Southeastern Fire softball heads off to Brunswick, Ga. after a 2-1 week in Babson Park, securing wins in the first and third games of the series to advance their record to (31-12, 11-4 SUN).
Fire softball is very familiar with the Mariners of Coastal Georgia having played them 21 times in Sun Conference over the past 11 years. The series is led by Southeastern 11-10, although the Mariners claimed the past two games against the Fire, both in Sun Conference tournament play as they eliminated the Fire in the 2023 conference tournament.
The Fire come into this game winning 13 out of the 15 games they have played in, with the losses coming to Ave Maria and Webber International. The Mariners have won five out of the past six after dropping their three game series to Keiser University.
Within the Sun Conference, St. Thomas leads the way, one game ahead of Southeastern and #19 Coastal Georgia who are tied for second with a conference record of 11-4.
For the Fire, their pitching has been incredible, boasting the ninth overall pitching staff in the NAIA with a 1.56 compared to their opponents 4.10. Freshman
Edan Playa has made her presence felt throughout her inaugural college season with her overall 0.98 ERA, and first in conference ERA of 0.80 in SUN play. She is accompanied by
Claire Sekinger who has an overall ERA of 1.83, senior
Autumn Hunter who has an 1.91 ERA, and
Maria Zelenka who has an 1.56 ERA in five starts.
From the batter's box,
Chapel Cunningham is ranked second in the conference with a .445 batters average and overall average over .450.
Ella Brooks runs close behind with an average of .441 and fifth in conference play with a .430 batters average. As a whole Southeastern leads the Sun Conference with a .337 batting average with 203 runs on 398 hits in the 43 games played.
The Fire are also impressive in baserunning, placing second overall in the NAIA with 143 stolen bases on 150 attempts. Cunningham has 32 stolen bases on 35 attempts, Brooks 31 on 33, and Southeastern record holder in stolen bases leads the way with a perfect 38 of 38.
Coastal Georgia comes into this game after a 2-1 series victory over Warner University, boasting a (30-7, 11-4 SUN) record.
Bryce Peacock is the center of attention for Mariners softball, leading the way in batting and also starting 21 games from the pitching circle. She maintains a conference third best .435 batters average while also going 13-3 as a pitcher in 21 starts with a 2.68 ERA.
Rylee Mills leads the team in ERA with a conference fourth best 1.79 in 18 appearances.
To accompany Peacock in batting, Mills is also a two way standout hitting .407 with 38 RBI's. Next closest is Julianna Batts and Rori Rhodes, Batts hits .349 and Rhodes bats .337.
The series for second place in the Sun Conference will be Friday and Saturday, with a doubleheader on Friday and a single game on Saturday. First pitch from Brunswick is April 19 at 2 p.m.
