Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score

LAKE CHARLES – Southeastern Louisiana junior Katie Duhe hit for the cycle in the nightcap, while freshman teammate Kelsey Nichols homered twice to help the Lady Lion softball team split a Southland Conference doubleheader with McNeese State Saturday at Cowgirl Diamond.

Consecutive home runs by sophomores Katelyn Thomason and Meghan Gomez keyed a four-run fifth inning that gave the Lady Lions (11-33, 3-21 Southland) the lead for good in a 12-11 victory in the nightcap.

In the win, Duhe was 4-for-4 with 3 RBI, tripling in the first, homering in the third, doubling in the fifth and singling in the seventh to complete the cycle and extend her hitting streak to 10 games. Nichols' home run in the seventh provided the insurance run needed for Southeastern to hold off a seventh inning rally by McNeese State (31-24, 14-12 Southland).

In the opener, the Cowgirls collected 12 hits and Cowgirl ace Meagan Bond (19-9) took a perfect game into the fifth inning and held the Lady Lions to two hits in a 9-1 victory. Nichols' home run and a double by Duhe represented all the offense Southeastern could muster in a losing effort.

The rubber game of the series is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday, weather permitting. Live stats will be available at www.mcneesesports.com.

Game 2 – McNeese State 9, Southeastern Louisiana 1 (6 Innings)
McNeese State took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first off Southeastern sophomore Vicki Honeycutt (1-3). Claire Terracina walked to lead off the inning and scored on a single by Liz Morvant to give the Cowgirls an early edge. A two-run home run by Marissa Koeting in the second put the Cowgirls up, 3-0.

Freshman Elise Kittrell did not have much more luck after relieving Honeycutt in the third inning. The Cowgirls added two more runs on RBI's by Molly Guidry and Whitney Corbello to take a 5-0 lead. An RBI single by Langner in the fourth sent the MSU lead to 6-0.

A one-out double by Duhe in the top of the fifth inning ended Bond's perfect game bid. However, Bond retired junior Tamra Ladnier and sophomore Lauren Coniglio to keep the Lady Lions off the board.

Nichols ended the shutout bid in the top of the sixth inning. With two outs, the Alvin, Texas native hit her third home runs of the season to cut the lead to 6-1.

McNeese State enforced the mercy rule in its half of the sixth. RBI's by Morvant, Guidry and Dani Price allowed the Cowgirls to reach the eight-run advantage necessary to complete the victory.

Game Two – Southeastern Louisiana 12, McNeese State 11
The Lady Lions took a lead in the top of the first inning off MSU starter Kayla Shepherd. Sophomore Jordan Logan led off the inning with a single and scored the inning's first run on a wild pitch. Duhe tripled home another run and scored on an error by Guidry to give Southeastern a 3-0 cushion.

Southeastern senior Catherine Gunther sat the Cowgirls down in order in the first, but sloppy fielding in the second let the Cowgirls take the lead. A single by Guidry and errors by Coniglio and Gunther loaded the bases with two outs. Koetting then cleared the bases with a triple to tie the score. An error by Gomez allowed Koetting to score the go-ahead run and give MSU a 4-3 edge.

Duhe tied the game in the top of the third with a solo home run. With one out in the frame, the Lutcher native hit her fifth home run of the season to knot the score at 4.

McNeese State took advantage of more sloppy Lady Lion fielding in its half of the third. A Coniglio error allowed the first run to score and with the inning allowed to continue, Price singled home two more runs to put MSU on top, 7-4.

The Lady Lions answered once again in the top of the fourth inning. A walk to senior Amber Freeman and singles by Gomez and Nichols loaded the bases with two outs. Duhe then drew a bases loaded walk to force in a run. Ladnier followed with a two-run single to tie the score at 7.

Freshman Kati Morse relieved Gunther and was greeted by a leadoff solo home run by Guidry in the bottom of the fourth inning. A Morse error allowed another run in to put McNeese on top, 9-7. Thomason (5-9) came in to get the final out of the inning, leaving the bases loaded and keeping Southeastern within striking distance.

Coniglio led off the Southeastern fifth with a single and MSU reliever Kelsey McLain (3-5) hit Logan to put a pair of runners on with two outs. Gomez then ripped her team-high seventh home run of the season to give the Lady Lions the lead for good. Thomason followed with her fourth homer of the year to put Southeastern ahead, 11-9.

Nichols led off the Lady Lion seventh with her second home run of the day and fourth long ball of the season to give Southeastern a three-run cushion heading into McNeese's final at-bat.

The Cowgirls would not go down without a fight. Singles by Katie Shumaker and Guidry, coupled with a Thomason wild pitch put a pair of runners in scoring position with one out. After Thomason struck out Whitney Corbello, Price singled home a pair of runs to bring the winning run to the plate. Thomason recovered to strike out Alex Corbello, ending the game and snapping Southeastern's five-game losing streak.