LAKELAND, Fla.—Six games over the next three days await the Fire softball team after a 2-2 trip to the Gulf Coast Invitational last weekend.
Weather forced the Fire to play four games instead of five during the trip to Gulf Shores. They dropped the first game in extra innings to Lindsey Wilson and a 3-2 game to Mobile in the second before sweeping Sunday's games against Texas A&M San Antonio and Faulkner.
Riley Sanders was the top bat in the lineup with a .625 average and four stolen bases.
Chapel Cunningham had six hits with a double last week and
Raylei McKinney added five hits with two doubles and three RBIs.
Leah Gonzalez added two doubles and drew two walks during her five-hit week.
Despite holding opponents to a .239 batting average against, the Fire pitching staff posted a team ERA of 4.00 in 28 innings with 31 strikeouts.
The week begins with a doubleheader on Wednesday against Mount Vernon Nazarene followed by Cleary on Thursday, and Calumet College on Friday.
The Cougars of Mount Vernon Nazarene are 7-3 this season and swept yesterday's games in Kissimmee with a 9-0 win over Judson and a 4-3 win over Dordt. Avery Miller has been the top bat this season, hitting .406 fueled by a 3-for-3 showing against Dordt. Nadia Hoffman picked up the win against Dordt and now has a 0.64 ERA in 22 innings. This will be the final day for the Cougars in Florida which have played 10 games over the last week.
Cleary sits at 2-8 after a 1-0 loss to Ave Maria and a 3-0 loss to Dakota Wesleyan yesterday in Melbourne. The pitching staff has posted a 2.92 team ERA with opponents hitting .278 against. The offense has struggled thus far with just 15 runs in 10 games. Katie Currie leads the offense with 11 hits.
Calumet will face Cornerstone and Grace on Thursday before coming to Lakeland on Friday. The Crimson Wave currently sit at 4-13 after dropping a doubleheader yesterday at Webber International, 7-6 and 5-1. The offense has 102 RBIs in 17 games and has a .329 average at the plate with a .464 slugging percentage. Jacqueline Marquez has been a tough out with a .511 batting average with three home runs. In 98.2 innings, the pitching staff has a 7.52 team ERA.
This week starts a 13-game home stand for the Fire which will not play a true road game until they head to Miami Gardens on March 22
nd to play Florida Memorial.
