Softball season has begun, and the reigning Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) regular season champions, the SEMO Redhawks, are excited about what lies ahead.

The Redhawks will face more Power-5 conference teams than they ever have before. Other non-conference matchups include Northern Iowa, the two time defending Missouri Valley Conference champions and South Dakota State, who finished 30-0 on the season last year.

“It may be intimidating for a majority of Mid-Majors to see a schedule like ours, but I think it looks intimidating for those other teams, come conference, when they see ‘wow, SEMO really packed their pre-season,” senior outfielder Paige Halliwill said.

“I think this is the hardest schedule we’ve potentially ever had…But, we’ve been talking about how this is going to prepare us for our conference,” head coach Mark Redburn said

The Redhawks went 29-14 overall last season and earned a 20-2 record within the OVC conference. In the last two of the three seasons, the Redhawks have earned the OVC regular season champion title. However, the Redhawks fell to the SIUE Cougars in the quarterfinals of the OVC Tournament. The team’s last tournament championship came in 2019.

“Our flame kind of went out at the end. We know that this year we really packed our pre-season to prepare us for this,” Halliwill said.

SEMO returns a lot of experience to the team this year. Impactful seniors, such as Kat Sackett and Hailiwill, both members of the first team all-OVC team last season, prepare for their final season. However, the team also adds nine freshmen to the roster.

“I think all of them have the opportunity to step in at any point and make a big play, have a good at bat, that type of thing,” junior infielder Aubrie Shore said.

Shore, the reigning co-OVC Player of the Year, is doing all she can to lead her team to an OVC Tournament Championship.

“I’ve just been trying to help everyone out…Softball’s not a one person sport, you need nine people to show up and perform their absolute best.”

Since the 2021 season, the Redhawks have won thirty games in a row on their home field. The Redhawks will play 16 games at home this season. Coach Redburn finds that the home field advantage does in fact exist.

“We’ve won 30 in a row at home…I don’t think that’s just a coincidence. I think our players feed off of our fans, we just love to have them out there,” Redburn said.

The Redhawks opened their season in Miami, FL, in the Florida International Felsburg on Friday where they finished with a 3-2 record on the weekend. The Redhawks will make their debut on their home field on Mar. 9, when they take on the reigning OVC Tournament champions, Eastern Illinois.