Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 DURANT, Okla. – No. 5 Southeastern got a walk-off single from
Darrian Williams in the bottom of the ninth inning of game two to pick up a 4-3 win in that contest and wrap up a sweep of day one of its four-game series against Southwestern Oklahoma State on Friday afternoon after winning the opener 4-2.
The wins improve the Savage Storm to 30-7 on the season overall and 15-3 in Great American Conference play heading into Saturday's double-header which is set for a noon first pitch.
SE found itself in a hole after three innings in the nightcap as the Bulldogs posted three runs in the top of the third to take a 3-1 lead. At that point, the only Storm offense had come off a
Courtney Riddle triple that plated
Kaija Morris in the second inning.
Southeastern would respond, however, in the fourth inning when
Lacie Cook connected on one of her two hits in the game to drive in Riddle and
Rachel Jones to tie the game.
That is where it would stay for four fully scoreless innings until
Paige Priest singled through the right side to lead off the ninth inning.
She moved to second on a Cook sac bunt and scored two batters later when Williams hit a grounder through the right side and Priest slid wide of the tag at home to tack on the game-winning run.
Cook and Riddle each finished the contest with a pair of hits, while
Laramie Beal, Williams,
Whitney Hamilton,
Jacee Bennett and Priest each added one.
Bennett came on in relief of
Mindy McElroy to start the fourth inning and moved to 17-4 on the year as she scattered just two hits over six innings and struck out 12, including a span of six in-a-row. She struck out the first four batters she faced before allowing a single and followed that six more. She faced just two batters more than the minimum for six innings pitched.
McElroy got the start and tossed three innings, but was tagged for all three runs on five hits.
The Storm found itself in an early hole in the opener as well after SWOSU posted runs in each of the first two innings to take a 2-0 lead midway through the second.
SE would answer in the bottom half of the inning, first with a Bennett RBI single that scored Morris and then one batter later when a pinch-hitting Beal singled through the right side to plate Riddle and knot the game at 2-2.
Unlike the game that would follow, only one scoreless inning passed before Southeastern again found some offense as McElroy would lead off the fourth inning with a double and move to third on a passed ball.
Priest would reach on a fielder's choice before stealing second to leave runners at second and third with no outs.
Brittany Wilson would then come on to pinch hit and drive a two-run single up the middle to put SE in front 4-2 which would hold to be the final score.
A big reason for 4-2 holding to be the final were the four hitless innings of relief that McElroy threw to pick up the win and move to 12-2 on the season. She struck out three and faced just two more than the minimum over four innings.
Bennett got the start and lasted three innings and allowed a pair of runs on five hits with four K's and three walks.
Riddle turned in the only multi-hit outing in the opener, finishing 2-for-3, while Wilson, Cook, Bennett, McElroy and Beal each collected a hit.
Wilson turned in a pair of RBI, while Bennett and Beal each added one.
