HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana softball team racked up a season-high 16 hits on the way to a 12-6 victory over Southern Miss on the final day of the Tangi Tourism Lion Classic II Sunday at North Oak Park.
Southeastern improved to 4-3 overall with the win. The Lady Lions broke out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning and provided junior
Taylor Bishop (2-1) plenty of offense for her to pick up her second win of the year. Southern Miss (5-4) lost for the first time in the tournament. The Lady Lions, USM and Houston Baptist all tied for the Lion Classic II title with only one loss apiece.
Senior second baseman
Vanessa Eng and sophomore catcher
Lacey Fritz each homered in the win for SLU. Freshman third baseman
Sydney Booker tied a single-game school record with two triples, matching the mark set by freshman outfielder
Kinsey Nichols in Saturday's 14-1 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Prior to Nichols and Booker accomplishing the feat, the last Lady Lion with multiple triples in a game was Southeastern Athletics Hall of Famer Voncia Bookman in 1993.
Nichols also tripled in Sunday's win, as the Lady Lions tied a single-game school record with three triples as a team. Junior outfielder
Katie Lacour was the catalyst for the SLU offense, finishing 4-for-4 with three runs scored. Booker also scored three runs, while Eng led SLU with four RBI. Senior shortstop
Megan Moore and junior designated player
Amber Sather each had two hits and an RBI, as SLU was productive throughout the lineup.
The Lady Lions jumped all over USM pitcher Danielle Block (0-2) in the bottom of the first inning. Lacour led off the game with a single and scored one out later when Booker laced a triple into the left centerfield gap. Booker would later score on an RBI single by Moore. Following that, Eng smoked a shot over the right field fence to chase Block from the game. The Alvin, Texas native's first career home run at SLU gave the Lady Lions a 5-0 cushion.
USM came back to pull closer in the top of the second inning. A two-run RBI single by Michelle Stringer pulled the Golden Eagles within three at 5-2.
Bishop and USM reliever Shelbee Rodgers settled down for the next several innings until the Lady Lions got back on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning. Lacour led off the frame with a single, then Nichols ripped her third triple of the season over USM centerfielder Kalyn Christofferson to score Lacour and raced home when the relay throw sailed wide. Later in the inning, Booker would single and later score on an RBI groundout by Eng to push the SLU lead to 8-2.
USM got back into the game in the top of the fifth inning. Right fielder Sarah Evans drilled a line drive grand slam over the right field fence to cut the SLU lead to 8-6.
Southeastern ended the road team's comeback hopes in the bottom of the fifth inning. Booker plated the first two runs of the frame with an opposite-field triple, then later scored when Sather snuck a single through the right side to give SLU a 11-6 lead. Fritz put the final run on the board in the bottom of the sixth inning, as she powered her first home of the season over the left field fence to provide the final 12-6 margin.
After playing the first seven games at home, Southeastern will play its next 10 games on the road. The swing starts on Wednesday with a 1 p.m. contest at Alcorn State.
2015 Lion Classic II – North Oak Park – Hammond, La. Friday, Feb. 13Southern Miss 24, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 1 (5 Innings)
Houston Baptist 9, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 4
Saturday, Feb. 14Southern Miss 12, Houston Baptist 3 (5 Innings)
Southern Miss 4, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 0
Southeastern 14, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 1 (5 Innings)Houston Baptist 14, Southeastern 0 (5 Innings) Sunday, Feb. 15Houston Baptist 8, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 0 (6 Innings)
Southeastern 12, Southern Miss 6
