Box Score

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Southeastern Louisiana junior Tamra Ladnier was 3-for-3 with a go-ahead home run in the seventh inning and freshman Kati Morse tossed a complete-game five hitter for her first collegiate victory, as the Lady Lions snapped an 11-game losing streak with a 5-2 Southland Conference triumph over UTSA in softball action on Saturday afternoon at Roadrunner Field.

Southeastern (6-21, 2-11 Southland) earned their first victory since a 10-6 victory over Alcorn State on March 11. The win was also the team's first over UTSA (12-24, 8-10 Southland) in San Antonio since 2002.

Ladnier's performance at the plate highlighted an 11-hit Southeastern attack. Sophomore Jordan Logan and senior Amber Freeman each had two hits and an RBI, while sophomore Katelyn Thomason drove in a pair of runs. Though Southeastern lost a pair of slugfests on Friday, the Lady Lion offense got on track during the trip. In the three game series, Southeastern scored 23 runs, collected 31 hits and hit five home runs.

“We really showed a lot of improvement at the plate during the series,” Southeastern head coach Pete Langlois said. “The real key is that over the three games, everyone in our lineup produced. We need to continue our offensive performance and hopefully build on this win going forward.”

While the Lady Lion offense was battering UTSA pitching on Saturday, Morse (1-6) put together the finest performance in the circle of her young Lady Lion career. The Ponchatoula native struck out four and allowed no walks in the victory.

“Kati was really on her game today,” Langlois said. “She made one mistake that allowed them to tie the game, but overall we were very pleased with her performance. We consider her one of the future stars of our program and we are excited to watch her improve over her four years here.”

The Lady Lions took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning off of UTSA sophomore Morgan Luksa. Sophomore Lauren Coniglio started a two-out Southeastern rally with a single and Ladnier followed with a single of her own. A Freeman single to center plated Coniglio to give the Lady Lions the early advantage.

After retiring seven batters in a row, Morse had to weather a Roadrunner threat in the bottom of the third inning. Singles by senior Chelsey Chapman and sophomore Caitlyn Ivy coupled with a Southeastern error loaded the bases with two outs. However, Morse recovered to retire junior Danye Holmes to keep UTSA off the board.

The Lady Lions added to their lead in the top of the fifth inning. Freshman Michelle Duhe pinch ran after a Ladnier single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Freeman and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Logan then singled down the left field line to score Duhe. An error by Ivy put a pair of Lady Lions in scoring position with one out, but Luksa retired sophomore Meghan Gomez and Thomason to keep the deficit at 2-0.

Morse retired the Roadrunners in order in the fifth, but UTSA finally got to her in the sixth inning. With a runner on and two outs, Morse served up an 0-2 offering that freshman Samantha Beeson deposited over the left field fence to knot the score at 2.

It was Southeastern's turn to respond in the top of the seventh inning. Leading off the seventh, Ladnier ripped a 2-1 pitch over the left field wall off of UTSA junior Emily Humpal (6-12). The Hernando, Miss. native's second home run of the year put the Lady Lions up for good.

Freeman and Logan followed the blast with consecutive singles. After Humpal retired the next two Lady Lions, Thomason singled both runners home to give Southeastern a 5-2 cushion. After a single by junior Katie Duhe and a walk by senior Chelsea Takacs loaded the bases, the Lady Lions looked poised to break the game open. But Holmes sent UTSA into its final at-bat within striking distance by retiring Coniglio to end the inning.

After Chapman reached on a one-out error in the bottom of the seventh inning, Morse closed the door. After forcing senior Rudi Cantu to ground out, Morse struck out senior Cassie Miller to put the Roadrunners away.

Southeastern will return to action on Tuesday, facing Jackson State in a 4 p.m. doubleheader in Jackson, Miss.