SE Athletics
DURANT, Okla. – Lorryn Johnson walks-off East Central in game two of Tuesday’s doubleheader to complete the twin bill sweep, as Southeastern Oklahoma State clinched the GAC series over its rivals.
Sports presented by Indian Nation Wholesale.
The Savage Storm leaned on their pitching in game one, as Emily Simmons pitched a shutout in SE’s 6-0 win. The blue and gold left it to the end in game two, and late heroics by Johnson secured a 7-6 victory.
GAME ONE: SE 6, ECU 0
A pitcher’s duel unfolded in the first three innings, with both starting arms dealing early. SE’s Emily Simmons had five strikeouts in the opening three frames to keep the Tigers scoreless, but ECU’s Taylor Spence was just as good, with one hit allowed during this stretch.
The Storm found a breakthrough in the bottom half of the fourth, plating five runs to jump ahead 5-0. India McMurray got the scoring going with a three-run home over the left center field wall, and two more runs crossed on a pair of wild pitches by East Central. SE scored all five runs on two hits and took advantage of a throwing error from the Tigers.
Both teams posted a scoreless fifth, and the Storm added to its lead in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI single ripped up the middle by Kennedy Morgan to score Susan Edwards. Simmons faced the minimum in the top of the seventh, striking out the first two batters before getting the final out to capture a 6-0 win.
Simmons totaled 10 strikeouts while allowing three hits and zero runs to improve to 7-4 on the year in the circle. Southeastern had seven hits from seven different players, led by a home run from McMurray, who had three RBIs.
GAME TWO: SE 7, ECU 6
After back-to-back walks, East Central took the lead in the top of the first 1-0 on a single to left center field. SE was quick to reply, scoring five runs on six hits in the bottom of the second to take the lead 5-1. McMurray led off the frame with a towering home run to start the scoring, which was followed by an RBI double and single by Sage Harlow and Iliana Olivares to make it 5-1.
The Tigers responded with a crooked number in the top of the third, scoring three runs to cut the gap to one, 5-4. Alyson Malone came in for relief in the third frame and helped settle things down, allowing one run over the next 3.0 frames. However, the Tigers tied the score 5-all in the fifth, and E. Simmons would make her second appearance of the day to strand a pair of baserunners and limit the damage.
East Central took the go-ahead lead in the top of the seventh with two hits and threatened to add more with a runner on third, but Simmons would keep a one-run game. In the bottom half, SE quickly fell behind with two outs and nobody on, but used back-to-back walks and a single by Edwards to load the bases. Lorryn Johnson stepped up with two outs and delivered a double to right center field to walk off the Tigers and secure a 7-6 win.
Simmons picked up her second win of the day, going to 8-4 in the circle, and McMurry notched her second home run of the day on a 1-for-2 day at the plate. SE had a trio of hitters with a multi-hit game, with Johnson, Harlow and Olivares recording two hits and each tallying two RBIs.
Southeastern (13-11, 6-5) stays at home for its next round of Great American Conference action, as they host Arkansas Tech on Friday and Saturday from the Southeastern Softball Field. SE and ATU open the series with a single game on Friday, Mar. 14 at 3 p.m.