SE Wins Slugfest over SWOSU in Series Opener

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern collected 16 hits, nine of them for extra bases, but it was a bases loaded hit by pitch drawn by Niko Piazza that drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth in the 11-10 victory over Southwestern Oklahoma State in the series opener on Sunday afternoon at The Ballpark in Durant.
 
The win lifts the Savage Storm to 5-6 overall and 3-1 in Great American Conference play with Monday's twinbill with SWOSU slated for a noon first pitch.
 
Caleb Dubler singled and stole second with one out in the bottom of the ninth before Joseph Cerda and Austin Ferguson each drew walks to load the bases for Piazza.
 
Piazza battled back from an 0-2 count to even it up at 2-2 before Haden Branch's next pitch came too far inside and clipped Piazza to drive in Dubler for the game-winning run.
 
Drew Bolin turned in a 3-for-5 performance on offense for the Storm, while Cerda, Davis Jenks, Slayde Ortiz, Harrison Whitworth, and Dubler each tallied two hits.
 
Ortiz and Bolin each homered, while Reagan Warren tripled. Jenks tallied a pair of doubles, while Cerda, Ortiz, Bolin, and Whitworth each added one.
 
Cerda would drive in three runs, while Ortiz and Bolin added two RBI each.  Jenks, Piazza, Warren, and Whitworth plated one apiece.
 
Cody Nitson got the start and lasted 6.2 innings but left with a no decision after allowing nine runs, seven earned, on 12 hits with five strikeouts.
 
Luke Teska tossed one-third of an inning in relief and allowed a run on three walks before Beau Swimmer took over and completed the inning without allowing a run or a hit while striking out two.
 
Bryce Deatherage made his first relief appearance of the season and tossed one inning and coaxed three fly outs to collect his second win of the season.
 
SWOSU took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first with back-to-back home runs.
 
SE looked to play small ball and manufacture runs in the bottom of the inning as Deatherage singled to lead off and moved to second on a sac bunt.
 
Two batter later however, Jenks would connect on a two-out RBI double to plate Deatherage.
 
That started the marry-go-round as Ortiz doubled home Jenks one batter later and he would score on Warren's triple to left center to tie the game at 3-3. The Storm eas not finished though ad a Bolin double scored Warren and a Whitworth double plated Bolin to take a 5-3 lead after one.
 
The Bulldogs would get a run in each of the second and third innings to tie the game at 5-5 before a Cerda double in the bottom of the fourth would score Dubler for a 6-5 lead.
 
That grew to 8-5 an inning later with a Cerda two-run single which scored Whitworth and Bolin.
 
SWOSU would get two runs back in the top of the sixth, but SE had an answer in the bottom half as Ortiz and Bolin would each connect on solo homers. To make the score 10-7.
 
The Bulldogs would get two in the seventh and another in the eighth to tie the game at 10-10 and set the stage for SE's game winning HBP in the bottom of the ninth.