Box Score

HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana junior Katie Duhe was 4-for-4 and extended her hitting streak to a school-record tying 14 consecutive games, but two late-inning home runs by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's Brittany Tucker allowed the Islanders to rally from five runs down for an 8-7, nine-inning victory in the Southland Conference softball regular season finale for both teams Sunday afternoon at North Oak Park.

The Lady Lions finished the season with an 11-37 overall record and a 3-25 record in league action. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi improved to 35-20 overall and 16-14 in Southland Conference play, clinching its first-ever berth in the Southland Conference Tournament.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning against sophomore Katelyn Thomason (5-11). Cassie Redman led off the game with a double and scored on a single by Margo Hurdt. A double by Tucker plated another run to give the Islanders the early cushion.

In the Southeastern half of the second inning, Duhe led off the frame with a sharp single through the left side. The hit extended her hitting streak to 14 games, tying the school-record streak of former Lady Lion and current Southeastern assistant coach Karin Smith Gadberry. Islander starter Addie Tallman stranded the Lutcher native at first, retiring the next three Lady Lion batters.

Southeastern broke through against Tallman and Islander reliever Elena Crabtree (17-11) in the bottom of the third inning. The Lady Lions opened the inning with eight consecutive hits, as an RBI double by freshman Kelsey Nichols, followed by RBI singles by Thomason and junior Tamra Ladnier gave the Lady Lions the lead. Sophomore Lauren Coniglio capped the scoring with a pinch-hit grand slam to put Southeastern up, 7-2.

Knowing they had to win to advance to the postseason, the Islanders began their comeback in the top of the fifth inning. A two-run home run by Hurdt cut the Lady Lion lead to 7-4. After a single by Sandy Schumann put another run on, freshman Michelle Duhe robbed Lauren Dodson of an extra-base hit and ended the inning with a diving catch in centerfield.

Duhe led off the Lady Lion fifth with a double, but Crabtree retired the next three Lady Lions to end the inning. Thomason and Crabtree each sat the opposing lineup down in order in the sixth, bringing the Islanders up with three outs remaining and down by three heading to the seventh.

A single by Hannah Schwarz and a walk issued to Hurdt put runners at first and second with one out. Tucker followed with a line drive, opposite field shot over the left field fence to tie the game.

The Lady Lions looked to avoid extra innings, as Duhe ripped a two-out double into the right centerfield gap. However, Crabtree forced Ladnier to fly out to send the game to extra innings.

Tucker struck again to break the tie in the ninth, powering the first pitch of the frame over the left field fence to put the Islanders up, 8-7. Crabtree sat Southeastern down in order in the ninth to end the game.

Duhe, who hit .632 during her season-ending hitting streak, finished as the team leader in batting average (.363), doubles (seven), runs batted in (23), slugging percentage (.556) and on-base percentage (.416). The Lady Lions finished with three players with above .300 batting averages in Duhe, Nichols (.319) and sophomore Jordan Logan (.303), who led the team with 50 hits.

For the second straight year, sophomore Meghan Gomez led the team in home runs (seven) and runs scored (25). In Southland Conference play, Duhe finished the regular season as the league leader in batting average (.444), slugging percentage (.722) and on-base percentage (.506) versus league foes.

The top offensive performers for the Lady Lions have eligibility remaining and will join with several newcomers who are expected to have an immediate impact. Despite the disappointing results in 2010, Southeastern's immediate future is bright with a young, constantly improving nucleus.