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Savage Storm player Cameron Hauch hurls a pitch at a Northwestern batter. Matt Swearengin | Durant Democrat -
Savage Storm player Cache Stone prepares to bunt the ball. Matt Swearengin | Durant Democrat -
SE player Reid Rice is about to hit the ball in a game last Friday with Northwestern.
Things looked bleak for the Southeastern Savage Storm heading to the final inning of last weekend’s baseball conference series trailing Northwestern 6-1. Senior Reid Rice had other plans, however.
The Savage Storm cashed in five walks and then Rice’s walk off grand slam over the leftfield wall to salvage the final game of the series with a 7-6 victory.
Facing the Rangers as well, on the road, Southeastern’s softball team pulled out the brooms to sweep the Great American Conference series and remain solidly in contention in the league race heading into a pair of pivotal league matchups with Southern Nazarene and Harding.
Softball
Southeastern got off to a great start in its opening 8-3 victory, plating six runs in the second inning to take command.
Kady Fryrear had the biggest blow with a run-scoring triple. Kamryn Rackley and Sabetha Sands each tallied RBI singles and Gracie Ore knocked in two with a hit as well.
That was all the support that starting pitcher Reese Taylor needed as she worked all seven innings, scattering three runs on seven hits while striking out 11 and walking one.
The Savage Storm claimed the second game 6-3 after spotting Northwestern a 1-0 edge through two stanzas.
Sami Dutton doubled and scored on an Ore sacrifice fly in the third to knot the game and Bailey Beard chipped in an RBI single to right in the fourth to put Southeastern ahead for good.
Dutton doubled again and came around with the third tally in the fifth frame before the Savage Storm put it completely out of reach on Channing Sarver’s three-run homer in the seventh.
Amberlyn Walsworth twirled all seven innings in the pitching circle, allowing two earned runs on eight hits to go along with six strikeouts.
Late inning dramatics came up huge in the series finale 5-4 Southeastern triumph.
The Savage Storm trailed 3-2 going to the seventh when Taylor tied the game on a single and Ananda Garrison contributed a two-run double for the go ahead tallies.
Emily Simmons yielded a run in the bottom of the seventh but managed to slam the door for the complete game pitching victory, scattering seven hits and striking out three.
Rice’s home run proved to be just the fourth Savage Storm hit of the contest with the only other Southeastern run scoring in the second after Cache Stone singled and scored on a pair of errors.
Brett Tanksley was credited with the pitching win after tossing a scoreless top of the seventh, allowing no hits and striking out one.
The Savage Storm dropped a 4-3 verdict in Saturday’s opening contest thanks largely to three home runs by the Rangers.
Southeastern’s biggest hit once again came from Stone with a two-run double in the eighth inning that tied the score.
Stone finished with two hits as Austin Thorp, Rice, Jake Miller, Cam Wheeler, Cameron Cromer and Kyler Copeland each contributed one.
After scoring a third inning run on Thorp’s run-scoring single, the Savage Storm couldn’t get much going in an 11-1 loss in the series opener.
Thorp, Miller and Brady Evans tallied two hits apiece.