#8 Western Illinois (14-31) vs. #5 Southeast Missouri (20-28)

Game Information
Date: Wednesday, May 6, 2026
First Pitch: 12:30 p.m., CT 
Location: Peoria, Ill.
Facility: Louisville Slugger Sports Complex
Series Record: SEMO leads, 9-2-1
Last Meeting: SEMO 14, WIU 2 (5 innings) | 3/9/26 | Marion, Ill.

Head Coaches
Western Illinois: Alisa Goler (74-204 overall; 74-204 at WIU; 22-63 OVC)
Southeast Missouri: Mark Redburn (527-507 overall; 313-258 at SEMO; 173-100 OVC)

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Live Stats: OVCSports.com
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2026 OVC Tournament Bracket

2026 OVC Softball Championship
Wednesday, May 6
Game 1: #6 Southern Indiana vs. #7 Tennessee Tech, 10 a.m., CT*
Game 2: #5 Southeast Missouri vs. #8 Western Illinois, 12:30 p.m., CT*
Game 3: Winner Game 1 vs. #3 SIU Edwardsville, 3 p.m., CT
Game 4: Winner Game 2 vs. #4 Lindenwood, 5:30 p.m., CT
* First two games are single elimination

Thursday, May 7
Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. #2 UT Martin, 10 a.m., CT
Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. #1 Eastern Illinois, 12:30 p.m., CT
Game 7: Loser Game 4 vs. Loser Game 5, 3 p.m., CT
Game 8: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 6, 5:30 p.m., CT

Friday, May 8
Game 9: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 11 a.m., CT
Game 10: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 1:30 p.m., CT
Game 11: Loser Game 10 vs. Winner Game 9, 4 p.m., CT

Saturday, May 9
Game 12: Winner Game 10 vs. Winner Game 11, 11 a.m., CT
Game 13: Winner Game 12 vs. Loser Game 12, if necessary (30 minutes after Game 12)

Redhawks Open Postseason Play
•    #5 Southeast Missouri will open Ohio Valley Conference Tournament play vs. #8 Western Illinois Wednesday. First pitch is set for 12:30 p.m., CT at the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria, Illinois.
•    SEMO and WIU meet in the OVC Tournament for the first time in 2026.
•    The loser will be eliminated and the winner will move on to face #4 Lindenwood at 5:30 p.m., CT that same day.
•    Overall this will be the OVC's 32nd softball championship.

Series History
•    The Redhawks are 9-2-1 all-time in their series against Western Illinois.
•    Southeast Missouri won the last nine meetings between the teams.
•    SEMO swept WIU in a doubleheader by scores of 4-3 and 14-2 (five innings) on Mar. 9. Those games were played in Marion, Illinois in the Redhawks only shortened series of the season due to weather.

Eight-Team Field
•    The 2026 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament field consists of #1 Eastern Illinois, #2 UT Martin, #3 SIU Edwardsville, #4 Lindenwood, #5 Southeast Missouri, #6 Southern Indiana, #7 Tennessee Tech and #8 Western Illinois.
•    This year marks the third-straight where the tournament will be played at the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria, Illinois.

OVC Tournament History
•    Southeast Missouri makes its 24th Ohio Valley Conference Tournament appearance in 2026.
•    SEMO is the league's postseason event for the ninth time in 12 seasons with Mark Redburn as its head coach.
•    This year is the Redhawks eighth-straight OVC Tournament berth with Redburn at the helm.
•    SEMO has made the OVC Tournament in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026.
•    The Redhawks are 55-36 all-time in OVC Tournament games.

OVC Tournament Titles
•    The Redhawks won the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament a total of seven times in their program history.
•    Southeast Missouri claimed those titles in 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2019 and 2024.
•    SEMO won the OVC Tournament twice under Head Coach Mark Redburn in 2019 and 2024.
•    The Redhawks' last OVC Tournament crown came during the first year the tournament was held in Peoria, Illinois in 2024.

Redburn at the OVC Tournament
•    Mark Redburn is 16-13 in eight Ohio Valley Conference Tournament appearances as Southeast Missouri's head coach.
•    Redburn led SEMO to two OVC Tournament titles and the program's last two NCAA Tournament berths in 2019 and 2024.
•    Redburn's other OVC Tournament appearances were in 2015, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2025.

As the #5 Seed
•    Southeast Missouri is the #5 seed in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament for the fifth time in its program history.
•    SEMO was last a #5 seed in 2011, where it eliminated #1 Eastern Illinois twice and forced a winner-take-all championship game against Jacksonville State in Charleston, Illinois.
•    The Redhawks are 8-8 all-time as a #5 seed between the 2002, 2005, 2006 and 2011 tournaments.

Vs. the #8 Seed
•    The Redhawks are 5-1 all-time against the #8 seed at the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.
•    Southeast Missouri's only loss to a #8 seed was in 2018 against Morehead State (4-1). That year, the tournament was played at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Alabama.

OVC Tournament Experience
•    This year will be the fourth Ohio Valley Conference Tournament for seniors Brittany Affolter, Abby Robbins and Aubrie Shore.
•    Affolter, Robbins and Shore were part of Southeast Missouri's OVC Tournament title team in 2024.
•    Hailey Burnett, Maddie Carney, Gracie Luna, Sophie Schupp, Mary Tutwiler, Willow Van Haren and Kinley Wilkins all make their third trip to the league's postseason event.
•    Luna, who is from Peoria, Illinois, has played in the OVC Tournament every year it has been in her hometown. 

Five of Six OVC Series Wins
•    Southeast Missouri posted series wins against five of its last six Ohio Valley Conference opponents.
•    SEMO swept Tennessee State (Mar. 28-29), Morehead State (Apr. 26-27) and Tennessee Tech (May 1-2), and claimed 2-1 series victories at SIU Edwardsville (Apr. 3-4) and vs. league leader Eastern Illinois (Apr. 11-12).
•    The Redhawks were the only OVC team to win a series against regular-season champion and top-seeded Eastern Illinois this year.
•    Since SEMO beat EIU, the Panthers did not lose winning its last 12 in a row.

Brannon on 13-Game Hitting Streak
•    Catcher Raigan Brannon is on a season-best 13-game hitting streak.
•    Brannon's hitting streak is the longest of any Redhawk this year.
•    She hit .477 (21-for-44) with seven runs scored, six doubles, five home runs and 15 RBI during that stretch.
•    Brannon also boasted a .955 slugging percentage and .489 on-base percentage in her last 13 starts.
•    In Southeast Missouri's last four games alone, Brannon hit .571 with eight hits, three runs, two home runs and eight RBI.
•    SEMO has had a player on a winning streak of 10 or more games for two-straight seasons.
•    Brannon raised her batting average from .194 to .306 (112 pts.) during that stretch.

Multiple Hits for Brannon
•    Raigan Brannon finished with multiple hits in six-straight games.
•    Brannon had three hits at Morehead State (Apr. 26) and two in each of her five games after that.

Winkler Closing in on 100 Career Hits
•    Madison Winkler is four hits away from reaching 100 in her two-year Southeast Missouri career.
•    For her career, Winkler is hitting .343 with 96 hits, 13 doubles, 56 runs scored, 46 RBI, three home runs, 34 walks and 24 stolen bases.

Back-to-Back Sweeps
•    Southeast Missouri heads to the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament on a six-game winning streak after sweeping its final two series of the 2026 campaign.
•    SEMO outscored Morehead State (Apr. 26-27), 29-8, and turned around the next week to outscore Tennessee Tech (May 1-2), 12-2.
•    The Redhawks ended the season with back-to-back shutouts, as well.

Four Hitting Over .300 
•    Madison Winkler, Kamden Hutton, Aubrie Shore and Raigan Brannon are hitting over .300 for the Redhawks this season.
•    Winkler leads the way with a .350 batting average, while Hutton is hitting .344.
•    Shore and Brannon are hitting .322 and .306, respectively.

About Western Illinois
•    Western Illinois makes its first Ohio Valley Conference Tournament since it joined the conference in 2023-24.
•    WIU ended the regular-season with losses in 11 of its last 15 games.
•    The Leathernecks have 31 losses overall as one of five OVC teams with 30 or more defeats this year.
•    WIU is ninth in the league in pitching with a 6.45 ERA.
•    Payton Brown is the Leathernecks top offensive threat, hitting .402 with a team-high 53 hits, nine home runs, 38 runs scored, 10 doubles, 40 RBI and 12 stolen bases. Brown is tied for third in the OVC in batting average.