SE softball back on track with 5-game streak

A massive five-win week in league action put the Southeastern Savage Storm softball team right back in the thick of the Great American Conference race. The Savage Storm smacked rival East Central twice (10-0 and 7-5) early in the week and then rode that momentum to a solid three-game sweep of visiting Henderson State.

Back to 8-6 in league action, the Savage Storm will be back on the road over the next two weekends with series at Ouachita Baptist and Northwestern Oklahoma State.

Coach Mackenzie Sher’s squad began the resurgence by pounding out 14 hits for a 7-5 triumph at East Central, fueled by a terrific fourfor- five performance at the plate from Gracie Ore.

Southeastern took the early lead with two tallies in the first stanza and steadily added to that total while holding off the Lady Tigers.

Sage Harlow contributed three hits with two runs scored and two RBI while Kady Fryrear tossed in two hits and drove in three.

Reese Taylor allowed five runs on nine hits through six innings in the pitching circle for the victory as Amberlyn Walsworth fired a scoreless seventh for the save.

The Savage Storm then followed up with a 10-0 rout of East Central with Emily Simmons going the distance in the pitching circle with a four-hit shutout that included four strikeouts.

Ore again paced the offensive charge with two hits, two runs scored and two batted in but had plenty of other support as Reese Taylor, Sammi Dutton and Bailey Beard all tallied two hits as well. Taylor and Dutton drove in a pair apiece.

Complete game pitching was the story for Southeastern in the weekend series as well with a trio of hurlers all going the distance for victories.

First was Taylor, who scored the triumph in a 7-4 opening win over the Reddies. She scattered four runs and 10 hits while holding off a late charge.

The Savage Storm was clinging to just a 3-2 edge in the fourth when they erupted for four runs to take command with the key blow coming via a Simmons RBI double.

Southeastern ended with nine hits as Simmons and Beard sparked the charge with two apiece.

Sher’s team finished off the sweep Sunday by posting 6-2 and 5-1 victories in convincing fashion.

Simmons was the pitching stalwart in the opener, firing seven innings while yielding two runs on six hits with four strikeouts and three walks.

A five-run second inning gave Simmons all the support she would need as Beard and Ore each drove in a run with singles and Harlow doubled to plate three.

The finale continued a similar trend for the Savage Storm as they bolted to a 5-0 lead with four of the runs coming in an explosive third stanza that was keyed by a threerun homer off the bat of Ananda Garrison. She finished with two hits to equal Fryrear and Dutton for team-high honors.

Walsworth had plenty in the tank to cruise through seven innings in the pitching circle, allowing just one run on seven hits as well as fanning seven batters.