DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern pauses GAC action for a non-conference battle during the midweek on Tuesday, March 3, when the Savage Storm hosts St. Edwards for a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.
STORM REPORT
SE (9-11, 4-2 GAC) secured its second conference series recently, taking 2-1 from Southern Nazarene at the Southeastern Softball Field. The blue and gold leaned on strong pitching performances from
Alyson Malone and
Trinity Oden in games two and three to sweep the Saturday doubleheader and clinch the series win.
Malone was the standout performer for Southeastern over the weekend, as the junior from Pottsboro, Texas, pitched a nine-inning no-hitter in a 1-0 win in game two. Malone became the first player for SE to pitch a no-hitter since 2014 and tied the GAC record for the longest no-hitter game. This season, the right-hand hurler leads the team with 43 strikeouts and a 2.50 ERA in 42.0 innings of work.
Iliana Olivares extended her hit streak to six games, finishing 4-for-10 in the SNU series with a double and a run scored. Olivares continues to pace the SE lineup with a .441 batting average and is tied with
Susan Edwards for the team-high 30 hits.
India McMurray and
Emily Simmons have been the best hitters with runners on base for the blue and gold, as the duo has combined for 36 of the team's 81 RBIs.
As a team, Southeastern has recorded 173 hits and is batting .299 with 25 doubles and 15 home runs. SE ranks third in the GAC in total bases this season with 310, and is fourth in both doubles (25) and home runs (15). The Storm carries a 4.58 ERA into the midweek battle with St. Edwards, and batters are hitting .283 against the SE pitching staff, which has 110 strikeouts in 139.0 innings of work.
SCOUTING ST. EDWARDS
St. Edwards enters Tuesday 6-11 overall and 4-4 in the Lone Star Conference after seeing back-to-back defeats to UT-Tyler. The Hilltoppers have already faced four GAC teams this season and are 1-3 against the Great American Conference.
Kylen Padgett has been a strikeout specialist for St. Edwards, as she leads the side with 42 of the team's 63 punchouts this season. Padgett carries a 3.43 ERA with 51.0 innings of work and a 5-4 record in the circle. Offensively, Dafne Mercado is the biggest bat in the Hilltoppers lineup with seven doubles and two home runs for 15 total hits on a .319 average. St. Edwards is batting .273 as a team with 61 runs scored and 166 total bases recorded.
