LAKELAND, Fla.—This week, Fire softball will take on two more non-conference opponents before jumping back in to Sun Conference play on Saturday. Following home contests with West Virginia Tech and Grand View, Southeastern is set to battle with St. Thomas on the road.
SERIES ONE:
#16 Southeastern (19-8) vs. WV Tech University (1-11)
Date: Tuesday March 13, 2018
Times: Game 1- 2:30 p.m., Game 2- 4:30 p.m.
Location: Lakeland, Fla.
Defensive Dominance:
As of late, the Fire (19-8) have kept their opponents off the scoreboard with relative ease. Southeastern has not given up more than three runs in a loss in its last nine competitions, while only surrendering that amount a mere five times this season. SEU pitchers have fanned a nation-leading 186 batters on the season, holding opponents to a 0.192 batting average (seventh in the country).
The pitching staff of
Hannah Bodenhorn and
Ashley Appell have shut down opposing hitters thus far. Bodenhorn, who leads the Sun Conference in strikeout average (9.8), ranks seventh in the NAIA in hits allowed per nine innings (3.55), while hitters are batting only 0.147 against her (eighth in the nation). Appell ranks second in the country in total wins (10) after the freshman notched a 7-2 victory in Clermont versus Saint Francis.
WV Tech:
The Golden Bears have struggled thus far in 2018, coming into their matchup with the Fire with only a single victory in 12 attempts. Tech has scored more than two runs a mere three times on the year. Though the Golden Bears haven't had success, they do storm out of the gates early in games. WVUT has scored nine of its 21 runs in the opening frame, and 16 of its points within the first three innings of play.
SERIES TWO:
#16 Southeastern (19-8) vs. #21 Grand View University (6-2)
Date: Wednesday March 14, 2018
Times: Game 1- 2:30 p.m., Game 2- 4:30 p.m.
Location: Lakeland, Fla.
Grand View:
The Vikings sit at 6-2 after upending the no. 1 team in the country, Oklahoma City, by a score of 8-0. Grand View stunted OCU's 70-game unbeaten streak against NAIA opponents with the win. After the massive upset, the Vikings went on to defeat Webber International by scores of 12-0 and 1-0.
Senior pitcher Claudia Farrell is a major presence in the circle for Grand View. The Des Moines, Iowa native is 4-0 on the year, pitching absolute gems against OCU and Webber. Versus Oklahoma City, Farrell, who has allowed a single run all season long, gave up one hit in the shutout. She followed that performance up with a no hitter in the 12-0 thrashing of WIU. Opponents are batting .100 against Farrell (ranks third in the country), while she concedes 2.24 hits per nine innings (third in the NAIA) with a mere 0.28 ERA (fourth in the nation).
SERIES THREE:
#16 Southeastern (19-8) at St. Thomas University (1-8)
Date: Saturday March 17, 2018
Times: Game 1- 1:00 p.m., Game 2- 3:00 p.m.
Location: Miami Gardens, Fla.
St. Thomas:
The Bobcats are scheduled to face Ave Maria in their opening TSC doubleheader before hosting the Fire. St. Thomas, who has struggled to put runs up this season, exploded for a combined 19 runs in a doubleheader versus San Diego Christian over the weekend.
The duo of McKenna Delaware and Alliyah Sands plated ten runs on eight base knocks in the twinbill. Delaware, the Sunrise, Fla. native, leads the team with a .389 batting average, while Sands, a junior infielder, has driven in a team-high seven runs in nine games.
Game Coverage:
Follow @SEUFireSoftball on Twitter for in-game updates or watch live and keep up with stats at seufire.com/watch
