Southeast Missouri State's Anderson continues feast at the plate

Southeast Missouri State's softball season largely has been disappointing so far -- but don't blame Alexis Anderson.

Anderson, one of the Ohio Valley Conference's top newcomers, has been a virtual hitting machine for the Redhawks.

She continued her torrid pace Sunday as Southeast split an Ohio Valley Conference doubleheader against visiting Morehead State.

The Redhawks, who have had trouble holding on to late leads, saw MSU score four runs in the seventh inning to win the opener 7-6. Southeast took the nightcap 5-4.

Southeast (14-27, 6-13) is ninth in the 12-team OVC with six conference games remaining. MSU (20-19, 6-11) is eighth. The top eight finishers qualify for the OVC tournament.

"We're just going to keep fighting hard," Anderson said.

Anderson, a junior center fielder in her first year at Southeast, went 5 for 8 Sunday after having two hits in each game of Saturday's doubleheader split with Eastern Kentucky.

Anderson is batting .398, which ranks among the OVC leaders and is threatening for a spot among Southeast's all-time single-season leaders. She is hitting a sizzling .516 in conference play, during which she has belted all five of her home runs.

"She's having a great year. She's on fire right now, and it's a consistent fire," Southeast coach Lana Richmond said.

Excelling at the plate is nothing new for Anderson, a native of Buford, Ga., who compiled prolific offensive numbers at Tallahassee (Fla.) Community College before transferring to Southeast.

Anderson batted .350 last year with 16 doubles, 10 home runs, 38 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. That came after a freshman season that saw her hit .370 with 10 homers, 28 RBIs and 14 steals.

Anderson hasn't slowed down since coming to Cape Girardeau. In addition to leading Southeast in batting, she is tied for second in homers, is third in RBIs with 17, is tied for third in doubles with seven and is second in stolen bases with six out of seven attempts.

"I'm not surprised by what she's doing for us," Richmond said. "She hit very well in junior college."

Anderson also isn't surprised by the type of season she is having although she emphasized she doesn't want to take too much credit.

"I'm just comfortable. I'm seeing the ball really well and feeling really good," she said. "I'm just trying to help my team. I just want to get on base any way I can."

Anderson said she chose Southeast for a variety of reasons, including the fact she has relatives in Indianapolis and Chicago, cities considerably closer to Cape Girardeau than her home town.

"I've got family up north and this program seemed like a family," she said.

Anderson hasn't regretted her decision, but she only wishes Southeast was faring better.

The Redhawks have lost 12 of their last 16 games and are in danger of missing the OVC tournament for the second straight year although they still have a solid chance of getting in if they finish strong.

"We've lost some tough games, but the kids are really playing hard," Richmond said. "Our goal now is to climb and make the conference tournament."

After Eastern Kentucky scored three runs in the seventh inning in Saturday's nightcap to prevent Southeast from a doubleheader sweep, the Eagles rallied from a 6-3 deficit with four runs in the seventh inning of Sunday's opener.

The Eagles had five hits in the frame, including a leadoff homer by McKenna Bartko. MSU scored its final two runs with two outs, including Anna Sommer's go-ahead RBI single.

Southeast had a runner on third base with one out in the bottom of the seventh but failed to score.

"Our offense gave us a chance, but we couldn't close it out in the circle," Richmond said.

Both teams had 12 hits.

Anderson went 3 for 5 with three runs scored and two RBIs. Senior Simone Patterson had two hits and two RBIs. Sophomore Lindsey Patterson added two hits.

Freshman Hannah Clemons (4-6) took the loss. She allowed five hits and four runs in 2 2/3 innings of relief.

The Redhawks scored four runs in the first inning of the nightcap -- senior Taylor Cowan and freshman Chelsea Smith both had two-RBI singles -- later led 5-1 and were able to hold on, although just barely.

MSU, down 5-2, scored two runs in the seventh inning and had runners on first and second when Clemons ended the contest with a strikeout.

Lindsey Patterson (3-2) allowed an unearned run and one hit over the first two innings for the victory.

Junior Lauren Reinagel, a Notre Dame Regional High School graduate, gave Southeast three solid innings. She allowed five hits but just one run.

Clemons finished, allowing five hits and two runs over the final two innings.

"We pieced it together," said Richmond, whose squad was hurt when its top two pitchers from last year, who had eligibility remaining, left the program in the offseason.

Southeast was outhit 11-8 in the nightcap. Anderson and senior Xia Wilson both had two hits.