LAKELAND, Fla.- Southeastern softball will continue their trend of highly competitive opponents this week as they face their first road contests of the season and four different NAIA Top 25 opponents.
On Tuesday, the No. 4 ranked Fire will travel to the USSSA Space Coast in Viera, Fla. for a doubleheader against Goshen College and 2022 NAIA Opening Round opponent University of Michigan-Dearborn at 4 and 6:30 p.m.
Southeastern will then spend the weekend in Gulf Shores, Ala. as they compete in the Gulf Shores Invitational beginning with a doubleheader on Friday against No. 12 ranked William Carey and No. 16 ranked Columbia College at 1:30 and 3:45 p.m. Saturday will begin with a 9 a.m. contest against receiving votes Texas A&M-Texarcana with an 11:15 a.m. contest against No. 20 Campbellsville University to follow. The trip will conclude on Sunday with a 9 a.m. battle against No. 8 ranked Central Methodist University.
Last season at the Gulf Coast Invitational, the Fire went a perfect 4-0 with wins over William Carey (3-2), Our Lady of the Lake (6-3), LSU-Alexandria (12-4), and Campbellsville University (18-15).
The Fire have battled two highly ranked opponents over their last four contests in No. 2 Mobile and No. 11 Grand View and average 4.4 runs per contest.
Leah Gonzalez and
Chapel Cunningham have aided the Fire offense with a .500 and .440 batting average with Gonzalez tallying four doubles and eight RBI's and Cunningham recording a team-high 11 hits.
On the mound,
Claire Sekinger has struck out 18 batters in 22.2 innings of work and held opponents to just a .250 batting average while
Autumn Hunter has held competitors to a .227 average through 20.1 innings.
Goshen College will begin a week-long trip to the USSSA Space Coast this week, coming into the tournament with a 1-2 overall record including their recent eight-inning, walk-off victory over Indiana University at South Bend. The Maple Leafs' offense has been off to a slower start through their first three games, posting a collective batting average of .149. Carissa Fillingame leads the Maple Leafs with a .429 average while the pitching staff is led by Alisyn Catenacci who has gone eight innings with a 3.50 ERA and seven strikeouts.
The Michigan-Dearborn Wolverines will see their first contest of the new year this week after a 30-13 season in 2022 that concluded in the Lawrenceville Bracket of the NAIA Opening Round. The Fire and the Wolverines met in the Lawrenceville Bracket with the Fire taking the 8-2 victory. The Wolverines return their top offensive producer from last season in Shae Scott who concluded the season with a .368 average as well as their top run producer in Makenna Millhorn who tallied 32 RBI's. Also returning is ace arm Lanie Ellinger who tossed 151 innings last season and posted a 2.36 ERA and 16-6 overall record.
The No. 12 ranked Crusaders hold a 9-1 record and are currently on a six-game winning streak behind a miniscule .44 ERA from the pitching staff. Haley Nations has yet to allow an earned run through 30 innings of work and has struck out 45 batters. Ryanne Hornsby has allowed just two earned runs in 29.2 innings for an opponent batting average of .181. Offensively, the Crusaders have posted a .341 collective batting average with four players hitting over .400. Dee Dee West currently holds a .481 average and 1.000 slugging percentage with a double, two triples, and three home runs.
The No. 16 ranked Cougars of Columbia (3-8) are coming off a series split with Ottawa University and are hitting a collective .253 and average 3.6 runs per game. Sophia Angel's .333 average sits at the top of the Cougars stat line while Abigail Pringer leads the team in hits with 11 and two home runs. Ella Schouten has seen the most innings on the mound thus far, posting a 2.38 ERA through 32.1 innings while striking out 46.
The Fire hold a 4-1 historical record over the Cougars with their last contest coming in the 2021 season where the Fire took the 3-2 victory at the Gulf Coast Invitational.
Holding a 6-2-1 record, the No. 20 ranked Tigers of Campbellsville have posted a team slugging percentage of .505 with 11 home runs to aid to their average of 5.8 runs per game. Riley Hurst has posted a .458 average through 24 at bats with two doubles, a home run, and four stolen bases. The pitching staff holds an ERA of 2.10 with Katy Chadwell tallying a team-high 22.2 innings and 10 earned runs.
The last meeting between these two teams saw a combined 33 runs as the Fire would take the 18-15 marathon victory last season in Gulf Shores.
The No. 8 ranked Eagles hold a 5-1 record, dropping their lone contest to No. 2 ranked Mobile University 5-3. A commanding .737 batting average (14-19) by Katelyn Keiser leads the offense as she has tallied 11 runs, 10 RBI's, three doubles, a triple, and two home runs. Jordyn Ball has had two solid outings to begin the season, striking out 16 through 12 innings and allowing no earned runs.
The Fire have faced off against the Eagles twice at the Gulf Shores Invitational, most recently falling by a score of 5-4 in 2019 and 3-1 in 2017.
