Box Score

HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana senior second baseman Katie Duhe was 2-for-3 and extended her school record hitting streak to 15 games, but it was not enough as the Lady Lions dropped a 5-1 decision to Akron in the 2011 season opener Friday evening at North Oak Park.

The Lady Lions (0-1) faced off with the Zips (1-0) as part of the opening day of the Lion Classic. In other tournament action on Friday, St. Louis defeated Southern, 1-0, while UMKC opened play with a 10-4 win over Jackson State. In the day's nightcap, Southern defeated Jackson State, 11-7.

Southeastern collected eight hits on the day to nine for Akron, but the Lady Lions left 12 batters on base. Akron scored five runs off Southeastern sophomore starting pitcher Kati Morse (0-1) in the first two innings, before junior Vicki Honeycutt came in and held Akron scoreless for five innings, scattering two hits and striking out three.

Though playing on their home field, the Lady Lions acted as the visiting team and jumped on top in the top of the first inning. Sophomore Kelsey Nichols ripped a double off the top of the leftfield fence. Duhe then dropped a bloop single in shallow centerfield, scoring Nichols and giving Southeastern the early lead.

With the base hit, Duhe claimed the school record for the longest hitting streak as her own. The Lutcher native hit safely in the last 14 games of 2010, which matched the previous record held by former Lady Lion Karin Smith.

Akron jumped on top in the bottom of the first with a two-out rally. Alissa Birkhimer singled to start the rally and advanced to third on consecutive wild pitches. Heather Bauer then singled her home and Olivia Hegedus followed with a two-run shot over the right field fence to put the Zips up, 3-1.

Akron added to the lead in the bottom of the second inning. Alex Feltes opened the inning with a triple and scored when Katie Gross followed with a double into the left centerfield gap to chase Morse from the game. Gross would put the Zips ahead, 5-1, when she came home on a Honeycutt wild pitch.

As Honeycutt kept Akron scoreless from there on out, Southeastern had several chances to cut into the lead. In the third inning, a double by junior Meghan Gomez and a Katie Duhe walk gave Southeastern a pair of base runners with one out. Akron starter Alex Riedeman (1-0) recovered to retire juniors Katie Matthews and Lauren Coniglio to end the threat.

In the fifth, Katie Duhe and Matthews reached to put runners on the corners with one out. Riedeman retired Coniglio, then walked senior Tamra Ladnier to load the bases. However, freshman Aly Williams grounded out to end the frame.

Southeastern's last chance came in the sixth, as a single by junior Trish Bliss and a walk to freshman Tori Sheppard put runners on first and second with no outs. Riedeman battled back to retire Nichols, Gomez and Katie Duhe to end the inning. The Lady Lions went down in order in the seventh.

The tournament continues on Saturday, when UMKC and Southern open the day with a 10 a.m. contest. The Lady Lions will face Tennessee Martin at 3 p.m. and St. Louis at 5:30 p.m.

2011 Lion Classic Schedule – Feb. 11-13 – Hammond, La. – North Oak Park
Friday, February 11

Field One
St. Louis 1, Southern 0
Akron 5, Southeastern 1

Field Two
UMKC 10, Jackson State 4
Southern 11, Jackson State 7

Field Three
Nicholls vs. Tennessee-Martin, Cancelled

Saturday, February 12

Field One
10 a.m. - UMKC vs. Southern
12:30 p.m. - Nicholls vs. St. Louis
3 p.m. - Southeastern vs. Tennessee-Martin
5:30 p.m. - Southeastern vs. St. Louis

Field Two
10 a.m. - Tennessee-Martin vs. Jackson State
3 p.m. - Akron vs. Jackson State
5:30 p.m. - Akron vs. Southern

Field Three
10 a.m. - Akron vs. St. Louis
3 p.m. - Nicholls vs. UMKC
5:30 p.m. - Tennessee-Martin vs. UMKC

Sunday, February 13

Field One
10 a.m. - Southeastern vs. UMKC
12 p.m. - Southeastern vs. Southern

Field Two
10 a.m. - Akron vs. Nicholls
12 p.m. - Jackson State vs. Nicholls

Field Three
10 a.m. - Tennessee-Martin vs. St. Louis