LAKELAND, Fla. – Southeastern softball went 4-4 in neutral territory last week and will return home for six games at SEU in the week ahead.
On Tuesday the Fire went 2-0 in Clermont with a 4-0 win over Cleary University then a 4-3 come-from-behind win over Lourdes University.
Lindsie Scholwinski earned both from the circle setting a school record with 16 strikeouts in game one then coming in relief against Lourdes.
Southeastern was down 3-2 heading into the seventh against Lourdes, but a
Cat Maldonado RBI single knotted it, then an
Anna Martin sacrifice fly put the Fire on top for good.
The athletes enjoyed a day of spring break in Florida before hitting the road to Gulf Shores, Alabama for the Gulf Coast Invite. There, the Fire went 2-4 with two one-run losses to top five teams according to the NAIA Preseason Top 25 Coaches' Poll.
On Friday, the Fire fell to #4 LSU Alexandria, 6-5 in eight innings with the international tiebreaker enforced in the eighth.
Brandee Pietrzak, who was 3-for-3 in the game, singled in the top of the eighth for run five, but the Generals did one better in the bottom.
They opened the next day with a 4-3 loss to #2 Lindsey Wilson College. The Blue Raiders hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh to seal the deal. Maldonado was 3-for-4 with the tying RBI in the fifth.
The Fire's two wins were over Blue Mountain College 9-4 and Brenau University, 6-1. Two additional losses were to Morningside College 10-6 and #23 Lindenwood-Belleville University 11-3.
UP NEXT:Home DH vs. Purdue University Calumet, Wednesday at 2 & 4 p.m.Last Year: 25-23, 13-9 in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference…#6 seed in postseason play…Went 2-2 in the CCAC Tournament with a season ending 2-0 loss to #5 St. Francis.
This Year: 3-5…Most recently lost to Bellevue 2-1 then Hannibal-LaGrange 1-0…Play Mount Vernon Nazarene and Spring Arbor tomorrow before traveling to Lakeland.
Home DH vs. Tennessee Wesleyan College, Thursday at 2 & 4 p.m.Last Year: 30-9, 16-4 in the Appalachian Athletic Conference…#3 seed in postseason play…Swept AAC Tournament with a 1-0 championship win over #6 Truett-McConnell…Fell to eventual National Champion Auburn Montgomery 3-0 in the NAIA Opening Round then bowed out with a 1-0, eight inning loss to Georgia Gwinnett.
This Year: 6-5, 2-0 AAC…Most recently beat Columbia College 2-0 then 4-2…Play Warner on Wednesday before traveling to Lakeland…Ranked sixth in the NAIA in at bats per game (30), 10
th in assists per game (10.3) and 12
th in runs scored per game (7.2)…Senior shortstop #20 Stephanie Bridges leads the starters hitting .433 with two doubles and eight RBI's…Freshman #21 Baylee Sutton leads the team in RBI's with 11.
Home DH vs. Northwestern College, Saturday at 11 a.m. & 1 p.m.Last Year: 23-24, 12-8 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference…#4 seed in postseason play…Beat #5 Morningside 1-0 in game one of the GPAC Tournament then lost twice to end the season.
This Year: 4-2…Most recently lost to Kansas Wesleyan 7-1…Play Edward Waters, Webber and Warner before traveling to Lakeland…Ranked third in the NAIA in stolen bases per game (3.5) and in steal attempts per game (3.83), fifth in homers per game (1.3), seventh in RBI's per game (7) and eighth in runs scored per game (7.67)…Junior infielder #23 Jessica Rayela leads the team with four home runs and nine RBI's and has a .500 average at the plate.
For all things Fire softball including scores and updates throughout the week, be sure to follow @SEUFireSoftball on Twitter.
