HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Southeastern opened up play in the Great American Conference tournament with a first-round loss on Thursday morning, dropping a 7-3 contest to Southern Arkansas at Majestic Park in Hot Springs, Ark.
 
The loss puts them in the loser's bracket and the team will be back in action at 9:30 a.m. on May 1 versus the loser between top-seeded Arkansas-Monticello and eighth-seeded East Central.
 
Thursday's loss drops the Savage Storm to 28-20 overall on the season.
 
Ryan Kirk, Carter Olson, Payton Poole, Easton Ford, Logan Rose, and Alex Showalter each picked up hits in the game, with Ford driving in a pair of runs on his home run and Villa plating one.
 
Colton Clawson got the star an took the loss after allowing five runs on five hits in just two-thirds of an inning.
 
Estevan Fonseca came on in relief to end the first inning and finished the day with 8.1 innings pitched, allowing two runs on four hits with four strikeouts.
 
SE fell in a 5-0 hole in the top of the first inning as the Muleriders put up five runs on five hits.
 
The Storm picked up a run in the third with Showalter scoring on a Villa sac fly, closing the gap to 5-1.
 
SAU added to its lead in the top of the seventh with a two-run homer, pushing the score to 7-1.
 
Ford connected on a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth, but that was as far as the rally would go, making the final score 7-3.