The Southeast Missouri State softball team lost 8-4 on Sunday and experienced series sweep against Ohio Valley Conference opponent SIU Edwardsville.

This loss to the Cougars extended the Redhawks' losing streak to five games and dropped their overall record to 5-17 overall and 2-7 in OVC play.

The sunny but windy afternoon set the temperature of the game in the low 50s but did not prevent Southeast from starting off on a hitting streak.

Junior infielder Savannah Carpenter provided an early offensive surge with a three-run homer, her first of the year to begin her productive day.

Carpenter finished the day on a perfect offensive performance going 3 for 3 and was a double away from hitting for the cycle. Carpenter's stats for the day also included three RBIs and a run.

"I think we had a great game today overall, yesterday we struggled including myself I struggled pretty bad," Carpenter said. "But we came back and we knew exactly what their pitcher were going to throw back at us, we knew exactly what she was going to throw at us and we were ready to attack to that."

Carpenter also provided overall praise to Southeast for their ability to not let yesterday's performance influence their mental state of mind and to begin the game on a productive manner.

The Cougars (27-6, 9-1) are currently second overall in the OVC and came into Sunday's game on a 10-game winning streak and are the defending conference tournament champions.

SIU Edwardsville responded to the first inning offensive surge of the Redhawks by matching its output plus an additional run.

The four runs from SIU Edwardsville included a solo homer by senior shortstop Alex McDavid, a two-run homer by outfielder Jordan LaFave and a sacrifice bunt by senior infielder Rebecca Gray.

Freshman pitcher Madeline Krumrey had a tough day locating the strike zone and allowed 13 hits, eight earned runs and two walks in her second consecutive start and complete-game performance.

Complaints from the Redhawks' fans about the inconsistency on the strike zone for both teams was touched upon throughout the games and disputes amongst umpires and coach Mark Redburn occurred several times.

"It's a tough day, and it's hard when you are a team such as us and we are battling and you don't get some breaks," Redburn said.

Redburn commented on the overall play of the Redhawks on Sunday and this weekend in general by saying that as a team, it must handle each game on an individual basis and players can't let past performances influence their current mindframe.

The Redhawks have faced the top two teams in the OVC within the past week and hopes to break its losing streak when they travel to in-state opponent Missouri State (16-16, 5-4) for a doubleheader on Tuesday.

This series is followed by a trip to Nashville, Tennessee, with hopes of improving its OVC record with doubleheaders against Tennessee State on Friday and against Belmont on Saturday.