MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The Fire clinched a pivotal series victory Friday, splitting a doubleheader with No. 15 St. Thomas after a seventh-inning rally fell just short in the opener. Southeastern dropped Game 1, 5-4, before bouncing back behind a dominant two-hit shutout from Maria Zelenka to win the nightcap, 1-0.
After the Bobcats surged ahead with a three-run sixth in Game 1, SEU mounted a late comeback. Three straight singles set the table before Kassidy Moore drove in both Katie Short and Raylei McKinney, cutting the deficit to one. Nicole Wasserstrom then drew a walk to load the bases, but St. Thomas escaped by retiring the next two batters to secure the win.
In Game 2, Zelenka needed just one run of support—provided by a sixth-inning sacrifice fly from Leah Gonzalez—to seal the victory. The sophomore, pitching in her hometown, notched her second win in as many days against the Bobcats, allowing only one run across 14 total innings in the series. On Friday, she struck out five in a complete-game two-hit gem.
With the Game 2 win, Southeastern (35-7) claimed the Sun Conference series two games to one, and now sits at 17-4 in league play—just one game behind the first-place Bobcats (41-6, 18-3). However, the Bobcats clinched the regular season title with the game two win, as Ave Maria has forfeited their season, giving St. Thomas three wins next weekend to close the conference season.
Zelenka improved to 16-3 on the season with her 12th complete game and fifth shutout—four of which have come in her last seven appearances. Over that stretch, she's allowed just one earned run across 37.1 innings, boasting a 0.19 ERA. Her season ERA now stands at 1.05 through 126.1 innings.
Offensively, SEU tallied 14 hits across the two games. McKinney and Chapel Cunningham led the way with three hits each. McKinney went 3-for-3 with a run scored, two RBI, and a sac fly in the opener. Cunningham finished 3-for-7 with a run scored across both contests.
Hailey Bradley doubled and singled, scoring a run in each game, while Moore added a pair of singles. Gonzalez contributed a single in Game 1 before delivering the game-winning sac fly in Game 2.
Ella Brooks added a hit and swiped two bases, and both Lauren Sekinger and Wasserstrom chipped in with singles.
SEU will close out the regular season next weekend, when they host Florida Memorial. The three-game set begins with a single game next Friday. First pitch is set for 2:30 p.m.
