (6-17, 1-2 OVC) at SIU Edwardsville (9-12, 1-2 OVC)

Series Information
Dates: Saturday, March 16 - Sunday, March 17, 2024
Schedule: Saturday, 1 p.m., CT (DH); Sunday, 1 p.m., CT
Location: Edwardsville, Ill.
Facility: Cougar Field
Series History: SIUE leads, 43-32
Head Coaches: Mark Redburn (458-451 Overall; 244-202 at SEMO; 122-75 OVC). Ben Sorden (39-38 Overall; 39-38 at SIUE; 13-12 OVC).

Follow the Redhawks 
Game 1 - ESPN+ | Live Stats
Game 2 - ESPN+ | Live Stats
Game 3 - ESPN+ | Live Stats
Twitter: @SEMOSoftball
SEMO Softball Notes: Southeast Missouri

Redhawks Head to SIUE
Southeast Missouri (6-17, 1-2) heads to SIU Edwardsville (9-12, 1-2) for its first road series in Ohio Valley Conference play this weekend. SEMO and SIUE play a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday and a 1 p.m., CT single game Sunday.

Follow the Redhawks
Live stats will be available online at SIUECougars.com. Video can be accessed at ESPN+. Updates will be provided on X @SEMOSoftball.

Series History
SIU Edwardsville holds a 43-32 lead in the all-time series against Southeast Missouri. SEMO won four of the last five meetings between the teams. The Redhawks swept the series against the Cougars in Cape Girardeau during the 2023 campaign. Fourteen of SEMO's wins in the series have come in Edwardsville, Illinois.

Happy St. Patrick's Day
This year marks the fifth where Southeast Missouri plays on St. Patrick's Day under Head Coach Mark Redburn. SEMO is 6-2 in games on St. Patrick's Day. The Redhawks also played on that date in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

First Midweek Action
The Redhawks split a doubleheader with Missouri Valley Conference member Bradley in their first midweek action of the season on Mar. 12. Southeast Missouri won game one, 6-2, and dropped the nightcap, 5-1. SEMO has 35 midweek victories with Mark Redburn as its head coach.

Dennis Delivers
Second baseman Sydney Dennis matched a season-high two hits when she went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and the go-ahead RBI-double in Southeast Missouri's 6-2 win over Bradley (Mar. 12). Dennis' double broke a 2-2 tie and sparked a decisive four-run sixth inning for the Redhawks. It was her second multiple-hit game of the season.

Defense Improving
Defensively, the Redhawks have gone their last three games without committing an error. Pitcher Maddie Carney and third baseman Kynzie Wrigley each had seven assists during Southeast Missouri's five-game home stand. Carney assisted on seven putouts vs. Eastern Illinois (Mar. 9) and Wrigley did the same three days later vs. Bradley (Mar. 12). Those are the most assists in a game for SEMO this season.

Hitting Streaks
Kat Sackett and Brittany Affolter are currently on hitting streaks of five and four games, respectively. Sackett hit .412 (7-for-17) with three runs, two doubles and a home run during that stretch. Meanwhile, Affolter hit .300 with three singles, two runs and three RBI in her previous four games.

Affolter Gets On Base
Left fielder Brittany Affolter reached base in nine-consecutive games. Affolter got on with a single in eight of those matchups. She had a career-high three RBI vs. Eastern Illinois (Mar. 9). Affolter started 18 games for the Redhawks thus far.

Over .300
Southeast Missouri has three players hitting over .300 through 23 games this season. Aubrie Shore leads the team with a .315 batting average. Freshmen Brooklyn Saysoff and Sophie Schupp follow hitting .306 and .304.

Eight of Nine
The Redhawks are 8-1 in their last nine Ohio Valley Conference road games going back to the 2023 season. Southeast Missouri posted series sweeps at Tennessee Tech and Lindenwood for six of those victories.

Holman Among OVC Leaders
Paytience Holman enters the weekend ranked among Ohio Valley Conference pitchers in innings (8th, 52.2), strikeouts (9th, 33), strikeouts looking (t8th, 8) and games started (t5th, 9). Holman leads Southeast Missouri in appearances (13), starts (9), innings and strikeouts. She has 217 strikeouts in her career.

100 OVC Wins in Seven Years
Southeast Missouri's 9-4 win over Eastern Illinois (Mar. 9) marked the Redhawks 100th Ohio Valley Conference victory since the 2017 season. SEMO averaged 14 OVC wins per season in that span.

OVC Update
Five teams, including Eastern Illinois, UT Martin, Tennessee Tech, Tennessee State and Lindenwood all claimed series wins during the opening weekend of Ohio Valley Conference play. EIU (14-8) and UTM (14-9) lead the league in wins entering week two.

Battle Tested
A tough 18-game stretch over four different tournaments has prepared the Redhawks for their Ohio Valley Conference season. Southeast Missouri played two ranked opponents (#24 Auburn, #16 Arkansas), five Power Four teams (Ohio State, Maryland, Syracuse, Auburn, Arkansas), the Summit League preseason favorite (South Dakota State) and Missouri Valley Conference preseason favorite (Northern Iowa) already in 2024. Arkansas (22) and Auburn (19) are among the Top-25 in the nation in RPI. SEMO has played the toughest schedule in the OVC and presently the 56th toughest schedule among the nation's 307 NCAA Division I softball programs.

122 OVC Wins
Mark Redburn currently has 122 Ohio Valley Conference wins, most among the league's 10 active head coaches. Redburn is 122-75 all-time in OVC play with three conference regular-season titles (2019, 2021, 2023), one OVC Tournament crown (2019) and one NCAA Tournament appearance (2019). He led the Redhawks to five-straight winning seasons in league action. Redburn's 2021 (23-6) and 2023 clubs (20-2) won the most conference games in a season. His 122 OVC wins are more than the rest of the league's head softball coaches league victories combined.

Shore Among OVC Leaders
Aubrie Shore ranks among the Ohio Valley Conference's top 10 leaders in hits (t8th, 23), RBI (t6th, 16), doubles (2nd, 9), total bases (6th, 35) and at-bats (6th, 73). Shore leads the Redhawks with six multi-hit games.

Shore Clears 100 Hits
With her six hits in Southeast Missouri's series against Eastern Illinois (Mar. 9-10), Aubrie Shore went over 100 hits in her career. Shore currently has 104 hits in 119 games and 116 starts. She is the second player on this year's roster with over 100 hits joining Kynzie Wrigley (122). Paige Halliwill is next closest to that mark with 96 career hits.

About SIU Edwardsville
SIU Edwardsville is presently 9-12 overall and 1-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference. SIUE dropped its Ohio Valley Conference opening series, 2-1, at Lindenwood. The Cougars opened league play with a 10-0 victory over the Lions before losing the final two games of the series. SIUE is fourth in the conference in runs scored (93), hits (154) and RBI (74). The Cougars are also fourth in ERA (3.43). Paige Rocha leads the OVC in hits (33) and doubles (12), and ranks third in batting average (.413). Rocha is one of four players hitting .400 or better in the league so far. Kelsey Ray is among the OVC's pitching leaders in ERA (6th, 2.32), opposing batting average (7th, .234) and strikeouts (8th, 33).