PEORIA, Ill. –
Madison Winkler went 3-for-3 with two runs scored, a double and three RBI and #3 Southeast Missouri (27-18) pounded out 11 hits in a 7-2 victory over #7 Tennessee Tech (21-35) Friday at the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.
SEMO knocked TTU out of the tournament, which is now down to the top three seeds.
TTU notched the game's first run in the bottom of the first inning when Abby Shoulders hit
Delaney Kell's second pitch for a double, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a sacrifice fly by Abbee Kleinfelter.
SEMO answered quickly to get its first lead in the top of the second.
Brittany Affolter walked to ignite a one-out surge.
Tatum Gerwitz followed with a single through the left side and Winkler doubled off the wall in left center to score Affolter.
Sydney Dennis knocked in Gerwitz on a sacrifice fly and
Sydney Melton doubled down the left field line to score Winkler giving the Redhawks a 3-1 advantage.
After TTU made it a one-run game in the bottom of the third, SEMO countered with two more runs in each of the fourth and fifth innings to pull away.
In the fourth, Melton knocked in two runs on her second double of the game at the end of a stretch of three-straight two-out hits for the Redhawks.
Then, in the fifth, Winkler picked up her third hit on a two-out single that scored Affolter and pinch-hitter
Kinley Wilkins to extend SEMO's lead to 7-2.
Kell (10-4) claimed her 10
th win of the season in another strong complete game effort. She allowed only two runs on four hits, struck out one and walked none.
Kell recorded nine ground ball outs and 10 fly ball outs along the way. It marked her team-high seventh complete game of the year and second time in her career where she won 10 or more games.
Winkler collected her third three-hit game of the season and finished with three RBIs for the second time. Melton and Dennis added two hits each. Melton was 2-for-4 with two doubles and three RBI, while Dennis went 2-for-3 with a run scored and one RBI.
SEMO went 4-1 against TTU during the 2025 campaign.
The Redhawks come back to play the loser of #2 SIU Edwardsville and #1 Eastern Illinois in an elimination game at 4 p.m., CT this afternoon.
