Fire Sweep Gyrenes, Eye TSC Top Spot

by | Apr 11, 2018 | RRSN News | 0 comments

AVE MARIA, Fla.— With 9-2 and 1-0 triumphs over Ave Maria in a doubleheader on Wednesday, Southeastern closed in on first place in the Sun Conference. The Fire completed their 12th sweep of the season and improved to 12-4 in conference play, putting pressure on Warner and Thomas in the race to the Sun Conference postseason tournament.
Game one saw Southeastern utilize “small ball” techniques to gain an early 4-0 lead over the Gyrenes. The Fire, who only had one extra base hit on the day, got five of their first six hitters on base in the opening game.
Haliegh Harrell and Sam Holcomb continued their hot streaks by singling to get on base in the first. Following a well-executed double steal and an intentional walk, Kiah Ferrell drew a bases-loaded walk to score Harrell. After Britt Robinson then singled to score Harrell, Britney Schmidt drove in Brandee Pietrzak to cap off a three-run first inning for the Fire.
In the second, Kristin Mihalic walked and Lauran Watters singled to set up more impressive baserunning from the Fire. Watters stole second, which drew a throw from the catcher and allowed Mihalic to steal home, marking the second double steal in as many frames for Southeastern.
After two quick innings of action, Ramsey Sullivan and Harrell each notched RBI singles in the fifth by plating Jaz Szierer and Heather Faulk, respectively. Robinson, who ended game one 3-4, was escorted home on a Gyrenes error as the Fire led 7-0 through five. With the hits in the fifth, every SEU starter reached base successfully in the competition.
Following Brianna Perez’s one-out double, Southeastern looked to end game one in the sixth as RBI base knocks by Szierer and Faulk opened up a 9-0 advantage heading into the bottom of the inning.
Pitcher Hannah Bodenhorn exhibited wonderful poise in the circle through five innings of work. The junior, who leads the Sun Conference by averaging 9.39 strikeouts per game, fanned six and held Gyrene hitters to a mere 2-18 from the plate without surrendering a run. Southeastern’s bullpen was able to hold on by a score of 9-2, improving Bodenhorn’s record to 15-3 with the victory.
Game two featured a pitchers’ duel between Ashley Appell and Ave Maria’s Brooke Pierron. In a stunning shutout performance, Appell did not give up more than a single hit in any frame, as she moved to 17-7 on the year.
The Fire only recorded multiple hits in two innings, once in the second, when they stranded both runners, and again in the fifth, when they finally got to Pierron.
Four Southeastern batters reached in the fifth, nearly doubling the team’s total from the first four frames (5). Singles by Mihalic and Harrell, followed by a Watters fielder’s choice and one of Holcomb’s three intentional walks on the day, loaded the bases for Pietrzak. The senior delivered a clutch sacrifice fly to center driving in Harrell, which turned out to be the lone run of the second competition.
The Gyrenes threatened to tie the ballgame in the bottom of the seventh, but Appell coolly sat down the final two batters with a runner in scoring position.
Harrell and Faulk finished the day as the only players to register multiple hits in both contests. The freshman went 2-4 in both games, while the junior went 2-3 in each game.
Southeastern will continue its road trip with an important doubleheader at Thomas this Saturday, which will likely have postseason implications. First pitch of the matchup is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Related Stories

KOPSEA’S KORNER – 2024-25 BASKETBALL – VOLUME 11

SENSATIONAL SEVEN Saint Joseph (17-3): Nick Shrewsberry drained 20 points in the No. 4 (Class 3A) Huskies’ 57-54 win over Marian. Warsaw (18-4): Mydin Burgher’s 15 points helped the No. 4 (Class 4A) Tigers claim the outright the Northern Lakes Conference title with a...

2024-25 IBCA BOYS’ BASKETBALL POLL – FEBRUARY 16, 2025

1             Fishers (22)                        440        21-0 2             Avon                                      395        18-2 3             Indianapolis Cathedral   360        16-4 4             Greenfield-Central           356        18-3 5            ...

IHSAA Girls Basketball Semistate Pairings Revealed

The semistate rounds in the 50th Annual IHSAA Girls Basketball State Tournament were randomly drawn this afternoon as the 32 remaining teams learned their opponents and the location of their games. Semistate games are scheduled for next Saturday (Feb. 22) at eight...

Indiana Makes It Nine-Straight Barn Burner Trophy Wins In Rout Of Purdue

Indiana Makes It Nine-Straight Barn Burner Trophy Wins In Rout Of Purdue   BLOOMINGTON, Ind.  –  Indiana notched its ninth-straight win in the Barn Burner Trophy series and 12th straight in the all-time series in a 78-58 on Saturday afternoon at Simon Skjodt Assembly...

COLLEGE HOCKEY: NOTRE DAME AT NO. 18 PENN STATE

By JOHN FINERAN With six Big Ten Conference hockey games remaining in the regular season, Notre Dame flies east to No. 18 Penn State, one of the league’s hottest teams at the moment, to try and build some momentum for a postseason tournament run. WHEN: Friday at 7...

MATT’S MATCHUPS 2024-25 HOOPS – VOLUME 12

February began a perfect note as I went 19-0 (100 percent) last week. My overall record is now 234-51, which has me at 82 percent for the season. TUESDAY Bremen (8-8) at New Prairie (3-14): The Lions roared to a 43-38 win over New Prairie a year ago. Silas Laidig had...