DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern Oklahoma State heads to the Natural State for a GAC clash with No. 13 Harding in Searcy on Mar. 21 and 22. The Savage Storm and Lady Bisons open the series with a doubleheader on Friday, starting at 4 p.m., and conclude the series with a single game on Saturday at noon.
SERIES NOTES
- Last season, Southeastern and Harding met four times during the year, with the Lady Bisons earning three wins. In the regular season series, SE opened the three-game tie with a win but dropped the next two games, and HU would get a win over the Storm in the conference tournament.
- SE trails the Lady Bisons in the all-time series 17-to-26, dating back to the first meeting in 2014, when SE swept Harding. Searcy has proved difficult for SE, who are 3-11 as the road despite taking 2-of-3 in its last visit.
STORM WATCH
Southeastern (14-15, 7-7 GAC) will be looking to get some momentum this weekend after dropping four of its last five games. SE recently fell to Cameron in a midweek doubleheader on Tuesday, which brings the Storm to 14-15 overall this season. The Storm fell to 7-8 in non-conference games this season and two more out-of-GAC doubleheaders this season against Central Oklahoma and Northeastern State.
Sage Harlow eclipsed 30 hits this season after a 3-for-5 day at the plate in game two against Cameron and tallied her fifth home. The Whitewright, Texas native has totaled 32 hits and ranks third on the team, hitting .356 with six doubles and a triple.
Iliana Olivares remains SE's top hitter with 35 knocks and paces the side with a .380 batting average. Harlow and Olivares have combined for 30 runs scored and have batted in 34 runs.
This season, nine has been the Storm's lucky number, as the blue and gold are 10-3 when recording nine or more hits in a game. In nine of the ten wins, the Storm have scored more than five runs, including two ten-run contests. When held under this average, SE holds just a 4-12 mark. As a team, Southeastern has 238 hits on the year and is batting .291 with 139 runs scored.
Statistically, the Storm ranks seventh in the GAC in the circle with a 4.31 ERA. Across 29 games, SE has allowed 149 runs on 258 hits and has struck out 178 batters.
Emily Simmons has made the most appearances for the blue and Gold, featuring in 17 games and pitching 74.2 innings. During this stretch, the sophomore has punched out 64 batters and surrendered 51 runs on 93 for a 4.12 ERA.
PREVIEWING NO. 13 HARDING
No. 13 Harding charges into the weekend with a 27-3 overall record, having won 13 straight games, and are 13-1 in GAC play. The Lady Bisons' last loss came all the back in February in the series finale versus Southwestern Oklahoma State. Harding's most recent outing saw them sweep a doubleheader at home against Union, winning 1-0 and 6-2. HU has been flawless under its home lights this season with a perfect 7-0 mark.
The Lady Bisons has the best offense in the GAC, as the team ranks first in hits (257) and batting average (.342) and is second in runs scored (174). Zoey Neal leads the way with 44 hits on a .484 clip and has totaled eight doubles, six home runs and 45 runs batted in. In the circle, HU has leaned on a rotation of three arms, led by Avery Booker and Brooklyn Gobble, who have combined for 77.1 innings of work this season. Booker carries a 1.88 ERA with 41 punchouts, while Gobble has a 2.14 ERA with 43 strikeouts.
