HAMMOND – The final game of the 2015 regular season for the Southeastern Louisiana softball doubled as the longest in school history.
In the bottom of the 13
th inning, sophomore outfielder
Sloan Jenkins hit a walk-off two-run double to give the Lady Lion softball team (21-28, 15-10 Southland) a thrilling victory over league regular season champion Northwestern State (33-16, 22-3 Southland) Saturday afternoon at North Oak Park.
The win gives Southeastern some momentum heading into next week's Southland Conference Tournament, where the Lady Lions will be the No. 4 seed. The tournament is scheduled for May 6-8 in Natchitoches, Louisiana.
The Lady Lions were also to earn a win for its senior class. Seniors
Megan Moore,
Vanessa Eng,
Spencer Adkinson,
Teresa Lemos and
Tori Stamper all played in the final home games of their careers on Saturday.
"It's always to go out with a win on Senior Day," Southeastern head coach
Pete Langlois said. "We're very proud of the progress we've made this season and our seniors have been a big part of that."
Junior
Taylor Bishop (14-7) out-dueled NSU freshman Micaela Bouvier (13-5) in a contest that featured two gutsy pitching performances. Bishop threw a single-game school record 13.0 innings, holding the top lineup in the league to two earned runs to earn her 11
th Southland Conference win in the circle.
At the plate, SLU was led by junior outfielder
Katie Lacour and freshman shortstop
Sydney Booker led the Lady Lions with three hits apiece. Lemos and sophomore outfielder
Mychal Truxillo chipped in with two hits each.
"Taylor was the pitcher we've grown accustomed to today," Langlois said. "She was really on her game. Mychal gave us a huge boost and of course, Sloan came up huge for us with the clutch hit."
Bishop and Bouvier matched zeroes until NSU took the lead in the fourth inning. With one out, junior outfielder Natalie Landry lined Bishop's first pitch over the right centerfield fence to give the Lady Demons a 2-0 lead.
SLU answered in the bottom of the fourth inning. Booker singled, junior designated player
Amber Sather was hit and Moore walked to load the bases. Truxillo followed with a sharp single up the middle to plate a pair and knot the score at 2-2.
Bishop and Bouvier would keep the score deadlocked, by pitching out of jams as the innings kept piling up. NSU would finally take the lead in the top of the 12
th inning. Freshman catcher Kaytie Proctor was placed on second to start the frame and later scored on a sacrifice fly by sophomore outfielder Kellye Kincannon.
SLU would not go away, quietly. Jenkins was placed on second to start the bottom of the 12th inning and moved to third on a single by Lacour. One out later, Booker stroked a single through the left side, scoring Jenkins and keeping Southeastern alive.
Northwestern State would retake the lead in the top of the 13
th inning, Senior designated player Cassandra Barefield was placed on second and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Landry to take a 4-3 lead.
Southeastern finally ended it in the bottom of the 13
th inning. Adkinson was placed on second to start the inning and the Lady Lions loaded the bases on a Truxillo walk and a Lemos single.
Jenkins then lined a 1-0 offering from Bouvier over the head of Landry and off the left field fence. Adkinson and Truxillo would race home, giving Southeastern the dramatic victory. Jenkins' double ended the longest game in Lady Lion history, outlasting a 12-inning, 1-0 win at Nicholls on March 3, 2004.
Live stats and live video, provided by the Southland Conference, for the all SLU Southland Conference Tournament games will be accessible at LionSports.net.
