Storm Rally Falls Just Shy in Midweek Loss

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern piled up 15 hits but saw its ninth-inning rally come up just short on Tuesday afternoon as the Savage Storm dropped a non-conference midweek matchup to rival East Central, 8-6, at Mike Metheny Field.
 
The loss drops the Savage Storm to 15-24 overall on the year heading into a weekend road series versus Arkansas-Monticello April 11-12 in Monticello, Ark.
 
Wesley Mitchell turned in a 4-for-5 effort as SE outhit the Tigers 15-to-9 for the contest.
 
Chase Keeton followed with three hits, while Brady Evans, Antonio Crews, and Alex Showalter each picked up two.
 
Coby Grimsley and Nick Mueller each added a hit.
 
Keeton finished with a pair of RBI, with Evans, Grimsley, Mueller, and Showalter each driving in a run.
 
Gabe Massey got the start and was saddled with the loss after allowing three runs on one hit in an inning of work.
 
Michael White followed with two inning and allowed a run on a hit.
 
Parker Pecina and Tristan Mills each tossed a scoreless inning, but were followed by Ryan Farquharson, Cody Ofeffer, and Austin Hillebrandt who combined to pitch an inning before Hillebrandt went on to throw two more.
 
Tanner Carter finished the game with a scoreless ninth inning.
 
ECU jumped in front with a three-run first inning and pushed its lead to 4-0 in the top of the second.
 
The Storm got on the board on an Showalter RBI single in the bottom of the second and closed the gap to 4-2 in the third on an RBI double off the bat of Mueller.
 
The Tiger tacked on three more runs in the sixth, pushing the score to 7-2, but SE clawed one back on a Keeyon single in the seventh.
 
An ECU solo home in the eighth inning pushed its lead to 8-3.
 
Evans started the rally in the ninth with an RBI single which was followed by RBI singles from Keeton and Grimsley to close the gap to 8-6, but that was where the rally would end.