Western Illinois (5-11) vs. Southeast Missouri (4-13)

Series Information
Dates: Sunday-Monday, March 8-9, 2026
Times: Sunday - 12 p.m. (DH); Sunday - 11 a.m., CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Facility: Southeast Softball Complex (600)
Series Record: SEMO leads, 7-2-1
Last Meeting: SEMO 9, WIU 3 | 3/15/25 | Macomb, Ill.
Last Meeting in Cape Girardeau: SEMO 8, WIU 1 | 4/27/24

Head Coaches
Western Illinois: Alisa Goler (65-184 overall; 65-184 at WIU; 13-56 OVC)
Southeast Missouri: Mark Redburn (511-492 overall; 297-243 at SEMO; 157-90 OVC)

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Game 1: Watch | Live Stats
Game 2: Watch | Live Stats
Game 3: Watch | Live Stats
X: @SEMOSoftball
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri
Media Guide: Southeast Missouri

Redhawks Open OVC Play 
•    Ohio Valley Conference preseason favorite Southeast Missouri (4-13) opens its 27-game OVC slate at home against Western Illinois (5-11).
•    SEMO and WIU will play a 12 p.m. doubleheader Sunday followed by a single game at 11 a.m.,CT Monday.
•    The Redhawks are at home for the first time this season after playing 17-straight games outside of Cape Girardeau.
•    SEMO has 17 games scheduled at the Southeast Softball Complex in 2026.

Series Altered
•    The Redhawks and Leathernecks were initially scheduled to play their series on Saturday (DH) and Sunday (single game) this weekend.
•    Forecasted rain in the area caused the series to be moved to Sunday and Monday.

OVC Openers
•    Southeast Missouri is 22-11 all-time in Ohio Valley Conference openers.
•    SEMO started league play with a win in 11 of the last 15 seasons.
•    The Redhawks won seven of their last eight home-openers.
•    SEMO begins OVC play at home for the sixth-straight year.

Series Notes
•    The Redhawks hold a 7-2-1 advantage in their all-time series against Western Illinois.
•    Southeast Missouri swept WIU in each of the last two seasons and has a seven-game winning streak in the series.
•    SEMO outscored the Leathernecks, 40-12, during their series in Cape Girardeau a year ago.

Carney Tosses Shutout
•    Maddie Carney threw a complete game seven-inning shutout in a 6-0 victory over South Dakota State (Feb. 28).
•    Carney allowed nine hits, struck out three and walked three in her first shutout of the season and second of her career.
•    She improved to 2-5 in 10 appearances and nine starts this year.

Getting on Base
•    Madison Winkler has reached base in 24-straight games dating back to May 4, 2025.
•    Winkler got on base with a hit in 15 of her first 17 starts this season.
•    She reached on a walk in her other two starts.
•    Winkler is tied for 12th in the Ohio Valley Conference with a .456 on-base percentage.

Top of the Lineup Produces 
•    Madison Winkler and Kamden Hutton are hitting .415 and .340, respectively, this season.
•    Winkler (22) and Hutton (16) have combined for 42 percent of SEMO's hits this season.
•    The tandem is also responsible for 14 runs and 14 RBI through 17 games this year.
•    Winkler ranks fifth in the Ohio Valley Conference in batting average and Hutton is 13th in that category.
•    Hutton has hit in the leadoff spot 12 times and Winkler hit second in SEMO's lineup 10 times this season.

Winkler Goes Yard
•    Madison Winkler hit her first career home run on a solo shot to right center at the time giving Southeast Missouri a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning against Northwestern (Feb. 21).
•    Winkler then hit her team-high second home run of the season in the top of the third inning at Tulsa (Feb. 28) a week later.

Carney Approaching 100 Career Strikeouts
•    Maddie Carney is 11 strikeouts away from reaching 100 in her career.
•    Carney currently has 89 strikeouts in her three-year career with the Redhawks.
•    She has a team-high 23 strikeouts in 45 innings over 10 appearances and nine starts this season.

300 Wins in Sight
•    Mark Redburn is three wins away from reaching 300 as Southeast Missouri's head coach.
•    Redburn took over the helm in 2015 and has a record of 297-243 during his SEMO tenure.
•    Combined, Redburn has 387 victories between his NCAA Division I coaching stops at SEMO (297) and Evansville (90).

Shore Hits First Home Run
•    Aubrie Shore hit her first home run of the season at Tulsa (Feb. 28).
•    Shore hit a solo home run to lead off the fourth inning in that game.
•    It was the first time she hit a home run since Apr. 7, 2024 (vs. Tennessee Tech).
•    Shore ranks ninth among Southeast Missouri's all-time career home run leader with 19.

OVC Update
•    The first month of the 2026 softball season is in the books.
•    Entering the opening weekend of Ohio Valley Conference play, just one OVC team has a winning record.
•    UT Martin is the only team with over 10 wins at 12-9 overall.
•    The rest of the league is a combined 36-111 (.245).
•    No team behind UT Martin in the standings has more than eight wins.

About Western Illinois
•    Western Illinois comes to Cape Girardeau on a four-game losing streak.
•    WIU was outscored 21-3 during that four-game stretch.
•    The Leathernecks were picked ninth in this year's 10-team Ohio Valley Conference Preseason Poll.
•    As a team, WIU ranks third in the OVC with a .288 batting average.
•    Payton Brown ranks ninth in the conference hitting .392 with a league-best five home runs.