MELBOURNE, Fla. — No. 10 Southeastern split a pair of games Tuesday at the Space Coast Spring Games, tying the program record with its 17th consecutive victory in the opener before falling 1–0 to Johnson (Tenn.) in the nightcap. The Fire moved to 25–3 on the season.
Game 1: Southeastern 14, Northwestern Ohio 1 (6 innings)
Southeastern opened the day in dominant fashion, defeating Northwestern Ohio 14–1 in six innings to match the longest winning streak in program history. The Fire struck early, taking advantage of a defensive miscue in the first inning before
Maria Zelenka delivered an RBI single to give SEU a 2–0 lead.
Ella Brooks added an RBI single in the second to extend the advantage to 3–0.
Northwestern Ohio briefly cut into the lead in the bottom of the second when Hailee Edgell tripled and later scored on an RBI groundout by Paige Becker, but that would be the only run allowed by Southeastern starter
Emma Vickers.
The Fire steadily pulled away in the middle innings.
Raylei McKinney delivered a two-run single in the fourth inning to push the lead to 5–1, and Southeastern added three more runs in the fifth, highlighted by RBI hits from
Hailey Bradley and McKinney.
Southeastern put the game away with a six-run sixth inning.
Jaidyn Fuller and Brooks each delivered RBI singles before
Katie Short drove in another run on a fielder's choice. McKinney capped the rally with a three-run home run to left-center field, sealing the run-rule victory.
McKinney finished 3-for-4 with six RBIs, tying for the second-most RBIs in a single game in program history and marking the first six-RBI performance by a Fire player since 2016. Brooks scored four runs and added two hits and two RBIs, while
Chloe Baker recorded two hits and scored twice. Vickers tossed a complete-game six innings, allowing one run on five hits while striking out six to improve to 3–1 on the season.
Game 2: Johnson 1, Southeastern 0
In the second game of the day, Southeastern was held off the scoreboard in a tightly contested pitchers' duel, falling 1–0 to Johnson (Tenn.).
Neither team generated much offense early as both starters kept hitters off balance through the first four innings. Johnson broke through in the fifth when Kadie Presley reached base on a throwing error, stole second, and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt. Reese Burns followed with a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Presley with what proved to be the game's only run.
Despite the tough-luck loss,
Edan Playa was strong in the circle for the Fire, allowing just four hits over seven innings while striking out seven and surrendering only the unearned run.
Southeastern managed just three hits in the contest, with
Maria Zelenka collecting two of them and
Lauren Sekinger adding the other. The Fire threatened in the seventh when Zelenka singled to open the inning, but Johnson turned a double play on a bunt attempt before recording the final out.
The defeat snapped Southeastern's 17-game winning streak, which had tied the longest run of victories in program history earlier in the day.
Southeastern will now turn its attention back to Sun Conference play this weekend with a road series at Florida Memorial in Miami Gardens. The series begins Friday at 3 p.m., with the start time moved up one hour from the originally scheduled first pitch. The Fire and Lions will then conclude the series Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m.
