OTAHKS DROP PAIR OF GAMES IN OWN CLASSIC

Southeast Missouri fell to 0-3 in its own season-opening Southeast Softball Classic, suffering a pair of losses Saturday.

Southeast fell 6-0 to Chicago-Illinois in Saturday's first game and later fell 10-1 to Western Kentucky in five innings.

Adding a 10-1 loss to Southwest Missouri on Friday, Southeast has been outscored 26-2 thus far in the six-team tournament.

Against Illinois-Chicago, Southeast trailed just 1-0 entering the top of the seventh but saw the visitors push across five insurance runs on six hits.

Jenny Doehring suffered the loss, allowing 10 hits, striking out four and walking no one.

Southeast's offense countered with five hits.

In the second game, Western Kentucky touched Southeast starter Kristen King for five runs and seven hits in three innings.

The Hilltoppers took a 1-0 lead in the second and added four runs in third. After Southeast pushed across its lone run in the top of the fourth, Western Kentucky countered with five runs in the bottom of the inning off Reagan Hamlin. Hamlin walked four batters and gave up three hits in the inning.

Southeast could muster just two hits off Western Kentucky's Katie Swertfager, who struck out six batters while not allowing a walk.

A highlight of Saturday's action was a no-hitter pitched by Northern Iowa's Cara Graver against the University of Buffalo. Graver struck out eight batters and walked one in Northern Iowa's 6-0 victory.

In other tournament games played Saturday, Southwest Missouri edged Buffalo 5-4 and also nipped Northern Iowa 3-2. Western Kentucky also routed Illinois-Chicago 13-3 in five innings.

Southeast has two games remaining today, playing Buffalo at 11:30 a.m. and Northern Iowa at 1:30 p.m.