Southeast's softball team opens season with three wins

Southeast Missouri State's softball team opened its season this past weekend with a tournament in Jackson, Mississippi.

The Redhawks began with a doubleheader Saturday, Feb. 11, against Tennessee State with a 9-1 victory, then defeated Jarvis Christian College 17-2. On Sunday, Feb. 12, the team defeated host Jackson State 13-2. All three victories came by the run rule in five innings.

The Redhawks were led offensively by freshman outfielder Rachel Anderson with six hits and seven runs batted in. Sophomore outfielder Mykaela Arellanes and freshman infielder Ashley Ellis also had five RBIs.

As a team, the Redhawks had a .488 batting average and 19 extra-base hits, including three home runs and only four strikeouts. Defensively, the team only committed one error.

On the mound, four pitchers combined to give up only four earned runs for the tournament. Junior Madeline Krumrey, sophomore Haley Thogmartin and freshman Alexis Estes all pitched four innings and tallied a win.

This is the first time the program has opened a season with three wins since 2008.

Last season, Southeast finished with a record of 16-33 and 10-17 in conference play. Head coach Mark Redburn enters his fourth season with optimism with a young roster that features 11 new players. For Redburn, it will be the returning players who will make the biggest difference.

"These kids have been in our program for at least two years now," Redburn said. "They understand the terms and what it takes to play at this level. They're certainly going to help lead these young ones along the way as a whole and as a program, and we look for this to be our big breakout year."

Some of the impact players returning for the Redhawks are junior outfielder Claire Wernig, who led the team last season in hits, runs scored and plate appearances. She was also one of just two players to start and play in all 49 games last season. The other is sophomore infielder Sarah Messex, who also led the team in walks and defensively led the team in assists.

Junior catcher Riley Hayes will be behind the plate this season after she finished fourth on the team in batting average and on-base percentage last year. Junior Abby Tillotson will share time with Hayes behind the plate. Junior infielder Darby Pruett will look to contribute at third base after finishing fourth for the team in home runs and runs batted in.

Out of the 11 new players on the roster this season, nine are freshmen and two are junior college transfers. Redburn said he expects some of these new faces to be contributors right away.

"The biggest impact will be freshman Rachel Anderson out there in center field," Redburn said. "Ashley Ellis at first base, another freshman, and Mykaela Arellanes is out there in right field, a sophomore transfer. Those are some of our newest players that will have huge impact."

The depth the team will have in the field also extends to the pitching staff.

"We've got five different pitchers that I feel like can go out there and get us through those five games in a weekend," Redburn said. "We feel like with their experience and abilities, they will be a big core for us this year."

The staff will be led for the third year by Krumrey. She has led the Redhawks in innings pitched during her first two seasons. She finished with a 6-14 record last season, but statistically saw improvements. Krumrey lowered her opponents' batting average from .296 to .283 and lowered her earned run average from 4.00 to 3.64. She also saw a decline in her walks and hits per innings pitched.

Thogmartin tallied 92 and two-thirds innings last season as a freshman and finished with a 9-10 record. Junior pitcher Mackenzie Hoelting also saw some time on the mound last season, logging 51 innings in 24 appearances. She registered a pair of saves but was unable to get a win, and she will look to improve on her 4.80 ERA.

Freshman infielder/pitcher Addison Barnouski, who made two relief appearances in the opening tournament this season, along with senior pitcher Aubrey Denno and Estes, who transferred to Southeast at the semester, round out the pitching staff.

Southeast's next games will be played on Friday, Feb. 17, in the Southeastern Louisiana Tournament in Hammond, Louisiana. The team will begin the tournament against Middle Tennessee.

The Redhawk's first home game will take place on April 1 when the team will play a doubleheader against Eastern Illinois.