April 18, 2008

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - (Friday, April 18, 2008) The Southeast Missouri State Redhawks begin a crucial stretch of OVC games this weekend as they host second place Morehead State for a three game series at the Southeast Softball Complex. The teams will play a afternoon doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1:00 before concluding the series on Sunday at 1:00. Of the Redhawks final 10 games, nine will be played at the "Plex" where the Redhawks are 7-2 including 4-1 against OVC opponents.

Last Week in Review

The Redhawks (21-21, 8-9 OVC) head into the weekend contest on a two-game winning streak after sweeping non-conference rival Saint Louis on the road this past Thursday. Behind the pitching of staff ace Elaine Fisher the Redhawks shutdown their rivals from the north. Fisher recorded her fourth career one-hitter and third of the season as she shutout the Billikens, 6-0 in the opening game. It was her 18th career shutout moving her into fifth place on the school's all-time charts. In game two Fisher pitched 2.1 innings of one-hit shutout relief to record her second win of the day as the team rallied for the 2-1 win. She struckout four in game two to take over the No. 1 spot in career strikeouts. Megan McDonald, the OVC's leading hitter, tied teammate Michelle Summers in career doubles with a three-run two-bagger in game one. Stacia Dopudja batted .429 against the Billikens with one double and three RBIs. Summers is batting .423 average with eight of her 12 homeruns in OVC play.

Scouting the Eagles

The Eagles (26-10, 11-5 OVC) have been the suprise of the OVC as they have kept opponents frustrated with their combination of balanced hitting and top-notch pitching. The Eagles rank fourth nationally in team ERA at 1.20 and feature one of the nation's best pitching duo's in three-time OVC Pitcher of the Week Alex Gjevre who sports a 0.87 ERA and a 13-4 record. Kari Quinn is also a OVC Pitcher of the Week honoree and has a 1.39 ERA and 9-4 record.

Offensivley the Eagles have five starters batting over .300 led by Rebecca Butler's .354 average. She leads the team with 11 doubles and 27 RBIs. Quinn is batting .333 with a team-high seven homeruns. As a team they are batting .296 which ranks in the top-25 nationally.

The Series

Last season the Redhawks took 2-3 from the Eagles. This season the Redhawks faced the Eagles at the Blues City Classic and lost 2-0 behind Quinn's no-hitter and two-run homerun.

The Redhawks holds a commanding lead in the all-time series, 45-8.