BRUNSWICK, Ga. — No. 6 Southeastern delivered a complete performance Friday, using both explosive offense and dominant pitching to sweep No. 23 Coastal Georgia in a key Sun Conference doubleheader, 8–2 and 2–1.
With the wins, the Fire improved to 35-4 overall and 16-1 in Sun Conference play, while Coastal Georgia moved to 32-7 and 17-3 in league action.
Southeastern opened the day with an offensive surge, pulling away for an 8–2 victory in game one. After being held scoreless through the first three innings and falling behind 2–0 in the fourth, the Fire responded with a decisive five-run fifth inning. SEU strung together six hits in the frame, highlighted by RBI contributions from
Ella Brooks,
Hailey Bradley,
Erica Ramsey, and a two-run single from
Lauren Sekinger to take control.
The Fire continued to build on the lead in the sixth and seventh innings, finishing with 14 hits in the game. Bradley led the way with three hits and two RBIs, while Brooks and
Abby Franey each added multi-hit performances.
In the circle,
Maria Zelenka was steady throughout, tossing a complete game while allowing just four hits and two runs with six strikeouts. After surrendering the lead in the fourth, she settled in and retired nine of the final ten batters she faced to close out the win.
Game two presented a different challenge, as Southeastern relied on pitching and execution in a tightly contested 2–1 victory to complete the sweep.
The Fire broke through in the fourth inning when
Raylei McKinney singled, stole second, and scored on an RBI double from Ramsey to give SEU a 1–0 lead. That margin held for much of the game behind the work of left-hander
Edan Playa.
SEU added a key insurance run in the seventh, taking advantage of an error before McKinney delivered a clutch RBI double to extend the lead to 2–0.
Playa was dominant in the circle, carrying a no-hit bid into the seventh inning. Coastal Georgia finally broke through in the bottom of the seventh and pushed across a run, but Playa limited the damage and secured the complete-game victory. She allowed just two hits and one run while striking out five without issuing a walk.
With contrasting styles in each game, Southeastern showed its depth—pairing a 14-hit offensive effort in game one with a near no-hit performance in game two—to secure the doubleheader sweep and gain the advantage in the conference race.
Southeastern and Coastal Georgia will conclude the series on Saturday at noon in Brunswick.
