WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Fire sealed the series win in the opener and narrowly missed the sweep late. Southeastern University plated runs in six different innings in an offensive outburst before a Keiser University sac fly in the seventh finished game two and the split, 10-2 and 6-5.
In game one, the Fire held a 2-1 edge when Kassidy Moore drove the ball to left field for a sac fly to score Leah Gonzalez for a SEU two-run advantage. Rayley McKinney put the game away for the Fire in the top of the fifth with a two-run double before Lauren Sekinger and Moore singled home another run apiece for a 9-2 lead. Edan Playa gave up one of the only three hits of the game over the final two scoreless innings to pick up the complete game win.
Trailing 5-4 going to the seventh inning of the second contest, Maria Zelenka led off with a single, was sacrificed to second, and moved to third on Chapel Cunningham's single. Ella Brooks drove her in for a 5-5 tie on a single through the left side. Keiser, though, would answer on the home side as a lead off walk scored the game-winner with a walk-off sacrifice fly.
SEU recorded 17 of their 24 hits on the day in the opener. Cunningham and Sekinger combined for over half, nine of them. Cunningham went 5-for-8, all singles, with three runs, one RBI, and a stolen base. Sekinger had the big first-game stick, going 4-for-5 with a run and a pair of RBI.
Gonzalez singled two times and belted a 3-run homer with five RBI, while McKinney added a 3-for-5 first contest with a double and two RBI.
Brooks tripled and singled with three runs and two RBI. Katie Short was 2-for-2 off the bench with two runs and a stolen base, while Moore chipped in two singles and two RBI.
Hailey Bradley, Nicole Wasserstrom and Zelenka rounded out the hitting with a single apiece.
Playa improved to 12-3 on the year after she logged the complete game in the circle, giving up three hits and four walks without an earned run. Zelenka (11-3) gave up eight hits and only two earned runs with a pair of strikeouts over 6.2 innings in game two.
With the series win, SEU improves to 24-6 (6-3 SUN) while Keiser drops to 25-11 (8-4 SUN).
The Fire return to action when they host Webber International in a three-game series this weekend. The single game on Friday at 3 p.m. will be followed by a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 & 3 p.m.