SEMO softball splits midweek doubleheader

SEMO's Sydney Dennis prepares for her at-bat during the March 12. game between the Redhawks and Bradley.

Photo Courtesy of Carrie Trovillion - Freelance Photographer

The SEMO softball team split a doubleheader with Bradley University on Tuesday at the Southeast Softball Complex. The Redhawks won the first game by a score of 6-2 and lost the second 5-1. Sydney Dennis led the Redhawks in the first game going 2-3 with what proved to be the winning RBI double to left field. In game two, Brooklyn Saysoff brought in the lone run for SEMO on an RBI single to left center.

Redhawks head coach Mark Redburn said he was happy to get a win but offensively the team is still struggling.

“We still made some basic mistakes in game one even but we still got through it. In the second game, we tried to play some people and that's what we wanted to do, but we weren't throwing in the towel or anything. We had opportunities to bring some of our starters back off the bench,” Redburn said. “We're just not hitting it very well, we're not seeing it very well, we’re swinging at balls and letting strikes go by and, you know, we're just right now offensively not very good.”

In game one, Bradley went up 2-0 early before the Redhawks scored six unanswered runs in the fifth and sixth innings to take home the victory. In the fifth, Tatum Gerwitz reached second on a fielding error, scoring Dennis and moving Zoe Schulte to third. Kat Sackett brought in Schulte on a sacrifice fly to left field.

SEMO put up four more runs in the sixth, Dennis’ double to left brought in Paige Halliwill, an error that allowed Sackett to reach first brought in Dennis, and Aubrie Shore brought in both Gerwitz and Schulte with a two-RBI single to center. Dennis said she just tried to lift and drive the ball and had the count to swing away.

SEMO's Brooklyn Saysoff stands on first base during the March 12. game between the Redhawks and Bradley.

“I just feel like today more than other days I just saw the ball better and I hope to keep doing that,” Dennis said.

Game two was not as good offensively for the Redhawks but the bright spot was freshman Brooklyn Saysoff getting SEMO going in the first inning, with her single to left field scoring Brittany Affolter.

Saysoff said seeing her teammates hit and taking what they saw helped her hit well today.

“I’m just seeing it. I take things for my teammates, what they saw and how they would change their next at-bat, and then just recognize what they're seeing and change up my at-bats a little,” Saysoff said.

The Redhawks are back in action this weekend at SIUE where they will have a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 and 3 p.m. and finish the series on Sunday at 1 p.m.