SOUTHEAST ROUNDUP: Redhawks softball sweeps UTM in doubleheader

Southeast Missouri State softball continued its dominance by shutting out Ohio Valley Conference foe Tennessee-Martin 1-0 and 6-0 in a doubleheader Wednesday in Martin, Tennessee.

In the first game, Ashley Ellis singled in the first inning to score Mykaela Arellanes for the game-clinching run. Haley Thogmartin recorded her 13th win of the season, pitching a complete-game shutout, allowing just three hits and striking out three.

In the nightcap, Southeast (30-9) struck first again as Arellanes homered in the first inning. The Redhawks also got home runs from Ellis and Claudia Gallo in the sixth and seventh innings to widen the margin of victory. Arnellas and Ellis each went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs. Gallo had two RBIs. Southeast pitcher Kaylee Anderson (2-1) got the win.

Southeast has now won 22 of its last 25 games.

The Redhawks return home to host fellow OVC third-place opponent Austin Peay State University on Friday.

OVC honors

Southeast track and field athletes Kaitlyn Shea and Logan Blomquist were named Ohio Valley Conference Track and Field athletes of the week. For Shea, this is her first career OVC outdoor weekly honor after she won the 5,000 meters at the Gibson Invitational on Saturday at Indiana State with a time of 17 minutes, 8 seconds.

Blomquist recorded a trio of first-place finishes in the shot put, hammer throw and discus events. He threw 54-feet in the shot put; 166 feet, 7 inches in the discus, both tops in the OVC; and a personal-best 199 feet, 10 inches in the hammer throw. The honor for Blomquist is the fourth of his career.

Southeast travels to the University of Mississippi in Oxford for the Joe Walker Invitational on Friday and Saturday.

Baseball

Southeast Missouri State is currently 15-18 on the season, but boasts players who are individually ranked nationally in multiple areas.

Tyler Wilber ranks in the top 30 in five Division 1 categories this season -- sixth in batting average (.418), eighth in hits (54), 16th in hits per game (1.64), 26th in doubles (13) and 21st in on-base percentage (.513). Joining him is teammate Alex Nielsen, who is 11th in the country for the toughest to strike out. The senior infielder struck out only seven times in 2019, once every 15 plate appearances.

The Redhawks travel to Murray, Kentucky, for a weekend three-game conference series starting Friday at Murray State University. Friday's game starts at 5 p.m.