LAKELAND, Fla.— After pulling ahead of Thomas University for the conference lead in wins over the weekend, the Fire will look to hold on to sole possession of the Sun Conference's top spot with four competitions this weekend. Southeastern is set to face St. Thomas at home on Wednesday before traveling to Hardeeville, S.C. to battle with the University of South Carolina Beaufort.
GAMES 48-49:
Southeastern (34-13, 13-5 TSC) vs. St. Thomas University (6-19, 5-11 TSC)
Date: Wednesday April 18, 2018
Times: Game 1- 2:00 p.m., Game 2- 4:00 p.m.
Location: Lakeland, Fla.
The Fire:
Southeastern comes into this week having won nine of their last ten contests. With as impressive of a pitching staff as SEU has, if the Fire can get offensive production, they have an extremely high chance of winning ballgames. The Fire are a perfect 21-0 when scoring at least five runs this season and just 13-13 when putting up a number less than five.
Hannah Bodenhorn captains a Fire pitching staff that leads the NAIA in strikeouts with 291 on the year. In the circle, SEU pitchers have held opposing batters to a .218 average (11
th in the country) while allowing only 1.72 earned runs (eighth in the nation). Bodenhorn (15-4) has kept opponents under .200 in 18 of her 23 appearances in 2018, while striking out at least seven batters in 15 of her 20 starts.
Freshman
Haleigh Harrell has provided the Fire with an offensive spark this season. The Lakeland native, who has come to the plate more than any other batter in the NAIA (162 AB), leads Southeastern with a .426 batting average and a program-record 69 hits. In eighth of her last 13 games, Harrell has registered multiple base knocks.
The Bobcats:
St. Thomas struggled to get going in the opening 15 games of the 2018 campaign, notching just a single win while giving up 8.5 runs per competition. Since the mediocre start, the Bobcats have tightened up on defense, which has made a difference on the scoreboard and in the win column. In their last ten games, the Bobcats are allowing a mere 3.3 runs and have picked up five victories, including sweeps of Ave Maria and Webber.
Look for junior Alliyah Sands to have an impact for the Bobcats, as she has registered a hit in 11 of her last 14 days at the plate. The Clayton, N.C. native leads STU in hits with 22, 15 of which have come in conference play. Sands is also the Bobcats' front-runner in RBIs (16), while batting .326 against TSC opponents.
Previous Meetings:
Early this season, the Fire swept the Bobcats by scores of 8-5 and 11-2 respectively. However, the contests in Miami Gardens were part of the disappointing start to St. Thomas' season. Ten different SEU players recorded a hit in game two of the twinbill, while Melody Grafals, GiGi Santos and Sands each had a base knock in both competitions for the Bobcats.
GAMES 50-51:
Southeastern (34-13, 13-5 TSC) at University of South Carolina Beaufort (29-14, 9-7 TSC)
Date: Saturday April 21, 2018
Times: Game 1- 1:00 p.m., Game 2- 3:00 p.m.
Location: Hardeeville, S.C.
The Sand Sharks:
USCB has won five of their last eight games, sweeping Warner in their most recent two matches. Stout defense has proven valuable for the Sand Sharks over the course of the year, as they have only given up an average of 2.6 runs per contest. This season USCB is 27-5 when they score three or more runs in a competition.
Pitcher Abby Pac has done an outstanding job of shutting down opposing offenses. Pac, who is 12-7 overall, ranks second in the conference in strikeouts per game (6.1) and fifth in opponent batting average (.222). The junior from Boca Raton, Fla. has only allowed more than six hits in an appearance five times in 2018, while striking out at least five batters in 11 performances.
Previous Meetings:
Just two weeks ago, the Fire took both competitions against the Sand Sharks by scores of 4-2 and 6-0. In the series,
Sam Holcomb and
Kiah Ferrell went a combined 7-12 from the plate, driving in five runs and scoring three times.
GAME COVERAGE:
Live stats and video will be streamed at seufire.com/watch for the St. Thomas doubleheader and portal.stretchinternet.com/uscb for the games against USCB. Follow @SEUFireSoftball on Twitter for in-game updates of all softball competitions.
