LAKELAND, Fla. – The No. 23 Southeastern University softball team will look to get back in the win column this week with doubleheaders against Coastal Georgia and USCB. The Mariners come to Lakeland on Wednesday with first-pitch scheduled for 2:00 pm while the Fire host the Sand Sharks on Saturday starting at 12:00 pm.
SEU fell to 22-13 on the season when they were swept by Keiser in a doubleheader last week. The Fire took a 3-2 lead into the seventh inning of game one before the Seahawks scored seven runs as they went on to win 8-5.
A five-run second inning in game two gave Keiser enough separation as they ended up winning by a score of 10-6.
Hannah Bonner went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI in the second game against the Seahawks.
Sam Holcomb and
Madison Williams were effective at the top of the lineup, combining to go 4-for-8 with three runs scored and a stolen base. Additionally,
Lauren Watters and
Erica Stahl each had two RBIs.
Southeastern forces the issue against opposing infields as they rank 13
th in the NAIA in stolen bases with 62. Williams and Holcomb lead the way with 25 and 22, ranking them fourth and fifth in the country.
Katie Atkins continues to lead the Fire in batting average (.406) and RBIs (28). She also ranks ninth in the NAIA with 80 total assists.
Coastal Georgia enters play this week with a 16-6 record and have gone an even 4-4 against Sun Conference opponents. The Mariners have won six of their last seven, including a split against No. 10 Georgia Gwinnett. Mary Waldron leads the Mariners in hits with 26 and a batting average of .464 while Cevana Wood leads the team with 20 RBIs. Sophomore pitcher Hayley Dickerson leads the Mariners with 34 strikeouts through 46.1 innings pitched with a 5-2 record.
These two programs haven't met since April 24, 2019 when the Mariners won 5-2. However, the Fire lead the all-time series 5-4.
USCB will play Southeastern with a 15-15 record including an even 6-6 against the Sun Conference. The Sand Sharks enter this week ranked 25
th in total assists (239) and strikeouts (164). Senior pitcher Ally Muraskin leads USCB with 89 strikeouts while maintaining an ERA of 1.10. Freshman outfielder Zinia Hampleton is the team leader with a batting average of .300 and seven stolen bases.
This will also be the first time these two teams have met since 2019 when USCB won 19-3 on April 10
th. The Fire lead the all-time series 13-9 but have dropped the last three meetings.
Follow all the action this week on twitter at @SEUFireSoftball!
