SIOUX CITY, Iowa—Facing one of the top offenses in NAIA softball, Southeastern was going to need a special effort to stay in the championship bracket of the NAIA World Series.
The Fire blasted 12 hits, including a two-run home run by
Cat Maldonado in the sixth to put the game away and give SEU a 10-6 win, and its first win in the World Series in program history.
In the bottom of the second,
Taylor Stoltz got the scoring started on a bases-loaded single to center field. A wild throw on a ball hit by
Brittany LaCasse to second base resulted in two more runs and a 3-0 Fire lead.
The Cavaliers (46-6) wouldn't go quietly, picking up two runs in the fourth clawing within a run heading to the bottom of the fourth.
That's when the bats really heated up.
With
Annie Weaver reaching on a single,
Bri Girardin on a walk, and
Cheyenne Blaha on a fielder's choice, Stoltz again singled to center field to bring in a run to kick off a four-run fourth to take a 7-2 lead. LaCasse also drove in a run with an infield single, and
Anna Martin on an RBI double.
Again, the Cavaliers looked to rally by getting three runs in the top of the fifth, two off the bat of Ashli Hafford, who drilled a 3-0 pitch well beyond the left-center field wall.
St. Gregory's made it a one-run game on a popup that dropped at deep second base. The Fire answered the bell in the bottom half of the inning with three runs, highlighted by Maldonado's homer.
Pitcher
Lindsie Scholwinski went the distance to secure the win, allowing four earned runs on 11 hits with one strikeout.
The Fire will return to action on Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time against either Auburn Montgomery or Webber International.
