Storm Defeat NWOSU 5-3 to Complete the Sweep

DENISON, Texas – Southeastern Oklahoma State earns its first Great American Conference sweep this season, taking down Northwestern Oklahoma State 5-3 in the series finale.
 
The Savage Storm totaled nine hits for the game and had three players with a multi-hit day, led by Sabetha Sands with two hits, an RBI, and two runs scored. Kasey Simmons went 2-for-2 at the plate with a pair of doubles, while Iliana Olivares notched two hits and an RBI.
 
Trinity Oden got the start in the circle and threw 3.0 innings, striking out four, before Emily Simmons took over the rest of the way to improve to 6-4. Simmons had four strikeouts in 4.0 innings and allowed two runs on five hits.
 
Southeastern opened the scoring in the bottom of the first with a leadoff home run by Sands, and four batters later, Laci Larsen added to lead with a ground-out RBI to make it 2-0. The blue and gold stayed on the front foot, scoring another pair of runs in the third on two hits to stretch the gap to four.
 
SE worked back-to-back walks to start the third, and a single by Olivares brought in the first run to grow the edge to 3-0. Moments later, India McMurray laced a single to left field to plate the next run and make it 4-0. SE threatened to add more with bases loaded, but the Rangers limited the damage, stranding the trio of runners.
 
The Rangers continued to battle at the plate and eventually found a breakthrough in the fourth with a run, and soon made it a one-score game in the fifth. NWOSU used two hits and a free-pass to score two runs in the top half of the fifth frame to add to its score and slash SE's advantage down to one, 4-3. Southeastern replied with a one-run inning in the sixth to provide some insurance heading into the seventh.
 
After back-to-back outs by Northwestern to start the top half of the seventh, the Rangers had two straight runners reach on a single and walk. With runners on second and first, NWOSU laced a single up the middle, but the SE's center fielder, Susan Edwards, threw out Northwestern's lead runner at home for the final out to secure the win, 5-3.
 
Southeastern (11-11, 4-5) host rivals East Central on Tuesday, Mar. 11, in a doubleheader from the Southeastern Softball Complex, starting at 2 p.m.