Morehead State (4-33, 2-12 OVC) vs. Southeast Missouri (16-13, 9-5 OVC)

Series Information
Dates: Saturday-Sunday, April 12-13, 2025
Schedule: Saturday, April 12, 12 p.m., CT (DH); Sunday, April 13, 12 p.m., CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Facility: Southeast Softball Complex
Series Record: SEMO leads, 73-22
Last Meeting: SEMO 13, MSU 3 (6) | 4/15/24 | Morehead, Ky.
Last Meeting in Cape Girardeau: SEMO 1, MSU 0 | 4/8/23

Morehead State Eagles
Head Coach: Megan Griffith
Record at MSU: 16-61, 8-33 OVC
Overall Record: 16-61

Southeast Missouri Redhawks
Head Coach: Mark Redburn
Record at SEMO: 282-224, 149-86 OVC
Overall Record: 496-473

Follow the Redhawks 
ESPN+:  Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Live Stats:  Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
X: @SEMOSoftball
Series Notes: Southeast Missouri
Media Guide: Southeast Missouri

Redhawks Host Morehead State
•    Southeast Missouri returns home to host Morehead State in a three-game series this weekend. SEMO and MSU will play a 12 p.m. doubleheader Saturday followed by a 12 p.m., CT single game Sunday.
•    Video for all three games of this weekend's series can be accessed online at ESPN+.
•    SEMO is at home for the first time in April. 
•    The Redhawks are 3-3 at the Southeast Softball Complex this year.
•    SEMO posted series wins against seven of its last 10 OVC foes dating back to the 2024 season.

Donate Life Weekend & Bark in the Park
•    The Redhawks are partnering with Mid-America Transplant for their Donate Life softball doubleheader vs. Morehead State on Apr. 12.
•    The Donate Life games raise awareness for the importance of organ and tissue donation. Mid-America Transplant is the regional organ procurement organization responsible for facilitating safe, reliable donations for transplant.
•    Southeast Missouri's softball team will wear special blue & green jerseys during Saturday's twin bill.
•    Donate Life shirts will be given away for organ donors while supplies last.
•    Saturday is also Bark in the Park at the Southeast Softball Complex.
•    Fans can bring their furry friends and enjoy a fun day at the ballpark.
•    The event is sponsored by Cape Small Animal Clinic with free giveaways provided by Mississippi Mutts, Busch Pet Products and The Cat & The Hound Pet Care. 

Series Notes
•    Southeast Missouri is 73-22 all-time in its series against Morehead State.
•    SEMO won 14-straight meetings with the Eagles and is 17-1 in its last 18 games against MSU.
•    The Redhawks clinched series sweeps against MSU each of the last five years.
•    SEMO is 19-5 all-time vs. the Eagles under Head Coach Mark Redburn.
•    Redburn has beaten MSU and Tennessee State (19-2) the most of any opponents in his coaching career.

Senior Salute
•    The Redhawks will honor their five seniors prior to first pitch of Sunday's series finale between Southeast Missouri and Morehead State.
•    Sydney Melton, Tatum Gerwitz, Tori Bradley Delaney Kell and Sydney Dennis are in their final season at SEMO. 

OVC Series Wins
•    Southeast Missouri posted series wins in three of its five Ohio Valley Conference weekends.
•    SEMO took two of three at home vs. UT Martin (Mar. 8-9), swept Western Illinois (Mar. 14-15) on the road, dropped two of three at home vs. SIU Edwardsville (Mar. 21-22), split a doubleheader at Eastern Illinois (Mar. 28) and beat Lindenwood (Apr. 6-7) twice on the road.

Milestones Ahead for Redburn
•    Mark Redburn is approaching two more milestones in his coaching career.
•    Redburn needs four more victories to reach 500 career wins as a head coach. He has been a head coach for 21 years between stops at St. Charles Community College, Jefferson College, Evansville and Southeast Missouri.
•    Overall, Redburn is 496-473 as a head coach.
•    Redburn is also just one win away from getting 150 Ohio Valley Conference victories.
•    He is 149-86 all-time in OVC games.

OVC Success
•    Since 2019, Southeast Missouri has won three Ohio Valley Conference championships, two OVC Tournament titles and made the NCAA Tournament twice.
•    SEMO finished among the top two teams in the OVC during four of the last five years.
•    The Redhawks won the OVC regular-season title in 2019, 2021 and 2023 (all odd years) during that span.
•    In its last five seasons, SEMO finished with 16 or more OVC victories. 
•    The Redhawks were 19-8 in 2024, 20-2 in 2023, 16-10 in 2022, 23-6 in 2021 and 17-5 in 2019.
•    SEMO averaged less than seven (6.5) league losses over the last six seasons. Since 2018, the Redhawks have gone 119-43 against OVC foes.
•    The reigning OVC Tournament Champion Redhawks will vye for their eighth OVC Tournament crown in 2025.
•    Mark Redburn is 149-86 all-time in OVC games. Redburn's 149 conference wins are the most among the league's 10 active head coaches.
•    SEMO had winning OVC records in each of the last six seasons.

Redhawks Sweep OVC Honors
•    For the first time this season, Southeast Missouri swept the Ohio Valley Conference Player and Pitcher of the Week awards.
•    Infielder Brooklyn Saysoff was named OVC Player of the Week and Tegan Livesay was tabbed Pitcher of the Week on Apr. 7.
•    Saysoff hit .800 in two games against Lindenwood. She went 4-for-5 with two runs, a pair of doubles, two RBI and one stolen base. Saysoff scored SEMO's only run in game one and then went 3-for-3 in the nightcap. Her two-RBI single opened a five-run fifth inning in the Redhawks 5-0 game two victory.
•    Livesay pitched the first shutout of her career with masterful performance in game two of SEMO's doubleheader at Lindenwood (Apr. 6).
•    She allowed just four hits and recorded a career-high seven strikeouts in seven innings. Livesay walked one and retired the Lions in order during the first, second and sixth frames. She became the third Redhawk pitcher to throw a shutout in 2025.
•    It marked the third time SEMO swept the OVC weekly honors under Head Coach Mark Redburn.

Two-Month Mark
•    Sunday's series finale will be the two-month mark of the 2025 campaign for Southeast Missouri.
•    SEMO opened its 2025 season on Feb. 13.
•    The Redhawks went 5-5 in February, 9-7 in March and are 2-1 so far in April.

Seventh Inning Production
•    Southeast Missouri is outscoring opponents, 24-5, in the seventh inning this season.
•    SEMO recently rallied for three runs with two outs in the top of the seventh inning to get by Eastern Illinois, 3-0, on Mar. 28.

About Morehead State
•    Morehead State is last in the Ohio Valley Conference standings with an overall record of 4-33 and 2-12 in league play.
•    MSU leads the conference in both overall and OVC losses, and is one of three teams in the nation whicht have lost 33 or more games. Illinois-Chicago (5-33) and Northwestern State (4-34) are the others.
•    The Eagles, who are on a seven-game losing streak, rank 295th out of the 300 NCAA Division I softball schools in winning percentage (.108).
•    MSU has been run-ruled 12 times this season. The Eagles lost in five innings on six occasions over their previous nine OVC contests.
•    During its current seven-game losing streak,MSU has been outscored, 78-19.
•    Kendra Lewis and Maddy Christopher are the Eagles top offensive threats hitting .365 and .348, respectively.
•    Pitching wise, MSU has a team earned run average of 8.14. Riley Burney and Emma Solis each have two wins.

Redhawks Get Fifth Shutout
•    Southeast Missouri posted its fifth shutout of the season when it beat Lindenwood, 5-0, on Apr. 6.
•    SEMO is tied for first in the Ohio Valley Conference in shutouts along with Eastern Illinois and UT Martin.
•    The Redhawks had at least one shutout victory in two of their last OVC series.

View from the Top
•    Sydney Dennis leads the Ohio Valley Conference with a .460 batting average.
•    Dennis is one of only two players in the league hitting over .400 this season. Eastern Illinois' Kendall Grover (.435) is the other.
•    She leads Southeast Missouri in batting average, hits (46), doubles (11) and on-base percentage (.472) through 29 games.
•    Dennis struck out only five times in 100 at-bats this year.

Tough to Strike Out
•    Southeast Missouri's hitters have struck out an Ohio Valley Conference low 98 times this season.
•    Redhawk hitters are striking out less than four times (3.37) per game.
•    Every other school in the OVC has struck out 112 or more times in 2025.
•    SEMO hitters went three games without striking out this season.
•    Sydney Dennis is the toughest on the team and third toughest in the OVC to strike out. Dennis has struck out only five times in 100 at-bats this year.

Dennis Logs 150th Career Start
•    Game one of Southeast Missouri's doubleheader at Lindenwood (Apr. 6) marked the 150th career start for Sydney Dennis.
•    Dennis has has started 152 of 173 games in her career.
•    She has played and started the most career games of any Redhawk on this year's team.

Complete Game Kell
•    Delaney Kell pitched a team-high three complete games this season.
•    Kell is 5-3 in 14 appearances and six starts.
•    She leads the Redhawks in wins, appearances, shutouts (2), saves (1) and innings pitched (46.2).
•    Kell has thrown nine complete games in her career.

Saysoff's Hitting Streak Reaches Six Games
•    Brooklyn Saysoff is on a six-game hitting streak entering this weekend's series against Morehead State.
•    The hitting streak, which began on Mar. 22, is the longest of Saysoff's career.
•    She had three hits in two of her last four starts.

Dennis Among National Leaders 
•    Sydney Dennis ranks 13th in the nation in doubles doubles per game (0.38) and 26th in batting average (.460).
•    Dennis leads the Ohio Valley Conference in those categories, as well.

Leading the OVC
•    Southeast Missouri leads the Ohio Valley Conference in batting average (.316), on-base percentage (.393), earned run average (2.89), runners picked off (3), fewest hits allowed (187), fewest runs allowed (109), fewest earned runs allowed (80), fewest walks allowed (84) and fielding percentage (.967). 
•    Individually, Sydney Dennis tops the OVC in batting average (.460). Tegan Livesay is first in fewest walks allowed (11), Maddie Carney is first in fewest earned runs (14) and runs (17) allowed, and Willow Van Haren is first in fewest hits allowed (35).

Home Games
•    Southeast Missouri is currently 3-3 at the Southeast Softball Complex this season.
•    The Redhawks are 55-12 at the Southeast Softball Complex since the start of the 2021 season.
•    SEMO twice went undefeated at home during that stretch in 2022 (14-0) and 2023 (13-0).

RBI Time
•    Brooklyn Saysoff and Gracie Luna have accounted for 42 percent of Southeast Missouri's runs batted in through 29 contests.
•    Saysoff leads the team with 32 RBI, while Luna is close behind with 30.
•    Saysoff and Luna rank third and fourth in the Ohio Valley Conference, respectively, in that category.

OVC Update
•    Southeast Missouri enters the weekend at third in the Ohio Valley Conference standings.
•    SEMO (9-5) is behind both Tennessee State (10-4) and SIU Edwardsville (10-4) which share the second-place spot.
•    Eastern Illinois (11-3) is atop the standings.
•    EIU has won four in a row and TSU won eight of its last 10 games.