First-year Southeast Missouri State softball coach brings new energy, leadership

In his first year directing the Southeast Missouri State softball program, coach Mark Redburn has focused his time and energy on teaching his players how to play "at a higher level."

His lessons vary from defensive strategy to confidence at the plate or on the mound, as well as what the team's core values are, but the eventual goal is a re-energized and successful program.

"We're still working on it and everything, and it's going to be that way," Redburn said. "We're not trying to do everything right now before we open up. We're probably not going to have everything in as a program this first year. We're trying to teach literally the masses here, and we hope down the road, come next year, the older, returning players will be able to help those young ones. But right now we're teaching everyone."

The Redhawks, who begin their season at the Mardi Gras Classic in Monroe, Louisiana, on Friday, finished last season 11-24 and 3-20 in the Ohio Valley Conference before longtime coach Lana Richmond's contract was not renewed following the season.

The players appreciate the effort the new coaching staff, which includes assistants Kerry Shaw and Stephanie Winter, is putting in to teaching them.

"I feel like this is like a fun class," Southeast junior infielder Savannah Carpenter said. "I've learned more than I can even remember. In our locker rooms, we all have a binder, so it's basically like a class. We take notes. We learn. We study. It's basically a class. I've learned so much this year."

Redburn's five core values that the program will be built on are academics, community, lifestyle, teammate and work ethic, and he believes success on the field will follow.

"We believe that when you approach all of those things with passion and with a hundred percent effort and energy, then naturally softball is one of those things and they approach it with that same regard," Redburn said. "We don't want just softball players that aren't going to be very good in the community or the classroom, and at the same time, we don't want just academic and community people that are just kind of coasting by softball-wise."

The goals for the softball team, which has not reached the OVC tournament the past three seasons, are based more on those core values in Year 1, as well as being "solid at the simple, average plays and make progress from there," according to Redburn.

"We're not sitting there saying, 'Hey, we want to win the conference,' or 'We want to finish in the top 3 or 5,' or any of that kind of stuff," Redburn said. "We're just talking about, 'Let's be good at all of those things I just mentioned. Let's be good at details. We arrive together at strength and conditioning, we leave together. A lot of team bonding activities. Trying to be supportive of one another.

"It's really that kind of stuff where it starts, and then on the field, knowing and understanding that if I do something well, it wasn't because I got the base hit. It's, 'I got the base hit for my team.' That's kind of what we're trying to get them to learn and understand and buy into, and instead of having 19 individuals, we want one unit of 19. And that's what we're trying to do here."

Redburn believes the Redhawks' biggest strength is their offense.

Carpenter, an all-conference selection, Evansville transfer Kayla Fortner, fifth-year Alexis Anderson, who received a medical redshirt after missing the final 37 games due to injury last season, and senior Lindsey Patterson are expected to provide "some pop in our lineup."

Redburn noted that freshman infielder India Davis and freshman right fielder Taylor McDannold add speed for Southeast.

"We're going to try to push the envelope. We're going to try to play aggressive," Redburn said. "We're not going to necessarily sit back thinking that at anytime 1 through 9 in the lineup's going to be able to hit one out or anything like that.

"We feel like we've got to create a lot of our scoring opportunities, and we've got to be aggressive on the bases and stretch singles into doubles."

There's much more fine-tuning on the defensive side of things for Southeast heading into the season.

"We're just trying to get them to know and understand that there's certain places we always have to be, whether it's coverages, whether it's depths, where we want to go with the ball based on scenarios or situations," Redburn said. "It's not always, 'Catch the ground ball, throw the hitter out at first,' sometimes we've got to do some different things. It's where our corners have to line up and where our relay people have to be, and then at the same time knowing precisely -- for good teams and programs, and Division I programs -- where they have to specifically be. It's really kind of tightening it up and being very critical and specific on what they have to do and where they have to be."

Southeast returns starting pitchers Keaira Schilling and Aubrey Denno for their sophomore campaigns, and freshman Maddie Krumrey will also see considerable time in the circle.

"We're young at the pitching, but at the same time I feel like the returners have made some adjustments and some changes," Redburn said. "They've done a great job of buying into our philosophy and style, and I think they're going to be better this year.

"Having three arms is a positive for us as opposed to maybe only having one pitcher. We'll get through this year and get this group to know and understand, and we'll keep fighting and battling and doing the best we can."

The Redhawks were picked to finish 11th out of 12 teams in the conference in this year's preseason poll, but the team is confident an improved product will be obvious on the field.

"Just all around, we're a whole new team," Carpenter said. "I think when we start playing, everyone's going to notice that we're not the old SEMO, so it's going to be good."