GULFPORT, Miss. – The Southeastern Louisiana softball team suffered a pair of losses on the opening day of the Gulfport Invitational on Friday.
 
Southeastern (9-4) opened the day with a wild 9-8 loss to Southern Miss in eight innings. Senior first baseman Amber Sather led the Lady Lions by going 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI, while senior shortstop Katie Lacour, sophomore outfielder Kinsey Nichols, junior third baseman Mychal Truxillo and freshman catcher Whitney Sullivan had two hits apiece. The two teams combined for 28 hits in the slugfest.
 
In the nightcap, Baylor sophomore pitcher Kendall Potts (4-0) threw a no-hitter in a 12-0 Bears victory. A walk issued to Truxillo was the only base runner the Lady Lions could manage.
 
Southeastern continues tournament play on Saturday, facing IPFW at 12:30 p.m. and Memphis at 3 p.m.
 
Game One – Southern Miss 9, Southeastern Louisiana 8 (8 Innings)
USM took the lead in the top of the first inning against Southeastern senior Taylor Bishop (5-1). The first three Golden Eagle batters singled to load the bases, then Bishop plunked freshman catcher Samantha Papp to force in the game's first run.
 
Southeastern evened the game in the bottom of the first inning. Lacour walked, stole second and later scored when USM sophomore pitcher Samantha Robles (5-2) was called for an illegal pitch.
 
The Lady Lions took the lead in the bottom of the second inning. Freshman outfielder Taylor Estain singled, moved to second on a Sullivan sacrifice bunt, stole third and scored on a Papp throwing error to give the Lady Lions a 2-1 lead.
 
Southern Miss answered with a run in both the third and fourth innings to take a 3-2 lead. The Lady Lions exploded for four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Nichols singled home the tying run, then Sather launched her second home run of the season over the left field fence to give Southeastern a 6-3 lead. USM tied it in the top of the sixth inning, however, as senior outfielder Sarah Evans answered Sather's three-run shot with one of her own.
 
The teams went into the international tie-breaker in the eighth inning. Evans drove in the first run of the eighth on a groundout, then Papp followed later in the inning with a two-run single that gave USM a 9-6 lead.
 
Southeastern made the Golden Eagles earn it in the bottom of the eighth inning. Truxillo cleared the bases with a two-run double, but Robles retired Estain, Sullivan and senior Sydney McCullough to preserve the one-run victory.
 
USM – 101 103 03 – 9 15 1 (8-6)
SLU – 110 040 02 – 8 13 1 (9-3)
Samantha Robles and Samantha Papp. Taylor Bishop and Whitney Sullivan. W – Robles (5-2). L – Bishop (5-1). HR – USM: Sarah Evans (1); SLU: Amber Sather (2). 2B – USM: Katie Cleary 2 (5), Sarah Evans (2); SLU: Mychal Truxillo (2). T – 2:41. A – n/a.
 
Game Two – Baylor 12, Southeastern 0 (5 Innings)
In the nightcap, Baylor scored all it needed against SLU senior Kasey Nielson (1-2) in the bottom of the first inning, as the Bears plated seven runs in the opening frame. BU would add four runs in the second and another run in the third.
 
Potts retired the first 13 Southeastern batters she faced, before Truxillo drew a fifth-inning walk to break up the perfect game. Potts retired sophomore outfielder Peyton Sutton and Sullivan to secure the victory and no-hitter.
 
SLU – 000 00 – 0 0 1 (9-4)
BU – 741 0x – 12 15 0 (7-3)
Kasey Nielson, Madison Vige' (1) and Whitney Sullivan. Kendall Potts and Robin Landrith. W – Potts (4-0). L – Nielson (1-2). HR – BU: Shelby Friudenberg (2), Linsey Hays (4). T – 2:03. A – n/a.