Miscues Costly in SE's First-Round Loss

BENTONVILLE, Ark. – For the first time since joining the Great American Conference Southeastern found itself on the losing end in a first round game, falling to Henderson State 7-3 on Thursday in the first game of the league's postseason tournament in Bentonville, Ark.
 
SE has won its previous four tournament openers in GAC play and had not dropped a first round game since the 2011 Lone Star Conference tournament.
 
The loss drops the Savage Storm to 29-22 overall on the year and will pit them in a win or go home matchup against the loser between No. 2 seed Southern Arkansas and No. 7 seed East Central, with that game set for 6 p.m. Thursday night at Memorial Park in Bentonville.
 
The game was a pitcher's duel early with HSU picking up a hit in each of the first three innings but not scoring, while the Storm got its first hit in the third when Jessica Simmons doubled.  She followed by stealing third and came home on a bunt single by Destiny Riddle for a 1-0 lead.
 
The was short-lived however as the Reddies would tie the game on an illegal pitch from Jessica Seay and take a lead during the same at bat when Seay struck out Morgan South but a wild pitch allowed a run to come home.
 
HSU would double it two batters later with a two-out double to open up a 4-1 lead midway through the fourth inning.
 
SE would find an answer in the fifth when Riddle and Sydney Kramer had back-to-back singles before Courtney Riddle would ultimately connect on a two-out, two-run double down the left field line to plate a pinch-running Kennedy Been and Kramer to close the gap to 4-3.
 
Unfortunately that was as close as they would come as HSU picked up a run in the sixth and two more in the seventh while SE left a runner on in the sixth and went down in order in the seventh.
 
Destiny Riddle collected two of the team's six hits, while Simmons, Kramer, Courtney Riddle and Ashton Adkins each turned in one.
 
Courtney Riddle drove in a pair of runs, while Destiny Riddle added the other RBI.
 
Emily Cudd got the start and took the loss after tossing 5.0 innings and allowing five runs, three earned, on seven hits with three strikeouts.
 
Seay tossed 2.0 innings in relief and allowed a pair of runs on three hits.