GULF SHORES, Ala. — No. 10 Southeastern opened play at the Gulf Shores Invitational on Friday with a pair of victories, edging Campbellsville 3–2 in the morning before closing the day with a 9–0 run-rule win over Point in five innings.
The Fire improved to 18–2 on the season behind timely hitting and strong performances in the circle from
Maria Zelenka and
Edan Playa.
In the opening game of the day, Southeastern rallied past Campbellsville in a tightly contested seven-inning matchup. The Tigers struck first in the opening inning on an RBI single from Karleigh Walker to take a 1–0 lead.
Southeastern answered in the second inning when
Nicole Wasserstrom lined a single down the right-field line to score
Erica Ramsey and even the game at 1–1. The Fire moved ahead in the third as
Ella Brooks singled, stole second, and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt before
Raylei McKinney delivered a double to right field to bring Brooks home for a 2–1 lead.
The Fire added what proved to be the decisive run in the fifth. Brooks again reached base and stole second before moving to third on another sacrifice bunt. She later scored on a passed ball to extend the advantage to 3–1.
Game 1: Southeastern 3, Campbellsville 2
Campbellsville cut the deficit to one in the sixth when Walker recorded her second RBI single of the game, but Southeastern held on down the stretch. Zelenka earned the win after tossing 6.2 innings with seven strikeouts while allowing two runs on seven hits. Playa entered with two outs in the seventh to record the final out and secure the save.
Brooks led the Fire offense with two hits and two runs scored, while Ramsey also finished with two hits. McKinney and Wasserstrom each drove in a run as Southeastern totaled seven hits in the victory.
Game 2: Southeastern 9, Point 0 (5 innings)
Southeastern carried that momentum into the second game of the day, defeating Point 9–0 in five innings. The Fire took an early lead in the first when Brooks reached on a single, stole second, and later scored on a passed ball.
The lead grew in the fourth as Southeastern capitalized on a Point error before
Ava Planeta delivered an RBI double to left center to make it 3–0.
The Fire broke the game open in the fifth, sending 11 batters to the plate and scoring six runs. McKinney started the rally with an RBI single before Ramsey followed with a run-scoring hit.
Chelsi Rae' Hebert added a two-RBI single to right, and Planeta capped the surge with another RBI double as Southeastern pushed the lead to 9–0.
Playa earned the win in the circle, tossing a complete five-inning shutout while allowing five hits and striking out three.
Planeta paced the offense with two doubles and three RBIs, while Hebert added two RBIs and McKinney drove in a run. Brooks scored twice as the Fire again finished with seven hits.
Southeastern continues play at the Gulf Shores Invitational on Saturday with a pair of games, facing Saint Ambrose at 12:15 p.m. ET before taking on No. 9 Our Lady of the Lake at 2:30 p.m. ET in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
