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Matt Swearengin | Durant Democrat SE Storm softball player Sage Harlow slides into home plate during a game Saturday with Southern Nazarene. -
Southeastern softball hurler Alyson Malone fires the ball at a Southern Nazarene batter.
Playing at home for the first time in over two weeks, the Southeastern softball team didn’t find the confines very friendly as they managed just four total runs in dropping three games of a conference series with Southern Nazarene.
Now 21-19 overall and 1310 in league play, the Savage Storm hope they can get back on track as a seven-game homestand continues this week against Harding University at 2 p.m. on Friday.
The Savage Storm baseball team, meanwhile, shook off an opening game defeat with a pair of offensive-filled, wild victories on Saturday to claim its conference series at Southern Nazarene.
Softball
Offense was in short supply for the Savage Storm as they never had a lead in any of the three games with the Crimson Storm, who moved to 18-4 in league play.
In the opening 4-1 defeat, Southeastern posted just three hits and the lone Savage Storm run came in the fifth inning when Bailey Beard smacked a solo home run for one of her two hits in the contest. Ananda Garrison had the other hit with a single.
Coach Mackenzie Sher’s club came a bit closer in the second game, a 4-2 loss, but still could only account for two hits.
Both of those hits came in the final stanza as Kady Fryrear’s single broke up the no hitter and Emily Simmons powered a home run to left field for the only runs for the hosts.
Southeastern got its lone run in the opening frame of the 10-1 setback in the finale, but only after spotting South- ern Nazarene a pair in the top of the inning.
Sage Harlow was hit by a pitch and rode home on a Fryrear double. That proved to be the only extra base hit for the Savage Storm as Garrison, Simmons, Sabetha Sands and Sammi Dutton each added a single.
Baseball
Friday’s finish should have been an omen of things to come for Southeastern as the Savage Storm saw a 4-3 sixth inning lead slip away as a massive ninth-inning comeback fell just short.
Coach Zach Crabtree’s squad got a solo home run from Austin Thorp before a two-out RBI double from Cam Wheeler and runscoring single by Matt Miles but could not get the tying run past first base.
Brady Evans also homered while Cache Stone doubled and drove in one to help spur the Savage Storm offense.
There was offense in droves in a four-plus hour marathon in the second game that saw Southeastern escape with a 23-21 victory as the two teams combined for a whopping 42 hits.
A nine-run second inning eruption would have normally been enough of a cushion, but that definitely wasn’t the case on Saturday.
Nick Hill homered to drive in three runs and Wesley Mitchell belted a solo home run, which were only two of Southeastern’s eight long balls in the game.
Two more runs in the third expanded the lead to 11-0 and three-run flurries in the fifth and sixth pushed the advantage to a commanding 17-5. Rice and Wheeler each blasted home runs with Rice also contributing a two RBI single.
That cushion would soon disappear as Southern Nazarene notched three runs in the sixth, seven more a frame later and an additional three in the eighth inning to claim an 18-17 edge.
Down to their final two outs, Southeastern came through with a Hill solo blast that tied things again.
It was still knotted at 18 in the 11th stanza when Hill and Wheeler smashed home runs to start the inning and Evans closed the frame with a two-run bomb that made it a 23-18 lead.
Things were far from settled as the Crimson Storm plated three quick runs and had the bases loaded before Brody Logsdon coaxed a fly ball to get out the jam and preserve the victory.
Hill tallied five hits in seven at bats, drove in six and scored four to fuel the Savage Storm at the plate. Rice posted three hits and five RBI while Wheeler also had three hits and drove in three.
In the 9-7 finale win, Southeastern notched nine runs in the first four innings and then held off the hosts.