Southeast Missouri State softball team trips over late errors

The Southeast Missouri State softball team suffered another tough Ohio Valley Conference loss Sunday.

Host Tennessee Tech scored two unearned runs in the bottom of the seventh and final inning to beat the Redhawks 3-2.

Tech (14-19, 8-7) took two of three in the series after the squads split Saturday's doubleheader.

Southeast (13-20, 6-8) has suffered seven of its eight OVC losses by either one or two runs. The Redhawks remained seventh in the 11-team league.

The Redhawks were within one strike of a victory Sunday when a two-out error allowed the tying and winning runs to score. It was one of three Southeast errors in the seventh inning that featured no hits by the Eaglettes. Tech also took advantage of a walk and a hit batter in the frame.

Alora Marble (7-9) was the loser in the circle, allowing six hits and one earned run. She struck out three and walked two.

Southeast took a 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning. Kaitlin Wallace had an RBI single and Evan Sallis delivered an RBI triple.

Tech made it 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth, which is the way things stood until the bottom of the seventh.

Sallis, Wallace and Cheyenne Gipson all had two of Southeast's eight hits. Sallis finished with six hits in the series.

Southeast will host Eastern Illinois at 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Track

Southeast athletes had a strong weekend at two venues, winning a title while claiming four runner-up finishes and 13 top-five showings.

The Redhawks sent their distance runners to Friday's Washington University Invitational in St. Louis and received a victory in the 10,000 meters from Jessica Bollinger with a career-best time of 36 minutes, 57.20 seconds.

Rebekah Lawson was second in that race (37:00.05), while Chris Loseman finished fourth in the men's 10,000 (30:57.00).

The rest of Southeast's accomplishments came at Saturday's Ole Miss Invitational in Oxford, Miss.

Craig Robinson (shot put, career-best 57 feet, 1 inches), Brent Collins (3,000 steeplechase, 9:26.52) and the women's 400 relay team of Angelica Larrier, Jerika lewis, Magan Edwards and Tiana Borner (46.39) all were second.

Also for Southeast's women, Larrier was fourth in the 100 (personal-best 11.84), the 1,600 relay was fifth (3:49.65), Nikki Buchheit tied for fifth in the pole vault (11-3 3/4) and Jessica Brown finished fifth in the long jump (18-4 1/2).

For the men, Mohamed Souleiman was fourth in the 800 (1:51.89), Blake Smith was fourth in the long jump (22-11 1/4) and Kevin Farley placed fifth in the shot put (52-2 3/4).

Southeast hosts the 31st annual Joey Haines Invitational this weekend.

Tennis

Southeast finished its two-match OVC weekend road trip with a split after a 4-3 loss at Jacksonville State.

The Redhawks (4-9, 1-4) and Gamecocks (6-13, 3-3) split the three singles matches, but JSU won two of three doubles contests to capture the doubles point.

Singles winners for Southeast were Elizabeth Nyenwe at No. 2, Jessica Courtnell at No. 4 and Heather Robinson at No. 5. Robinson, who has won four straight, is 9-1 in her last 10 singles matches.

Courtnell and Robinson posted Southeast's doubles victory at the No. 2 spot.

Southeast will host Eastern Illinois at noon Friday.

Singles

1. Raisa Guasti (JSU) def. Nikole Novikova 6-4, 6-4

2. Elizabeth Nyenwe (SE) def. Rafaela Wenzel 7-5, 6-1

3. Raphaela Lima (JSU) def. Melissa Martin 6-3, 6-3

4. Jessica Courtnell (SE) def. Zoe Bizinos 6-3, 6-1

5. Heather Robinson (SE) def. Danielle Kerindi 6-1, 6-1

6. Aleksandra Cmilijic (JSU) def. Laura Garcia 6-1, 6-1

Doubles

1. Guasti/Lima (JSU) def. Novikova/Martin 8-0

2. Courtnell/Robinson (SE) def. Wenzel/Bizinos 8-6

3. Kelly Tomlin/Cmilijic (JSU) def. Nyenwe/Lauren Schaper 9-7

-- From staff reports