LAKELAND, Fla.—The Fire came through in a big way with its backs against the wall coming into this week.
Southeastern swept St. Thomas Wednesday afternoon, winning the first contest 8-0 in five innings, then was a 4-0 winner in the second game to remain in the hunt for a spot in The Sun Conference Tournament.
The Fire had just one hit once through the lineup and in the top of the fourth St. Thomas threatened with a pair of hits and had runners at second and third with one out, but a 6-3-2 double play kept the Bobcats off the scoreboard.
"We played solid defense from the get go, we pitched well from the get go, so when you are doing two sides well it gave our girls the confidence to just be patient in the box," said coach
Kayla Watkins. "They didn't press too much, made the adjustments and squared up the outside pitch."
In the bottom of the inning, SEU broke out with six hits, getting an RBI single to right by
Lauren Watters and a bases-loaded single to left by
Kaley Sarasty to go up 2-0. An error allowed Watters to score, and
Britt Robinson drove in
Hannah Bonner who walked with an RBI single to left to make it 4-0.
The Bobcats made a pitching change before
Madison Williams came to the plate, and on the second pitch she saw, hit her third grand slam of the season to put the Fire up 8-0.
A two-out triple by St. Thomas in the fifth couldn't get the offense going against pitcher
Autumn Hunter, who needed just 67 pitches to finish the five-inning game. The freshman earned her 15
th win of the year, striking out three and walking none of the 20 batters she faced.
The low pitch count in the first game gave Hunter the opportunity to start the second game and worked another 4.1 shutout innings, allowing three hits, striking out one and walking one.
Peyton Varela came in during the fifth and got the Fire out of a bases-loaded jam with a flyout to center field.
Varela earned the save, working 2.2 shutout innings and allowed just one base runner on a walk.
"It was an easy decision to let Autumn throw a couple more innings," said Watkins. "Knowing that we had Peyton behind her and came in and did exactly what she needed to do to keep them off balance."
A two-out RBI single by
Ramsey Sullivan to left field put the Fire on the board in the bottom of the fourth, and in the fifth got an RBI single from
Katie Atkins, and another from Sarasty to go up 3-0. Sullivan picked up a second RBI on a ball up the middle to score Bonner.
Atkins, Sarasty, and Sullivan all finished the second game with two hits each.
With two wins on Saturday at USCB, the Fire will clinch a spot in next week's conference tourney.
