Southeastern, after a 38-17 season and a second place finish in a wild conference tournament, is headed off to Lawrenceville, Ga. for the opening round of the NAIA National Tournament seeded third in the bracket.
Host Georgia Gwinnett awaits the Fire in their first game on Monday at 2:30 p.m. The Grizzlies finished their season 29-15 with a title win in the Continental Athletic Conference tournament, earning the #2 seed in the opening round.
Gwinnett is led by Lindzie Owen at the plate and will no doubt see Annalise Jarvis who was 2023 NAIA National Pitcher of the Year in the circle. Jarvis has racked up 210 strikeouts over 154.2 innings pitched and has only allowed 13 earned runs the entire season. She owns a 0.59 ERA which is first in the NAIA.
Owens bats .340, and Kloey Goins has a batting average of .339. Owens has posted 32 runs on 34 hits, with seven triples and 11 RBIs, Goins has racked up 23 RBIs on 42 hits.
In last year's contest between the two teams, the Fire fell to the Grizzlies 3-0 in a late-season non-conference bout. Jarvis pitched the full game with only three hits allowed on 87 pitches, and forcing 16 batters into flyouts. Summer Hickson had one of three RBIs in last year's match, she has 17 this year in total on 24 hits. Enna Lackey turned in the other RBI.
The Fire with opening round selection this year have been selected to three straight NAIA Opening Rounds. The 2022 season concluded with a fourth place finish in the NAIA. Last season finished with a first round exit at Southern Oregon.
Southeastern hits .328 as a team, and the pitching staff has a combined 1.69 ERA which is tied for 10th nationally.
Chapel Cunningham is a bright spot in the batters box turning in 87 hits this season which is third nationally. The junior is getting on base 48 percent of the time with a .453 batting average and 23 RBIs.
Ella Brooks follows with a .404 batting average with 61 hits, and 39 runs scored.
Leah Gonzalez leads the RBIs category with 34 RBIs on 56 hits, and freshman
Raylei McKinney is close behind with 32 RBIs on 55 hits and five home runs.
Stolen bases is also a specialty of the Fire as they rank fifth overall in the NAIA with 156 stolen bases.
Riley Sanders leads the team with 41 on 42 attempts, Cunningham has 36 stolen bases, and Brooks is third on the team with 35.
From the pitching circle, freshman
Edan Playa has been a force all season long with the 16th best ERA in the NAIA at 1.22. Playa also boasts a 17-3 record with ten complete games and 69 strikeouts.
Claire Sekinger leads the team in strikeouts with 109 in 26 appearances. Sekinger threw a no-hitter in the first round of the conference tournament last weekend with 10 strikeouts. Senior
Autumn Hunter holds a 2.31 ERA with a no-hitter on the season and 71 strikeouts.
Also in their five team opening round bracket sits #1 Eastern Oregon, #4 Missouri Baptist, and #5 Spring Arbor. Eastern Oregon is ranked #10 in the NAIA, boasting a 35-8 record, a conference tournament win, and seven Top 25 victories.
Missouri Baptist finished the regular season receiving votes, with a 33-12 record and two Top 25 wins. They will battle fifth seeded Spring Arbor who turned in a 33-20 season with two Top 25 wins and a loss in the conference tournament to 16th-ranked Indiana Wesleyan.
The Fire play their first game of the double-elimination tournament on May 13, at 2:30 p.m. With a win, the Fire would play again on Wednesday or would play Tuesday in an elimination game with a loss.
For more information and to view the bracket, visit the
tournament central page.
