GULFPORT, Miss. – The Southeastern Louisiana softball team tied a season-high with 14 hits on the way to a 9-3 victory over Jackson State in the Gulfport Invitational finale on Sunday afternoon at the Gulfport Sportsplex.
 
Southeastern (12-4) extended its winning streak to three games with the victory. First-year SLU head coach Rick Fremin was victorious in his first matchup against his previous school, as Jackson State fell to 2-8 overall in 2016. Fremin was pleased with the resiliency of his team after falling behind, 3-0, in the early innings.
 
"We were able to bounce back from early deficits today and yesterday against Memphis," Fremin said. "That kind of fight is going to continue to benefit us throughout the season. Brittney Wingate came up huge for us with a pinch-hit home run that gave us the lead for good."
 
Senior shortstop Katie Lacour led the Lady Lions with a 4-for-5 performance at the plate, including a double and her first career triple. Wingate hit her first home run as a Lady Lion – a three-run shot that gave SLU its first lead in the top of the sixth inning.
 
Sophomore outfielder Kinsey Nichols, senior first baseman Amber Sather and junior third baseman Mychal Truxillo added two hits apiece for Southeastern. In the circle, senior Taylor Bishop (7-1) held JSU to five hits and one earned run in the complete game victory.
 
Bishop and JSU junior starter Sierra Abbott (0-3) matched zeroes until Jackson State broke through in the bottom of the third inning. The Lady Tigers took advantage of errors by Lacour and freshman catcher Whitney Sullivan in a three-run inning to take a 3-0 lead.
 
Southeastern cut into the lead in the top of the fourth inning. Freshman outfielder Taylor Estain walked to leadoff the frame and later scored on an Abbott throwing error to cut the JSU lead to 3-1.
 
Southeastern took the lead for good in the top of the sixth inning. Estain and freshman second baseman Angelica Gutierrez drew consecutive walks to put a pair of runners on, then one out later, Wingate came in as a pinch hitter and launched the first pitch she saw for a three-run home run over the left field fence to put Southeastern in front, 4-3.
 
Lacour followed with the first triple of her record-breaking career at Southeastern, then scored on an error by junior shortstop Denisha Knight. Truxillo singled home Nichols later in the inning to give SLU a 6-3 advantage.
 
Southeastern added insurance runs in the top of the seventh inning. Gutierrez and sophomore Carlie Whittington singled and later scored on another throwing error by Abbott. Lacour's fourth hit of the game led her to eventually score on an RBI groundout by senior Sydney McCullough to advance the SLU lead to 9-3.
 
While Southeastern's bats were heating up, Bishop was mowing her way through the JSU lineup after the rough third inning. The Sugar Land, Texas native retired 10 in a row at one point before the Lady Tigers loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning. But JSU's rally would stop there, as she forced junior second baseman Victoria Nelson to hit a comebacker to the circle for the game's final out.
 
Southeastern will close out a six-game road swing on Tuesday, traveling to Lorman, Mississippi for a 2 p.m. game at Alcorn State.