The going was definitely tough for both the Southeastern baseball and softball teams against Harding University last weekend.
Coach Alan Trayler’s baseball squad won one of three contests in the league series on the road while the Savage Storm softball team was swept in three home outings.
Next on the slate for each is Oklahoma Baptist this upcoming weekend with the baseball contests at Mike Metheny Field and the softball meetings in Shawnee.
Baseball
After dropping a 9-5 verdict in the series opener the Savage Storm exploded for 16 runs in game two, erasing an early 6-0 deficit for the 16-8 victory. In the rubber match, however, Southeastern came up short in a 4-3 decision.
In the first contest, Southeastern claimed an early 1-0 advantage riding a Ryan Kirk double and J.J. Bush single. That lead only lasted until the third stanza when Harding erupted for six runs to take command fueled by a pair of free passes, two singles and a home run.
The Savage Storm narrowed the gap to 7-5 in the eighth but that’s as close as they would come. Bush and Carter Olson two hits apiece to pace the offense.
Things did not look good in game two when Harding snagged a 6-0 edge through only two frames but Trayler’s unit came storming back.
Southeastern plated one in the third, four in the fourth and two in the fifth before eventually taking control in a fiverun seventh inning barrage. Isaac Villa drove in two of those runs with a single and Bush also belted a two-run homer.
Estevan Fonseca was stellar in fiveplus innings of relief to earn the pitching victory, yielding only one run on three hits. He also struck out three Bison.
Catcher Logan Rose had a huge game at the plate with three hits and four RBI. Villa and Alex Showalter chipped in two hits each while Easton Ford, Bush, Olson, Jax Heid, Tyler Payton and Seve Aguirre added one apiece.
In the finale, Southeastern was behind 4-0 after two frames but rallied with a run in the third and two in the seventh to make things interesting before the rally came up just short. Bush, Hayden Carpenter and Ford all had hits, the final two driving in runs with nobody out, but two strikeouts and a pop out squelched the comeback.
Villa, Bush and Ford all had a pair of hits in the 11-hit attack.
A second straight weekend against a conference powerhouse ended in a sweep as Harding took game one 8-5, notched a 6-1 verdict in the second contest and then 7-0 in the third game.
The Savage Storm were primed to snap a three-game skid with a 5-2 lead in the series opener but watched the Lady Bison tie it in the fifth stanza and tally three more in the sixth to go in front. A Susan Edwards three-run homer put Southeastern in front in the third inning and they tacked on another run after a leadoff hit from Emily Simmons.
The Savage Storm tallied just five hits in the second contest and were held scoreless until the seventh when Lorryn Johnson drove in the lone run with a single to right. She had two hits along with Tally Rowland.
Offensive struggles continued in the final game of the series as Southeastern was unable to crack the scoreboard on six hits and was also hurt by four defensive errors.
Iliana Olivares and Anley Hewitt each tallied a pair of hits for the Savage Storm.
