GULF SHORES, Ala. — No. 10 Southeastern Softball closed out a perfect week at the Gulf Shores Invitational on Sunday, defeating Morningside 5–2 after a weather adjustment changed the Fire's originally scheduled opponent.
With the victory, Southeastern finished the trip 5–0 and moved to 21–2 on the season.
The Fire struck first in the opening inning when
Raylei McKinney launched a solo home run to left field, giving Southeastern an early 1–0 advantage. The lead doubled in the second after
Maria Zelenka doubled and later came around to score on a Morningside error.
Southeastern carried the 2–0 lead into the fifth before Morningside briefly evened the game at 2–2 with a pair of runs, both unearned.
The Fire quickly responded in the bottom of the sixth. Zelenka delivered the biggest swing of the game, blasting a two-run home run to restore the lead, and
Chloe Baker followed with an RBI triple later in the inning to extend the advantage to 5–2.
In the circle,
Emma Vickers turned in a strong performance to earn the win, allowing just three hits and no earned runs over seven innings while striking out six.
Southeastern finished with eight hits, led by Zelenka's two-hit, two-RBI performance.
Ava Planeta also collected two hits, while McKinney added the early home run as the Fire closed the tournament undefeated.
Southeastern will return to conference play next weekend with a road series against New College of Florida in Sarasota.
