LAKELAND, Fla. - Twenty-two runs crossed home plate for the Fire throughout the doubleheader against the Central Christian College Tigers. In skillful fashion, Southeastern captured both games of the doubleheader by scores of 10-0 and 12-4 respectively.
Game 1: For the duration of game one, the Tigers could not decode Fire pitchers. In four innings,
Cat Maldonado surrendered only three hits and struck out four.
Stef Guercio was then called upon to close out the fifth inning. The freshman struck out all three hitters she faced, marking her 100th strikeout on the season.
Southeastern's offense was simply sensational. In the bottom of the second, the Fire struck first with an RBI single up the middle by
Sam Holcomb, scoring pinch runner
Sammy Jacobson from second base. With two outs in the half inning, Southeastern tacked on two more runs courtesy of RBI singles by
Natalie Hughes and
Sydnie Malloy.
The Fire took a 3-0 lead into the bottom half of the third inning and, from there, the floodgates opened. Thus far this year, Southeastern amassed 35 runs in the third inning against opponents in previous games. As a result of four hits and an error by the Tigers in the third inning of game one, the Fire increased that number by six due to runs scored by
Kiah Ferrell,
Brianna Perez, Holcomb, Maldonado, and
Taylor Stoltz, advancing the score to 9-0 Fire.
The Fire were able to manufacture the 10th run in the bottom of the fifth inning. Holcomb reached base safely for the second time due to an error by Tigers' shortstop Lyssa Ritchhart. A fielder's choice by Hughes allowed Holcomb to score and give the Fire the 10-0 lead and win.
Malloy, a native of Spirit Lake, Idaho, finished the game with an impressive 3-for-3 and an RBI to her credit.
Game 2: Similar to game one, the Fire cracked the scoreboard first. Both Stoltz and
Heather Faulk reached base safely by way of Tigers' errors. A ground ball by Ferrell to the Tigers' third baseman allowed Stoltz to score. Later in the inning, RBI singles by Holcomb and Hughes gave the Fire a 3-0 lead.
Southeastern added two more runs in the next frame after a two-out RBI single by Haynes scored both Jacobson and Stoltz.
In the top of the fourth inning, the Tigers mounted a bit of a rally, capitalizing on three Fire errors. After the damage was done, the Tigers had scored four runs off of three hits to bring the game within one run.
Southeastern, however, immediately answered back in the fourth when they scored two runs by way of a Faulk triple and
Brandee Pietrzak's single.
The Fire produced even more insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Two early runs set up a bases loaded opportunity for Pieterzak and a chance to end the game. The junior from Indiana hit a bases clearing double into right centerfield, scoring three runs and closing the game with a score of 12-4 in favor of the Fire.
Up next for the Fire is a Sun Conference Series against Webber International University at home, starting with a single game on Friday, March 24th, at 4:00 pm, followed by a doubleheader on Saturday, March 25th, at 11:00 am and 1 p.m.
