CLERMONT, Fla. – Saturday marked the furthest the Fire had ever advanced in The Sun Conference Tournament. The second seeded Southeastern University softball team fell to the top seeded Warner University Royals 4-0 to finish as tournament runners-up.
After both teams remained scoreless through three, the Royals broke the silence in the bottom of the fourth. An error allowed the Warner baserunner to advance into scoring position, who later crossed home. The Fire committed a trio of defensive miscues on the day.
SEU threatened in the top of the sixth after back to back one out singles by
Heather Faulk and
Cheyenne Blaha. However, the Fire were unable to advance them. Faulk finished the day as the only Southeastern player with multiple base knocks, owning a 2-3 performance at the plate.
A triple by Megan Hammett in the bottom of the sixth cleared the loaded bases and put the Royals ahead 4-0.
Seniors
Lindsie Scholwinski and
Cat Maldonado, as well as freshman
Sam Holcomb, earned placements on the All-Tournament team.
Scholwinski logged 33 and two thirds innings of work for the Fire this weekend. She struck out 24, posted a 1.90 ERA, and opponents hit .227 against her.
Maldonado hit .375 at the plate for SEU with two runs batted in on the weekend. She also recorded 40 put outs.
Holcomb asserted herself as a dynamic hitter in the tournament, belting .434 at the plate with six runs scored, two homers, and seven runs batted in. Her two long balls came in the final game yesterday versus Thomas.
The Fire now await to find out where they journey for the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round. The tournament is set to take place May 15-17.
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