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Southeastern softball hurler Reese Taylor throws a pitch. Matt Swearengin | Durant Democrat -
Southeastern baseball player Cam Wheeler swings at the ball. Matt Swearengin | Durant Democrat
Wins have been tough to come by as of late for the Southeastern baseball team while the softball team has been mired in a difficult stretch as well, although they did manage to take two of three games against Southwestern in their most recent home series.
Coach Mackenzie Sher’s squad notched 5-4 and 8-0 wins over Southwestern before finding the going tough on the road last weekend, falling in all three games against Oklahoma Baptist.
The Savage Storm baseball team finally found the win column on Monday, riding some late game dramatics to a 15-13 victory over Oklahoma Baptist on a Damon Burroughs walk off grand slam that snapped a 13-game losing skid.
Softball
Southeastern utilized some late inning magic to break a 4-4 deadlock in the first triumph against Southwestern as K.J. Morgan led off the sixth inning by a drawing a walk and Kady Fryrear eventually came through with the two-out, goahead single.
The visitors threatened, loading the bases with two gone in the final stanza, but Reese Taylor coaxed game-ending liner to third base to squelch the comeback bid.
Southeastern amassed eight hits in the victory as Fryrear and Channing Sarver each had two of those while knocking in two apiece. Abby Beck also contributed two hits and one RBI for the Savage Storm.
Taylor worked all seven innings in the pitching circle in a bit of a mixed afternoon. She allowed three earned runs on seven hits, struck out eight and walked eight batters.
An eight-run first inning in the second game against Southwestern propelled the Savage Storm to an 8-0 run rule decision.
Sabetha Sands posted an RBI double, Morgan and Gracie Ore each drove in two runs with singles and Sage Harlow also finished the frame with a run-scoring double.
That was plenty of support for pitcher Emily Simmons, who twirled a two-hit shutout over five innings. She struck out four and walked one.
After a pair of losses to Oklahoma Baptist, the Savage Storm were on the brink of salvaging the final contest with a 2-0 lead in the sixth. The Lady Bison however tallied one in the sixth and another unearned run with two outs in the seventh before winning in extra innings by a 3-2 count.
Southeastern finished that game with six hits as Harlow and Taylor posted two apiece. Ore and Fryrear had the others.
Baseball
After watching a 10-6 lead slip away during a seven-run OBU sixth inning, hope appeared to be lost in snapping the streak.
The Savage Storm had other ideas however as Hayden Alexander and Brody Logsdon combined to shut out the Bison over the final three stanzas.
Southeastern finally put it all together in the bottom of the ninth as John David Muse singled before Cody Bonstrom walks, Coby Grimsley was hit by a pitch and Cameron Cromer walked to force in a run to trim the deficit to 13-11.
Burroughs put ended it entirely moments later by drilling a home run over the rightfield wall that set off the Savage Storm celebration.
Southeastern made the most of 11 hits in the contests as Grimsley led that charge with three of those as well as two runs scored and two RBI. Burroughs and Austin Thorp tallied two hits apiece while Yanluis Ortiz drove in three with his one hit while Cache Stone and Nick Hill posted one hit and one RBI apiece.
Logsdon was the final of five Savage Storm hurlers in the contest and picked up the victory in relief as he pitched one scoreless, no-hit frame on 12 pitches.