MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — No. 10 Southeastern capped off a dominant weekend with a 5–1 victory over Florida Memorial on Saturday, completing a four-game series sweep and continuing its strong run in Sun Conference play.
The Fire (23–7, 7–1 SUN) set the tone early, manufacturing a run in the opening inning before adding another in the third to take control. Southeastern took advantage of Florida Memorial miscues, with both early runs coming unearned as pressure on the basepaths forced defensive mistakes.
After Florida Memorial (14–13, 1–7 SUN) trimmed the deficit to 2–1 in the fourth, Southeastern quickly responded. In the fifth,
Nathanial Hopkins created a key insurance run, swiping home as part of an aggressive baserunning sequence to push the lead back to two.
The Fire broke the game open in the seventh inning when
David Flores delivered the decisive swing, launching a two-run home run to left field to extend the advantage to 5–1. Flores finished with two RBIs, while Hopkins scored twice and reached base three times to pace the offense.
On the mound, Southeastern pieced together a strong staff performance.
Kai Langford worked the opening three innings, allowing just one unearned run, before a combination of
Peyten Czekalewski,
Grant Trentmann,
Aron Harrington,
Micah Earwood, and
Parker Lambeth shut the door. The bullpen combined for six scoreless innings, allowing just four hits while striking out six.
As a staff, the Fire held Florida Memorial to just five hits and one run, with the lone run coming unearned, underscoring a clean and efficient defensive effort.
SEU returns home for a key Sun Conference series against No. 11 St. Thomas at Ted A. Broer Stadium. The series begins Thursday at 6 p.m., continues with a Friday doubleheader at 2 p.m., and concludes Saturday at 11 a.m. in Lakeland.
