LAKELAND, Fla.—Southeastern generated a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth in the second game of a doubleheader with Grand View to come away with a split after dropping the first game of the day 5-3.
The Fire got a bloop single to shallow right from
Lauren Sekinger to score
Ella Brooks then an infield single by
Riley Sanders to score
Chapel Cunningham to win the second game 2-1.
"I think it was mindset more than anything," said coach
Kayla Watkins of the sixth inning. "We talked between games about being a team that refuses to lose and wants to figure out a way to win and that's what we did. We got the top of the order on and had some things fall our way."
Grand View (7-2) led the entire second game after Jessica Walljasper's third homer of the day in the top of the second.
Claire Sekinger allowed just one other hit during her complete game effort to improve to 3-1 on the season. The junior struck out seven and walked four.
Sanders and Cunningham had two hits each.
In the first game, it looked like the Fire were going to jump out to a big lead early with the bases loaded and one out in the first but the inning ended when
Raylei McKinney was tagged out at third on a sacrifice fly by Lauren Seckinger to take a 1-0 lead.
Grand View took advantage of some small gall, getting a run on a squeeze bunt and a double steal to take a 2-1 lead in the third. Walljasper's first homer of the day was a solo blast to lead off the fourth to make it 3-1 then a two-out, two-run homer to left-center made it 5-1.
Southeastern had chances in the fifth and sixth, stranding two runners in each inning and finally broke through in the seventh with a two-out error which allowed a run to score and another RBI from Sekinger on a single to left.
McKinney, Cunningham, Sekinger, and
Nicole Wasserstrom had two hits each.
Autumn Hunter struck out four over seven innings of work.
"I think there were some spaces we didn't feel in control and Grand View took advantage of that," said Watkins. "I think if we score some more runs it feels like a lot better day."
The Fire will take on the University of British Columbia for a four-game series starting tomorrow at 1 p.m.
