LAKELAND, Fla.—Following a 3-1 win over MidAmerica Nazarene, the Fire softball team found itself trailing 7-2 heading to the bottom of the fifth.
A 2-out bases-loaded double in the sixth, and a leadoff solo home run in the bottom of the seventh gave the Fire an 8-7 win and a sweep of the doubleheader to improve to 20-8 on the year.
Sydnie Malloy got the sixth inning started with a double to centerfield, scoring on
Emily Bryant's second RBI single of the day. A pair of Pioneer errors and a walk loaded the bases with two outs for
Cat Maldonado. The junior drove a pitch to the left field wall, clearing the bases and tying the game at seven.
Maldonado finished the game 3-for-4.
Junior pitcher
Lindsie Scholwinski came on to pitch in relief of Maldonado and recorded a 1-2-3 inning with a pair of strikeouts.
Malloy led off the seventh, driving the second pitch she saw over the centerfield wall to conclude the game.
The Pioneers led 2-0 after a half inning, benefiting from a pair of errors by the Fire defense in the first inning.
Brandee Pietrzak's RBI single in the first brought the Fire within a run, then Bryant tied the game on a single to right in the second.
Pietrzak was 2-for-3 with a run scored, and drew a walk.
A 2-out double by MidAmerica Nazarene with the bases loaded gave the Pioneers some cushion, which they added to in the fifth with an RBI single and a squeeze play.
It could have been much worse in the fifth as the Pioneers had the bases loaded and nobody out, but the Fire turned a triple play on a lineout to center. After catching the ball on the fly, centerfielder
Bri Girardin threw the ball to
Taylor Stoltz at second to get the runner off the bag, then over to
Heather Faulk at third with that runner off the base as well to retire the side.
Scholwinski was key to SEU's win in the first game, scattering five hits over seven innings of work, and allowing one run. She totaled 10 strikeouts to the 26 hitters she faced.
An
Anna Martin sacrifice fly in the first scored Stoltz to get the fire on the board first. The Pioneers tied the game in the top of the third, but the Fire came back in the bottom of the fourth with a run on a squeeze play and an RBI single by Faulk.
The Fire managed just five hits as a team, but drew four walks.
Southeastern will open up Sun Conference play Saturday afternoon against Ave Maria with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.
