RUSTON, La.– Southeast Missouri (5-2) hit four home runs in a 10-2 victory over Abilene Christian (1-5). The Redhawks bounced back from an 8-0 loss to Wichita State (3-3) to get a split in the opening day of the Louisiana Tech Invitational.
Center fielder
Rachel Anderson fell a double shy of hitting for the cycle in SEMO's first-ever meeting with ACU. Anderson finished at 3-for-3 with a run scored, triple, home run and four RBI out of the No. 3 spot in the batting order. The triple marked the 17
thof her career as she is now two triples away from breaking the school's all-time record.
The Redhawks trailed, 2-0, before
Ashley Ellis hit a solo home run to cut the Wildcats lead in half in the bottom of the second inning. The home run marked Ellis' team-high third of the young season.
SEMO then hit three more home runs in the bottom of the third inning to stretch its lead.
Parker Bandy tied the game on a solo shot down the right field line. Anderson's two-run smash to right center put the Redhawks ahead and
Addison Barnouski added a home run to center giving SEMO a 5-2 advantage.
"After our first game results and falling behind in the second contest, our offense really stepped up," said SEMO head coach
Mark Redburn. "That was certainly the difference.
Ashley Ellis got us on the board with a home run and then several other players followed it up with some more. As a team, we did a great job of putting balls in play, we had no strikeouts and moved and scored runners."
Claudia Gallo had an RBI-infield hit and
Sarah Messex singled home
Mykaela Arellanes to make it 7-2 in the fourth.
Anderson's 2-RBI single put the finishing touches on the win as part of a three-run fifth inning.
SEMO outhit ACU, 14-4, with both Anderson and Arellanes getting three hits. Arellanes went 3-for-4 with three runs scored. Ellis and Bandy contributed two hits apiece.
Haley Thogmartin (3-1) picked up her third win inside the circle. Thogmartin recorded seven strikeouts, scattered four hits and gave up two runs in five innings.
"Haley did a nice job settling in and she had good defense behind her," added Redburn. "That led to us finishing the day on a positive note."
Bailey Lange hit a two-run home run and tossed a one-hit complete game shutout to lead WSU to victory in the tournament-opener.
Rachael Donald's leadoff single in the top of the third inning was the Redhawks only hit of the contest.
Ahead, 2-0, WSU tacked on four more runs in the bottom of the fourth and added another two in the fifth to complete its shutout.
Neleigh Herring greeted Redhawks relief pitcher
Marisa Davis with a double to left center and went to third on an ensuing base hit by Bailee Nickerson. Ryleigh Buck knocked in both Herring and Nickerson on a double to center. After Sydney McKinney popped up to Davis, Lange smacked a home run to right center giving the Shockers a 6-0 advantage.
Asea Webber's two-RBI double ended the scoring in the fifth.
Alexis Estes (2-1) took the loss for SEMO. Estes walked two, gave up three hits and allowed two runs in three innings.
SEMO resumes play against tournament host Louisiana Tech and Fairleigh Dickinson Saturday.
