HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana softball team will conclude its season-opening eight-game home stand this week, hosting the five-team Lion Classic II at North Oak Park beginning Friday.
 
The Lady Lions (3-0) will host a field that includes Belmont (0-0), Omaha (3-2), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (1-2) and Detroit (2-3). On Friday, SLU will host Omaha at 3 p.m. and AMCC at 5 p.m. on Friday. Saturday will see the Lady Lions take on Belmont at 1 p.m. and Omaha in a 3 p.m. contest. Sunday's tournament finale is between Southeastern and Detroit at noon.
 
Live video for all the games on Field One will be available at www.LionSports.net/watch (no audio - subscription required). Live stats for all Field One games will be accessible at www.sidearmstats.com/selu/softball.
 
Southeastern improved to 3-0 with a 7-1 victory over defending Conference USA Tournament champion Louisiana Tech Tuesday night. Senior infielder Mahalia Gibson led a nine-hit Southeastern attack, as the Hattiesburg, Mississippi native's two home runs resulted in a game-high four RBI. Junior first baseman Rebecca Skains drove in two runs for the Lady Lions, while senior catcher Carlie Whittington added an RBI of her own.
 
Seniors Rachel Hayes and Lacey Hill combined to hold the Lady Techsters to four hits in the win. Hayes tossed the first three innings, while Hill came in and closed out the game with four innings of shutout relief.
Gibson leads SLU with a .778 batting average, two home runs, nine RBI and six runs scored. Skains (.571, 7 RBI) and senior outfielder Kinsey Nichols (.500) are the other tip hitters for average for a Lady Lion lineup that is hitting .441 for the season. Nichols, senior outfielder Maddie Edmonston and junior shortstop Jacquelyn Ramon have all scored four runs apiece.
 
Five SLU pitchers have combined for a 0.82 earned run average thus far this season. Hill (2-0, 0.88 ERA) and Hayes (1-0, 1.17 ERA) have handled the majority of the work, while sophomore Tanner Wright, Shelby Sitzman and Alley McDonald have each thrown one inning.
 
Junior catcher/utility player Natalie Mostek leads Omaha, who SLU will face on Friday and Saturday, with a .571 batting average, while freshmen Sydney Hampton (2-0, 3.68 ERA) and Aubrey Hacke (1-1, 7.00 ERA) have split the majority of the Mavs' innings in the circle.
 
On Friday, SLU will also face Southland foe Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, which is led by junior outfielders Kayla Sheridan (.500) and Keagan Helson (2 HR). Junior pitcher Ashley Smith (0-2, 4.42 ERA) has logged more than half of the innings for the Islanders.
 
SLU faces a Belmont team on Saturday that will be making its season debut this week in Hammond. Sophomore second baseman Bailey Sims (.333) and senior middle infielder Jess Andree (.311, 5 HR, 31 RBI) are the top returning hitters from the 2017 squad, while last year's top pitchers – sophomore Brooklin Lee (18-11, 2.42 ERA) and senior Lexi Rouse (8-8, 3.44 ERA) – are both back for the Bruins.
 
Detroit's top hitter in 2018 has been sophomore outfielder Elizabeth Yager, who leads the Titans with a .500 batting average. Junior Ashley Mauser (0-1, 3.00 ERA) and sophomore Liz Murphy (1-0, 3.50 ERA) are Detroit's most used pitchers.
 
Following this week's tournament, Southeastern will play its next 11 games on the road. The swing starts with a 5:30 p.m. game at Mississippi State next Tuesday in Starkville, Mississippi.
 
2018 Lion Classic II | Feb. 16-18 | North Oak Park
 
Friday, Feb. 16
Field One
1 p.m. – Belmont vs. Omaha (LionVision)
3 p.m. – Southeastern Louisiana vs. Omaha (LionVision)
5 p.m. – Southeastern Louisiana vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (LionVision)
 
Saturday, Feb. 17
Field One
11 a.m. – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi vs. Belmont (LionVision)
1 p.m. – Southeastern Louisiana vs. Belmont (LionVision)
3 p.m. – Southeastern Louisiana vs. Omaha (LionVision)
5 p.m. – Omaha vs. Detroit (LionVision)
 
Field Three
3 p.m. – Detroit vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
 
Sunday, Feb. 18
Field One
10 a.m. – Belmont vs. Detroit (LionVision)
12 p.m. – Southeastern Louisiana vs. Detroit (LionVision)
 
Field Three
10 a.m. – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi vs. Omaha
12 p.m. – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi vs. Belmont
 
Home teams are underlined