HAMMOND – The Southeastern Louisiana softball team will look for its first Southland Conference victories when it hosts league leader McNeese State for a two-game series at North Oak Park this week.
 
The series between the Lady Lions (6-25, 0-6 Southland) and the Cowgirls (20-9, 4-0 Southland) will open with a 6 p.m. contest on Friday evening. On Saturday, the two teams close the series with a 12 p.m. game on Saturday. Live stats for the games will be available at www.LionSports.net. Fans can also get inning-by-inning updates via Twitter at www.twitter.com/sluathletics.
 
Southeastern will be attempting to bounce back from a disappointing doubleheader sweep at the hands of Southland Conference rival Nicholls State on Tuesday. Junior first baseman Ariell Van Hook, senior outfielder Katie Matthews and junior outfielder Kelsey Nichols each doubled for the Lady Lions, however Nicholls countered with 21 hits in the 10-2 and 8-0 triumphs.
 
The Lady Lions, who are hitting .232 as a team, will be looking to snap a six-game losing streak. Sophomore second baseman Megan McCollum leads the team with a .321 batting average. Junior outfielder Michelle Duhe (.279), Van Hook (.266), Nichols (.244) and senior third baseman Trish Bliss (.230) round out the top five hitters for average for Southeastern.
 
Duhe, who leads the team with 29 hits and three triples, has also scored a team-high 13 runs, followed by senior catcher Meghan Gomez and Van Hook with 11 and 10 runs, respectively. Gomez also leads the team with a Southland-high eight home runs. Gomez is one of seven Lady Lions to homer this season, as Van Hook has hit three, sophomore shortstop Kayla Elswick has two, while McCollum, Nichols, senior third baseman Lauren Coniglio and sophomore first baseman Tori Sheppard each have one.
 
Gomez has also driven in a team-high 19 runs and is joined in double figures by Elswick, who has 10 RBI on the year. Bliss paces the squad with six doubles, while McCollum, Van Hook, Nichols and Matthews have five apiece.
 
Southeastern has used four different pitchers this season and the quartet has combined for a 5.29 team earned run average. Junior Kenna Terry (2-10, 4.65 ERA), senior Vicki Honeycutt (2-3, 5.33 ERA), sophomore Jessie Browne (1-9, 7.56 ERA) and junior Kati Morse (1-3, 3.95 ERA) each have seen action in the circle for the Lady Lions.
 
The Lady Lion pitchers will be facing a McNeese State team that has a .241 team batting average. Senior outfielder Claire Terracina leads the Cowgirls with a .330 batting average and 30 hits.
 
Four Cowgirls share the team home run lead. Sophomore utility player Alanna Divittorio, freshman catcher Ashley Modzelewski, junior infielder Marissa Koetting and sophomore first baseman Kim Kennedy each have three home runs. Modzelewski has a team-high 15 runs batted in, while Divittorio leads the team with 22 runs scored.
 
McNeese's impressive first half of the season can be greatly attributed to the team's 2.19 team earned run average. The duo of senior Tiffany Denham (7-3, 1.30 ERA) and junior Meagan Bond (12-6, 2.67 ERA) have handled all but 14 innings of work in the circle for the Cowgirls.
 
Southeastern is 27-56 all-time versus McNeese State. The Cowgirls swept three games from the Lady Lions a season ago.
 
Following this weekend's series, Southeastern will be traveling to Grambling for a 2 p.m. doubleheader on Tuesday.