LAKELAND, Fla. – The Fire lived up to their name behind a red-hot performance from Maria Zelenka, who extended her shutout streak to 22 consecutive innings. The sophomore righthander delivered her second straight shutout—this time a two-hitter—as Southeastern University edged New College of Florida, 1-0, in the Sun Conference softball opener this weekend.
Scoreless through five innings, SEU broke through in the bottom of the sixth. Ella Brooks lined a single to left and stole second. Leah Gonzalez followed with a clutch RBI single to left, bringing home the game's only run. That was all Zelenka needed.
Zelenka (14-3) struck out the first two Mighty Banyans in the seventh and induced a routine fly ball to seal the win. She now holds a 1.14 ERA over 111 innings pitched and has four shutouts on the season. The righty retired New College in order in four of the seven innings.
SEU's offense managed five hits on the day. Brooks led the charge with two singles, two stolen bases, and the game's lone run. Gonzalez went 1-for-2 with an RBI and a walk. Chapel Cunningham chipped in a single and a stolen base, while Nicole Wasserstrom added a hit and Katie Short swiped a bag as a pinch runner.
The Fire threatened earlier in the third inning, putting runners on second and third after singles by Cunningham and Brooks, but the Banyans escaped the jam. New College's only hits came back-to-back in the fourth inning before Zelenka shut the door again.
The win pushes Southeastern's record to 31-6, extending their win streak to six games and making it nine victories in the last 10 contests. The Fire have now recorded nine shutouts on the year. New College dropped to 14-21 with the loss.
Southeastern and New College wrap up their three-game series on Saturday, April 12, with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.
