LAKELAND, Fla.—Southeastern moved to 3-1 on the year after splitting a doubleheader with Bryan College on Friday.
The Fire bounced back in the second game with a 5-2 win after dropping the first 2-1.
Southeastern was held to just three hits in the first game, which included a solo home run by
Erica Stahl for her second of the year which tied the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Lions regained the lead on a solo homer of their own in the top of the sixth. The Fire had a chance to tie in the bottom of that inning, getting
Madison Williams to second base with one out after a walk and a stolen base.
Ashley Ellison hit a shallow pop up to center field which looked like it was going to drop but was caught just above the ground and Williams was doubled up at second to end the inning.
Freshman Annalise Wood struck out nine SEU batters, earning the complete game win. For Southeastern, sophomore
Autumn Hunter went the distance allowing two earned runs on five hits with one strikeout and two walks.
The bats came alive in the second game with
Alex Hilton getting the game's first run with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the second, followed by a
Chapel Cunningham RBI single up the middle to make it 2-0 Fire after two.
In the third, the Fire added three more getting a pinch-hit RBI groundout from
Peyton Varela and got two more on a throwing error.
That was plenty of support for
Payton Thomas, who went the first four innings and got the last three outs to post five combined innings of work. Thomas allowed three hits, struck out two, and walked two.
"I thought we did a good job early in the circle, Payton gave us a good opportunity to be calm and settled and scratched in the box," said coach
Kayla Watkins of the second game.
Bryan scored twice in the fifth on a pair of RBI singles, and had the tying run to the plate with nobody out in the seventh when Thomas returned and got a foul out, and a pair of fielder's choice ground outs to end the game.
Williams, Stahl,
Haleigh Harrell, and Cunningham had three hits each.
The Fire host No. 15 Freed-Hardeman Saturday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. to close out their opening weekend.
"I think we've done a really good job in the box, we've faced good pitching the last two days and anticipate that tomorrow, but knowing that we've handled that well," said Watkins.
