DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern Oklahoma State returns home for midweek action against No. 10 Central Oklahoma on Tuesday, Mar. 24, from the Southeastern Softball Field. The Savage Storm are slated to start their doubleheader versus the Bronchos at 1 p.m.
SERIES NOTES
- Southeastern and Central Oklahoma were originally slated to play each other earlier this season in the Raising Cane's Softball Festival, but weather forced the game to be canceled. SE leads the all-time series 40-34 but will be looking to snap a 12-game losing streak to the Bronchos on Tuesday.
- The blue and gold met UCO twice during 2024 in Edmond, Okla., for an April midweek doubleheader and fell 4-1 and 2-0 in the games.
STORM WATCH
Southeastern (15-17, 8-9) took the final game of the series at No. 13 Harding, winning 1-0 behind a complete-game shutout from
Trinity Oden. Closing in on the halfway point in Great American Conference play, SE sits sixth in the league standings at 8-9 with a one-game edge over the seventh-place team and is one game back of fifth.
Kennedy Morgan had an impressive week at the plate for the Storm, leading the lineup with seven hits, six RBIs and three runs scored, and batted .500. The senior from Caddo, Okla. became the fifth player to reach 20 hits this season with 23 and saw her batting average jump from .286 to .329.
Iliana Olivares added five more hits to her totals during the week, bringing her to 37 knocks on the year.
Oden made one appearance for the Storm in the circle last week and was lights out as she helped Southeastern to a 1-0 win in the final game of the series at Harding. The freshman from Atlanta, Texas, pitched all 7.0 innings and held the Lady Bisons to zero runs and zero walks while striking out five batters. This season, Oden has a 3.54 ERA in 63.1 innings across 14 appearances and leads the side with 72 punchouts.
Statistically, Southeastern ranks fifth in the GAC in hits with 248 and has batted the third-most home runs (28) and the fourth-most doubles (43). The blue and gold are averaging 4.44 runs per game, having scored 142 across 32 games. In the circle, SE carries a 4.42 team ERA with 162 runs allowed in 212.1 innings. The Storm are third in the league with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 191-to-72.
PREVIEWING NO. 10 CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
No. 10 Central Oklahoma brings a four-game win streak into Tuesday's twin bill, which has them 25-4 overall and leads the MIAA at 7-1. In the last four wins for the Bronchos, UCO took down then No. 6 Rogers State in a doubleheader, winning 7-4 and 3-2 for its fourth win over a ranked opponent. Central Oklahoma blanked Northeastern State in its most recent game behind a perfect game from its starting pitcher, Terin Ritz.
The Bronchos have two players batting over .450 this season, led by Ritz with 37 hits – eight doubles, two triples and seven home runs – and is batting .463 with 38 runs batted in. Rylee Lemos paces the team with 40 hits, 10 doubles and eight home runs while hitting .455. UCO, as a team, has a .340 batting average and a 2.28 ERA in the circle. The Bronchos have pitched nine shutouts this season, with Sydney Ward and Ritz each throwing three complete games.
