SE Rallies Fall Short in Doubleheader Losses

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern collected 24 hits and 19 runs over two games versus No. 17 Harding but was unable to collect a win in either game, dropping the opener 15-13 before falling in the series finale 7-6 in extra innings on Saturday afternoon at Mike Metheny Field.
 
The losses drops the Savage Storm to 10-19 overall on the season and 8-10 in Great American Conference play heading into a non-conference midweek matchup with Southwestern Oklahoma State on March 25 in Weatherford, Okla.
 
In game one, Alex Showalter collected three hits, while Brady Evans, Wesley Mitchell, and Payton Poole each added two in the effort.
 
Ryan Kirk, Jake Miller, Gage Dollins, Nick Mueller, and Austin Thorp each added one hit.
 
Evans, Kirk, and Showalter each doubled, while Mitchell added two homers to his team-leading total.
 
Mitchell finished with four RBI in the game, with Kirk adding two. Evans, Chase Keeton, Showalter, and Thorp each drove in one.
 
Colton Clawson got the start and took a no decision after allowing five runs on five hits over four innings.
 
Austin Hillebrandt and Carson Abbott each tossed an inning in rleeif and both allowed a run, and cbinigng to allow five hits.
 
Parker Pecina followed with the best outing by a reliever, tossing a scoreless and hitless inning.
 
Ryan Farquharson came on and was tagged for four runs, three earned, on one hit without recording an out and he was saddled with the loss.
 
Cody Pfeffer relieved him and allowed two runs on a hit before handing the ball to Brayden Phelps who tossed the final inning, allowing two runs on three hits.
 
SE got the offense moving in the second, tking advantage of a walk and a single from Keeton and Dollins.
 
The duo would double steal and Keeton scored on a throwing error by the Bisons catcher.
 
Dollins followed him in a batter later when Showalter singled him home to push the score to 2-0.
 
Kirk brought home two more runs later in the inning with a double and a batter later Mitchell connected on a homer to right centerfield to stretch the Storm lead to 6-0.
 
HU cut into the Storm lead with a leadoff homer in the top of the third and closed the gap to 6-4 with three runs in the top of the fourth.
 
Southeastern answered in the bottom of the fourth, first with Mitchell connecting on ahis second home run of the contest, a two-run shot to right, followed by a Leeton sac fly to push the lead to 9-4.
 
The Bisons picked up a two-run homer in the top of the fifth, closing the Storm advantage to 9-6 midway through five innings.
 
Harding added another run in the top of the seventh, collecting a bases loaded walk, but the Storm would get out of the jam without allowing another run, maintaining a 9-7 lead into the bottom of the seventh.
 
The Storm loaded the bases in the bottom half of the seventh and took advantage of a pair of wild pitches to bring home two runs and extedn the lead to 11-7 through seven innings.
 
HU took advantage of an early SE error, scoring twice before loading the bases for a grand slam that would give them a 13-11 lead midway through the eighth inning, and a two-run homer in the top of the ninth extended that lead to 15-11.
 
Thorp and Evans each drove in a run in the bottom of the ninth to close the gap to 15-13, but that is where the rally ended.
 
The finale saw Kirk and Mitchell each pick up a pair of hits, while Evans, Carter Olson, Keeton, Dollins, Showalter, and Thorp each added one.
 
Kirk and Olson drove in a pair of runs each, with Mitchell and Dollins each adding an RBI.
 
Brock Zimmer got the start and lasted three innings, allowing five runs, three of them earned on four hits with two strikeouts.
 
Michael White was tagged for an unearned run in 1.2 innings of work before handing the ball to Tristan ills who tossed three innings and allowed a run on two hits but was stuck with the loss.
 
Farquharson made his second appearance of the day, this time retiring the only batter he faced.
 
HU put up two runs in the first an two more in the second to open up a 4-0 lead through two innings.
 
The Bisons added a run in the top of the third, but Southeastern responded in the bottom half as Kirk nd Mitchell collected RBI singles, closing the deficit to 5-2 through three innings.
 
Harding pushed its lead to 6-2 with a run in the top of the fourth, but Dollins answered for the Storm with n RBI triple to plate Keeton and close the score to 6-3.
 
That score would hold into the bottom of the seventh before a Kirk RBI single cut it to 6-4 followed by a two-run, pinch-hit single from Olson to knot the game at 6-6.
 
HU picked up a run in the top of the eighth to take a 7-6 lead, and the Storm looked poised to match it when Keton led off with a triple, but was left stranded on third to end the game.