SARASOTA, Fla. — No. 10 Southeastern completed a series sweep of New College of Florida on Saturday with a 3–1 victory, extending the Fire's winning streak to 16 games while also marking a historic milestone for head coach
Kayla Watkins.
With the win, Watkins recorded her 232nd career victory, becoming the winningest coach in Southeastern softball program history. The Fire improved to 24–2 overall, and their 16-game winning streak now stands as the second longest in program history.
Southeastern broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning when
Maria Zelenka delivered an RBI single to score
Raylei McKinney, giving the Fire a 1–0 lead. New College responded in the bottom half of the inning with an RBI single from Jamie Reinhardt to even the game at 1–1.
The Fire regained control in the fifth. After a single from
Hailey Bradley, McKinney launched a two-run home run to center field to put Southeastern back in front, 3–1. McKinney finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs, accounting for the key swing of the game.
Zelenka handled the rest in the circle, delivering a dominant complete-game performance. The right-hander allowed just one run on seven hits while striking out 14, improving to 12–1 on the season. She repeatedly worked out of trouble, stranding runners in multiple innings and preventing the Mighty Banyans from building any momentum offensively.
Southeastern finished with five hits in the contest and played clean defense behind Zelenka, committing no errors. Bradley added a hit and scored a run at the top of the lineup, while Zelenka helped her own cause with an RBI at the plate.
Next up, SEU will compete in the Space Coast Spring Games in Melbourne, Florida, on Tuesday, March 17. The Fire will face Johnson (Tenn.) at 2:30 p.m. and Northwestern Ohio at 4:15 p.m.
