HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana junior pitcher Catherine Gunther posted her fourth consecutive complete-game victory, while seniors Heather Sherrill and Allyson McCubbins came up with clutch hits to give the Lady Lions a 3-1 victory over in-state rival Louisiana-Monroe in non-conference softball action Wednesday evening at North Oak Park.

Southeastern (14-19) scored two runs in the third inning and added another score in the fourth inning to win its second straight game and fourth in its last five games. ULM (13-20) had its three-game winning streak snapped.

“Heather and Allyson are the hitters we count on to come through in clutch situations and they did that tonight,” Southeastern head coach Pete Langlois commented. “The difference in our play in the last several weeks is that we are starting to come up with timely hits. We also have been extremely pleased with the effort of Cat in the circle. She got into some trouble tonight, but kept her poise and did what she needed to do to win.”

Gunther (7-8), the reigning Southland Conference Pitcher of the Week, scattered five hits in the complete-game effort. In her past four starts, the McLouth, Kan. native is 4-0 with a 0.88 earned run average, allowing 16 hits in 24.0 innings of work.

ULM took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning. Robin Biddle led off the inning with a bloop double to right centerfield. After Jessica Olguin bunted Biddle over to third, the Warhawks' top hitter Brianna Love dropped a single in front of charging Lady Lion junior right fielder Chelsea Takacs to score Biddle. Gunther kept the damage to a minimum, retiring Sarah Carriger and Molly McNeill to end the inning.

After retiring the first seven batters she faced, ULM starter Heather Fritz (2-7) ran into trouble in the bottom of the third inning. Fritz hit junior Amber Freeman and freshman Jordan Logan to put Lady Lions on first and second with two outs. Sophomore Tamra Ladnier then loaded the bases with a sharp single up the middle.

Sherrill came up next for the Lady Lions and gave Southeastern the lead for good. Sherrill roped a double to the left centerfield fence to plate Freeman and Logan and pushed the Southeastern lead to 2-1. With the two-run double, Sherrill – already the school's career leader for doubles, extra-base hits and total bases – tied former Lady Lion and current Southeastern assistant coach Karin Smith Gadberry for the school's career standard with 109 RBI.

McCubbins helped Southeastern pad the lead in the top of the fourth inning. With one out, McCubbins hit a towering shot just inside the left field foul pole. The fifth home run of the season for the Poquoson, Va. native, who was celebrating her 22nd birthday, gave Southeastern a 3-1 cushion.

The two-run edge was all Gunther would need, though a single and a Lady Lion error gave ULM runners at first and second with one out in the top of the seventh inning. Gunther recovered to retire Love and Carriger to secure the victory.

Southeastern will return to action this weekend, when it opens a three-game Southland Conference series versus Stephen F. Austin at North Oak Park. The series opens with a 3 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday and concludes with a 12 p.m. contest on Sunday. Live stats for the series will be available at www.LionSports.net.