SEMO’s Rickermann getting it done on offense and defense

SEMO softball’s senior infielder Abigail Rickermann currently leads the Redhawks from the plate with a .379 batting average through April 21. Rickermann has totaled 33 hits to go with seven RBIs while drawing nine walks and is a perfect 8-8 on base stealing attempts.

Not only has Rickermann got it done with the bat this year, but she also boasts a .964 fielding percentage with 44 putouts and 37 assists. Rickermann said she feels like she’s been seeing the ball well this season but she takes more pride in her defense.

“I've always taken pride in my defense. I know that's one thing that I can control a lot of and I can be extremely reliable in. I try to attack balls hard and just make the simple plays and if I make a great play then so be it,” Rickermann said. “But I want to be very consistent. I want to make the everyday plays because we can't afford to give teams four or five outs.”

As the leadoff batter, Rickermann has the chance to get the offense going before the power hitters come up to bat. With the speed the Redhawks have in the eight and nine spots, Rickermann also has many chances to get SEMO on the scoreboard, head coach Mark Redburn said in both situations they can always rely on her.

“Putting her in the leadoff spot has jumpstarted our offense and kind of gets us going,” Redburn said. “We put people down there in the eight or nine spots that we think have a high on-base percentage to get on base for that exact reason. Having them down in the eight and nine for them to get on base, next time we come back around makes it easier for Abby to execute.”

With series against conference opponents Western Illinois and UT Martin left to play, the Redhawks find themselves just one game back from first place Eastern Illinois in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Redhawks are looking for their first OVC Tournament Championship since 2019 and Rickermann said they are hungry for another trip to a NCAA Regional.

“We started this season kind of rocky, not the way that we started the past couple years and we could look at it as ‘oh man like what are we doing?’ Instead we took it as we started hot the past couple years, and fizzled out towards the end but this year, we started slow and now we're gaining momentum towards the end when it counts,” Rickermann said. “We have our sights set on the tournament and we want to win. If we somehow managed to win the regular season, we're gonna be extremely grateful and thankful, but we're not gonna have it distract us, we’ll take that but then our eyes are on the prize. We want to go to a regional tournament, it’s been four or five years and we're ready so that's our goal.”

Rickermann and the Redhawks have a midweek road matchup with Murray State before they return home to take on Western Illinois this weekend.