SE Splits With HSU On Day One

No. 2 Southeastern dropped its first Great American Conference contest of the season, 5-4 to Henderson State, but bounced back in game two for a 5-1 victory on Friday afternoon in Arkadelphia, Ark.

The Savage Storm moves to 20-5 overall on the season and 5-1 in GAC play with the final two games of the series slated for a double-header starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

The nightcap was decidedly better for SE, despite only rapping out five hits.

SE took advantage of those as well as a pair of Reddie errors to pick up the 5-1 win.

The Storm put up a run in the top of the first on a Whitney Hamilton RBI single that scored Lacie Cook, but HSU answered to tie the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the first.

Southeastern would pull away in the third inning when Laramie Beal reached on an error, followed by a hit-batsman and a walk to load the bases with two outs. The Courtney Riddle would connect on a grand slam to left to put the Storm ahead 5-1 where they would stay.

Riddle finished the contest 2-for-3 with four RBI, while Hamilton had a hit and the other RBI.

Mindy McElroy picked up her eighth win of the season by tossing a complete game and allowing a run on three hits with a pair of strikeouts.

The nightcap was a follow up to a disappointing 5-4 loss in the opener that saw HSU win in the bottom of the seventh inning.

The Storm opened up a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Jessica Simmons stole home to push her team-best steal total to 20.

That lead stretched to 4-0 in the third when Paige Priest scored on a Cook groundout, followed by a two-run single by Courtney Moore for her 20th and 21st RBI of the year.

The Reddies answered, however, with a run in the bottom of the third inning, and tied it with a three-run fourth.

SE would put runners in scoring position in the fifth and seventh inning, but could not get them home.

McElroy, who was on in relief of Jacee Bennett, struck out the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the seventh and coaxed a groundout from the second.

However, HSU would then get a single, followed by back-to-back hit batters before the eight-hole hitter singled home the game-winning run.

McElroy was saddled with the loss after throwing 2.2 innings and allowing a run on two hits with two strikeouts.

Bennett got the start and went 4.0 innings, allowing four runs on nine hits with a strikeout.

SE picked up seven hits in the game, with each coming from a different batter.

Moore finished with a pair of RBI, while Cook drove in one.