Softball Opens 2014 with a Win

Box Score SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Southeastern shook off a slow a start and an early deficit to put up four runs in the top of the eighth inning and open the 2014 season with a 5-2 victory over Texas-Permian Basin in San Antonio, Texas on Saturday morning.
 
SE wins its season opener for the third-straight season and moves to 1-0 heading into a 2 p.m. matchup against Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday afternoon.
 
Despite being outhit 7-to-5, the Storm made the most of its opportunities and also cashed in on a pair of UTPB errors.
 
The Falcons got on the board first with a run off back-to-back hits in the bottom of the fourth inning.
 
They threatened again in the fifth inning, but Jacee Bennett came on to pitch with one out and two runners on and kept UTPB off the board.
 
SE would finally answer in the top of the sixth by taking advantage of one of those errors when Haley Strawn reached on a two-out error by the second baseman that allowed a pinch-running Arianna Jones to score from second to knot the game at 1-1.
 
That would hold through the regulation seven innings and in the top of the eighth, Shayna Milam came on to pinch-run and took her spot on second base per the international tiebreaker rules.
 
Milam would move to third when Darrian Williams reached safely on an error while attempting the sac bunt.
 
Jessica Simmons would then draw a walk to load the bases with no outs and Sydney Kramer would drive in the tie breaking run with a groundout to first.
 
The lead would extend to 3-1 when Lacie Cook reached on a bunt single that plated Williams.
 
Courtney Riddle would follow one batter later with a sac fly to score Simmons, and one batter after that Haley Strawn collected her first hit with an RBI single up the middle that scored Cook for a 5-1 lead.
 
UTPB would add a run in the bottom of the eighth, but that would be it as SE held on for the 5-2 win.
 
Bennett collected the win with a 3.2 inning relief appearance in which she allowed one unearned run on just two hits with five strikeouts.
 
Mindy McElroy started the game and tossed 4.1 innings allowing a run on five hits with one strikeout.
 
Cook turned in the only multi-hit outing, finishing 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI, while Kramer, Strawn and Laramie Beal each added hits.
 
Kramer, Riddle, and Strawn each also added RBI, while Simmons, Jones, Milam and Williams each scored a run.