Storm Swept on Day Two at No. 4 ATU

RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Despite holding leads in both games against fourth-ranked Arkansas Tech, Southeastern would see both leads evaporate in losses of 5-1 and 5-4 on Saturday afternoon in Russellville, Ark.
 
The losses drop the Savage Storm to 20-12 overall and 16-6 in Great American Conference play which leaves them in third place behind ATU and Southern Arkansas.
 
SE will be back in action March 29 when it hosts East Central in a midweek conference double-header at noon at the Southeastern Softball Field.
 
In Saturday's first game saw SE open up a 1-0 lead in the first when Laramie Beal doubled home Sydney Kramer with two outs.
 
However, the Golden Suns answered with a game-tying run on a wild pitch in the second, followed by a pair of runs in the third and fourth innings to take a 5-1 lead which would be the final score.
 
Beal's RBI double accounted for half the team's hits in the game as Jessica Simmons added the other.
 
Jessica Seay took the loss after starting and tossing 3.1 innings, allowing five runs, four earned, on six hits with four strikeouts.
 
Hunter Offill threw 2.1 innings in relief and scattered a pair of hits, while Destiny Riddle recorded one out in the circle.
 
The Storm scored first again in the nightcap on a Courtney Riddle two-run single that plated Kramer and a pinch-running Jasmine Morales to pen up a 2-0 lead.
 
A Conner Harmon squeeze bunt in the top of the third which also scored Kramer stretched that lead to 3-0, but ATU would answer with a run in the third to close to 3-1.
 
A Beal RBI groundout pushed the edge to 4-1 in the fifth, but again the Suns answered with two runs in the bottom of the fifth to cut the SE advantage to 4-3 after five innings.
 
That was where it stood heading into the bottom of the seventh as the Storm saw the bases load with two outs before a throwing error would allow the tying and winning runs to cross and dash the hopes of splitting the series in a 5-4 loss.
 
Kramer turned in a 3-for-3 outing in game two with three runs scored, while four others added a hit each.
 
Courtney Riddle drove in a pair of runs, while Beal and Harmon added an RBI each.
 
Emily Cudd got the start and took the loss after tossing 6.1 innings and allowing five runs, three earned, on seven hits with three strikeouts.
 
Seay faced three batters and recorded one-third of an inning.