Softball to Compete in the Alvy Early Memorial Classic

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern Oklahoma State gets set to travel to Bentonville, Ark., where they will compete in its second tournament of the season in the Alvy Early Memorial Classic on Feb. 7-9.
 
The Savage Storm open play on Friday, Feb. 7, with Northwest Missouri State at 11 a.m. followed by Washburn at 1:30 p.m. On Saturday, SE faces off with Truman State at 11 a.m. and Drury at 1:30 p.m. before closing out the event on Sunday with Northeastern State at 11 a.m.
 
STORM WATCH
Southeastern (3-2) took on five Lone Star Conference teams at the DII First Pitch Invitational and would pick up wins over St. Mary's, Texas A&M-International and St. Edward's. The Storm's two losses came against two nationally ranked teams, with defeats to No. 1 UT Tyler and No. 11 Angelo State.
 
The blue and gold showed their power at the plate across the five games, recording five home runs, led by two from India McMurray. The Dallas native is tied for the most hits on the team after the week with seven and holds a batting average of .412 with five RBIs. Iliana Olivares is also batting .412 with seven hits, including two doubles. Southeastern enters this weekend's tournament, hitting .316 with  43 hits and 22 runs scored.
 
In the circle, Emily Simmons and Trinity Oden combined for three complete games. Simmons (2-0) went the distance twice against St. Mary's and TAMIU in her two starts and racked up 10 strikeouts and a 3.50 ERA in 14.0 innings of work. Oden made two appearances, including her first collegiate start against St. Edward's, and would throw a complete game for her first win while striking out eight in the 7-1 victory. The Southeastern pitching staff ERA after five games sits with a 5.42 through 31.0 innings of action.

On Friday, Southeastern will meet Northwest Missouri State and Washburn on the diamond. SE's first game against NMSU will be the fourth time the two sides have faced each other, and the Storm lead the series 3-0, including an 11-1 in the last meeting in 2022. In the second game of the day, SE faces Washburn for the seventh time and trails the Ichbods 5-1 in the head-to-head matchup.
 
Saturday's game versus Truman State will be the third time the two sides have met, with the series split 1-1 after TSU defeated the Storm 3-1 in 2023. Southeastern's undefeated record versus Drury will be put to the test in game two on Saturday, as the Storm is 2-0 against the Panthers. In the final game on Sunday, SE and Northeastern State meet for the 26^th time, with the blue and gold leading the series 20-5.

PREVIEWING NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE
The Bearcats opened their season at the Hawkins-McGhee Memorial Tournament in Arkadelphia and would finish 2-3. Northwest Missouri State's two wins came on Saturday with a 7-1 win over Missouri S&T followed by a 3-1 victory over Henderson State. Northwest is led by a trio of hitters with seven hits, including Omara Love, who paces the side with two doubles, two triples and five RBIs.
 
PREVIEWING WASHBURN
Washburn picked up three wins, including a 10-7 victory over then No. 12 Mississippi College to start its season. One of Ichabod's two losses would come at the hands of GAC foe, as Southern Arkansas handed them an 11-3 defeat in the final game of the event. Kaylee Wagner put up impressive numbers for Washburn in the five games, recording seven hits on a .467 batting average with eight RBIs.
 
PREVIEWING TRUMAN STATE
Truman State enters the weekend 1-3 after taking part in the DII LeadOff Classic. TSU picked up its lone win against East Central 6-5 but would also fall to a pair of GAC teams in a 2-1 defeat to Arkansas-Monticello and a 5-3 loss to Northwestern Oklahoma State. Charlotte Chelich saw the most action in the circle, pitching 10.1 innings, and holds a 4.06 ERA.
 
PREVIEWING DRURY
The Panthers are still searching for their first win of the season after going 0-4 at Branson Lead-Off Classic. Drury is led by Landry Cochran at the plate with four hits on a .333 batting average and was perfect on stolen bases.
 
PREVIEWING NORTHEASTERN STATE
Northeastern State competed in the Hawkins-McGhee Memorial Tournament to open its 2025 campaign and finished 1-3 with a win over Missouri S&T 10-6. The Riverhawks were led by a pair of hitters over the weekend, with Madison Nance and Brynn Burchfield each recording six hits. NSU had six pitchers make an appearance in the circle, as Braedyn Sheofee saw the most action with 5.1 innings of work across two games.