SE Falls in Opener vs. Washburn

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern allowed four unearned runs defensively and struggled to get the bats moving on offense in a 9-4 loss to Washburn in the opener of a four-game series on Friday afternoon at The Ballpark in Durant.
 
The loss drops the Savage Storm to 1-4 overall on the year heading into a twinbill slated for noon on Saturday afternoon.
 
Slayde Ortiz, Easton Elliott, and Joseph Cerda each collected a hit to account for the three SE hits.
 
Ortiz connected on a solo homer, while Cerda drove in two on a double.  Mason would add the other RBI on an HBP.
 
Cody Nitson got the start and went 6.0 innings, allowing four runs, only one of them earned, on five hits and striking out three. He was saddled with his second loss of the year.
 
Jacob Bigham tossed two-thirds of an inning in relief and was tagged for three runs, two earned, on three hits before handing the ball to Beau Swimmer who finished with 1.1 innings and allowed two runs on one hit.
 
Niko Piazza would finish the game with an inning of scoreless work.
 
Washburn scored first on a solo homer to lead off the second and extended its lead to 3-0 with a pair of runs on a two-out error in the top of the fourth inning.
 
A Cerda double in the bottom half of the fourth would get Southeastern on the board, plating Elliott and Buckner and closing the gap to 3-2.
 
An error would rear its head again in the top of the fifth inning when a leadoff error would come around to score on a sac fly and put the Ichabods up 4-2 midway through the fifth.
 
Washburn would add on three in the seventh with the help of an error and two more in the eighth on a two-run homer, opening a 9-2 lead.
 
SE would load the bases in the bottom of the eighth on two walks and an error before Mason was hit by a pitch to drive in Piazza and close to 9-3.
 
Ortiz would lead off the ninth inning with a homer to right, but the Storm would leave runners on second and third to end the game in a 9-4 loss.