SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Southeastern Louisiana senior Madison Vige', senior Taylor Bishop and freshman Caitlyn VanHemelryck combined to shutout Incarnate Word twice in a Southland Conference softball doubleheader Friday afternoon at Cardinals Field.
 
Southeastern (16-12, 2-3 Southland) picked up its first two conference victories on Friday and extended its win streak to four games. The two shutouts of UIW (10-16, 2-3 Southland) mark the first time SLU has shutout an opponent in both games of a doubleheader since 2000.
 
In the opener, the Lady Lions handed the Cardinals a 2-0 defeat. VanHemelryck (3-1) pitched out of bases loaded jams in the first two innings and threw 4.2 scoreless innings, before Bishop took over for 2.1 hitless innings of shutout relief on the way to her second save of the season. Senior Katie Lacour scored the game's first run and drove in the second run of the contest.
 
Vige' (1-1) put together her best outing as a Lady Lion in a 2-0 Southeastern win in the nightcap. The Denham Springs, Louisiana native earned her first Division I win, scattering three hits and striking out four in the complete-game shutout. Freshman Jaquelyn Ramon scored both of SLU's runs and stole three bases in the win.
 
Southeastern will look to complete the series sweep of the Cardinals on Saturday in the 12 p.m. series finale. Live video, audio and stats, provided by host UIW, will be accessible at www.LionSports.net.
 
Game One – Southeastern Louisiana 2, Incarnate Word 0
The Lady Lions got on the board in the top of the first inning against Cardinal sophomore pitcher Sarah Leal (3-4). Lacour led off with a bunt single, stole second and moved to third on a bunt single by sophomore Kinsey Nichols. Senior Amber Sather then hit a fly ball deep enough to score Lacour and give SLU a 1-0 lead.
 
UIW threatened right away against VanHemelryck in the bottom of the first. Junior Danielle Ramirez singled, junior Christy Trevino reached on an error and senior Natali Duron drew a walk to load the bases with two outs. VanHemelryck recovered to retire junior Mikaela Flores to maintain the early advantage.
 
The Cardinals were back at it in their half of the second. Senior Shelbi Swenson, Ramirez and sophomore Victoria Bratcher hit consecutive two-out singles to load the bases again. This time, VanHemelryck forced junior Alex Alonzo to foul out, as Nichols made a nice diving catch to keep UIW off the board.
 
From there, both VanHemelryck and Leal settled down until Southeastern added to its lead in the top of the fifth inning. Sophomore Carlie Whittington singled to lead off the inning and was moved to third on consecutive sacrifice bunts by freshman Peyton Pigniolo and Ramon. The small-ball strategy worked, as Lacour slapped a single into left field, scoring Whittington and giving the Lady Lions a 2-0 lead.
 
UIW mounted its last threat in the bottom of the fifth inning to chase VanHemelryck from the contest. Senior Monique Miller singled to lead off the inning and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Trevino. Duron followed with an infield single to put runners at the corners. Duron broke for second to draw a throw, but sophomore Grace DeLee smartly cut off the throw and gunned Miller out at home.
 
Bishop relieved VanHemelryck and forced Flores to pop out to end the inning. The Sugar Land, Texas allowed one base runner in the final two innings on an error, holding UIW hitless to earn her second save of the year.
 
Game Two – Southeastern Louisiana 2, Incarnate Word 0
The Lady Lions could not get to UIW junior pitcher Bridget Stein (4-4) until the top of the third inning. Ramon singled down the left field line with two outs and promptly stole second. The speedster from Channelview, Texas then stole third and junior catcher Brigitte Gauvin's throw sailed wide, allowing Ramon to score the game's first run.
 
Southeastern added to its lead with another two-out rally in the top of the fifth inning. Ramon reached on an error and scored when Lacour followed with an RBI triple into the left centerfield gap to extend the Lady Lion edge to 2-0.
 
Meanwhile, Vige' was cruising for SLU, retiring eight in a row before the Cardinals mounted their only threat in the bottom of the fifth inning. Flores singled to lead off the inning and advanced to third when junior Kristin Hebert reached on a two-out error. With the go-ahead run at the plate, Vige' forced Ramirez to line out to Ramon to keep the Cardinals off the board.
 
In the seventh, Flores singled to put a runner on with one out. Vige' shook it off, striking out junior Kellen Robles and forcing senior Katie Helm to ground out to close out her first win since joining the SLU program out of Louisiana College prior to the 2015 season. Prior to Friday, the last time SLU shutout an opponent in both ends of a doubleheader was on April 6, 2000, when it blanked Centenary twice.