LAKELAND, Fla. – After going an even .500 last week through six games the No. 23 Southeastern University softball team has just two games scheduled this week, a home doubleheader against Keiser set to begin on Wednesday, March 31 at 2:00 pm.
Pitching led the Fire to 4-0 and 5-0 victories in their doubleheader against Trinity Baptist on Tuesday as SEU pitchers allowed just four hits with 12 strikeouts.
Payton Thomas tossed five shutout innings with four strikeouts, while
Megan Froehlich totaled two strikeouts and picked up a save on the day.
Autumn Hunter tallied her 11
th win of the season after she threw four shutout innings with six strikeouts.
In the doubleheader against No. 18 Warner, SEU was able to split with a 1-0 victory in game two.
Erica Stahl pushed across the only run of the game when her RBI-double scored
Madison Williams in the first inning. Thomas pitched another six shutout innings, this time working her way out of multiple bases-loaded jams to keep the Royals at bay.
Southeastern's offense couldn't establish a rhythm against Webber International on Saturday, falling to scores of 1-0 and 2-0 as the Fire totaled just five hits on the day. Hunter and Thomas again turned it impressive performances, allowing a total of three runs.
SEU pitching continued to rely on the Fire defense as the team ranks third in the NAIA in both assists (291) and putouts (675). Southeastern also ranks tenth in fielding percentage at .974.
After a solid week in the circle, the Fire now rank 20
th in the country in both opponent batting average (.221) and team ERA (2.02).
Individually, Hunter is second in the NAIA with three saves and fourth with 104.1 innings pitched.
Payton Thomas holds the team lead in ERA (1.89) and strikeouts (53).
Winners of four of their last six contests, Keiser travels to Lakeland with a 12-10 record, going 4-2 against TSC opponents. They also rely on their defense, averaging 10.2 assists per game and 20.6 putouts per game that has them ranked fourth and sixth in the NAIA, respectively. The Seahawks are led by Mikayla Frost and Janelle Dominguez at the plate with Frost leading the team in batting average (.406) while Dominguez has a team-high 23 RBIs. Dominguez is also the team leader in stolen bases with 13. Senior pitcher Giovanna Watts carries a team-best 2.11 ERA with 36 strikeouts.
SEU leads the all-time series against Keiser 8-4, but dropped their doubleheader the last time these two programs met.
Sam Holcomb and
Madison Williams recorded multi-hit games with Holcomb going 2-for-4 in game one while Williams went 2-for-3 in game two.
To follow the action this week in Fire softball be sure to follow @SEUFireSoftball on Twitter!
