SEMO softball headed to NCAA Regional

For the first time since 2019, the SEMO softball team is the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament champions after beating Eastern Illinois 4-2 on Saturday at Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria, IL.

The Redhawks were the #2 seed in the OVC Tournament and defeated #3 Tennessee State and #1 Eastern Illinois twice on their way to SEMO’s seventh OVC Title. Ace pitcher Paytience Holman pitched wins against the Tigers and Panthers, including the championship game where she pitched six scoreless innings.

As a fifth-year senior, Holman described her feeling when the Redhawks got the final out of the game as ‘unbelievable.’

“Personally, it just felt like a big relief. I've been here five years, so leading my team to a championship is something I've been trying to do every year,” Holman said. “This year, everything was on our side, our team came together and it all worked out.”

Another senior, Paige Halliwill, was named the OVC Softball Championship MVP after leading the Redhawks from the plate. Halliwill went 6 for 9 while having a .700 on-base percentage, 1.000 slugging percentage and being responsible for seven runs, one of which was a solo home run in the championship game.

Halliwill said after their performance this past weekend she and the team are confident going forward.

“I think it’s definitely a confidence booster, our momentum and our energy is unmatched,” Halliwill said. “I think those things will continue climbing, so I’m really excited.”

The team, their families and many Redhawks fans were in attendance at Wings Etc in Cape Girardeau for the NCAA Softball Selection Show. Tensions were high as the Redhawks waited for their name to be called before everyone learned SEMO will be headed to Fayetteville to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks.

The Redhawks join Arkansas, Arizona and Villanova at the Fayetteville Regional where SEMO will play the Razorbacks on Friday at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+. Redhawks head coach Mark Redburn said he is happy with their regional site as it is a place familiar to his team.

“We play there about every other year and we’ve beat Arkansas twice. This past year we lost to them in extra innings, but we are a much different team now than what we were at the start of our year,” Redburn said. “It’s close so we can have our family and friends show up. I'm very excited about being there.”