HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana sophomores Alley McDonald and Tanner Wright pitched the Lady Lion softball team to a pair of victories on the opening day of Lion Classic II Friday evening at North Oak Park.
 
Southeastern (5-0) remained unbeaten and is off to its first 5-0 start in school history after Friday's two victories. In the day's first game, Belmont defeated Omaha, 8-0.
 
McDonald (1-0) went the distance in SLU's first game of the day, holding Omaha to six hits in a 4-1 win over the Mavericks. Senior outfielder Maddie Edmonston led SLU at the plate in the win, finishing 2-for-2 with two runs scored.
 
Wright (1-0) struck out five in six scoreless innings, as the Lady Lions used a five-run sixth inning to pull away for a 6-0 win over Southland Conference rival Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the nightcap. Sophomore Ali McCoy preserved the shutout with a scoreless seventh inning, while sophomore shortstop Jaquelyn Ramon led SLU with two hits and two runs scored.
 
The second day of the tournament opens Saturday at 11 a.m. with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi facing Belmont. At 1 p.m., Southeastern faces Belmont, then takes on Omaha at 3 p.m. The day's final game will see Omaha take on Detroit at 5 p.m.
 
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.
 
Game One – Southeastern Louisiana 4, Omaha 1
SLU scored a couple of unearned runs in the bottom of the second inning to take the lead versus Omaha starter Sydney Hampton (2-1). Junior infielder Rebecca Skains drew a leadoff walk, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by Omaha catcher Crystal Pablo. Skains would eventually score on a sacrifice fly by Ella Manzer. Later in the inning, senior Peyton Sutton would come home on a passed ball to give the Lady Lions a 2-0 cushion.
 
The Lady Lions added to their lead in the bottom of the third inning. Edmonston beat out an infield single, then scored one out later when senior outfielder Kinsey Nichols tripled into the right field corner to put SLU up, 3-0.
 
Omaha mounted its first threat in the top of the fifth inning. Pablo reached on an error and first baseman Emma Dargy doubled to put a pair of runners in scoring position with no outs. McDonald bore down and retired the next three Mavericks to maintain the three-run lead.
 
Southeastern added another run in the bottom of the fifth inning. Edmonston singled and eventually scored on a wild pitch by Hampton to put SLU ahead, 4-0.
 
Omaha scratched out a run in the top of the sixth inning, as centerfielder Jessica Nelson, third baseman Demi Dobbs and right fielder Natalie Mostek opened the frame with consecutive singles, as Mostek's hit scored Nelson. However, McDonald retired Hampton and then forced Pablo to ground into a double play to limit the Mavs to one run.
 
McDonald closed it out in the seventh, shaking off a one-out single by left fielder Faith Romero and retiring pinch hitter Hailey Bartz and shortstop Emily Klosterman to finish out the win. The victory was the first complete-game performance for the Whitehouse, Tennessee native in her two years with SLU.
 
Game Two – Southeastern Louisiana 6, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 0
The Islanders loaded the bases versus Wright thanks to a pair of errors and a passed ball on a strikeout in the top of the first inning. The Lake Charles, Louisiana native struck out catcher Kaylee Hoppens to end the frame with the Islanders failing to score.
 
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi threatened again in its half of the third inning, as third baseman Whitney Wendel and centerfielder Kayla Sheridan opened the frame with consecutive singles. Wright again settled her nerves, sitting down leftfielder Keagan Helson, first baseman Avery Ratcliff and shortstop Kaylon Dunn to keep the game scoreless.
 
AMCC starter Ashley Smith (0-3) faced the minimum through the first three innings, before SLU broke through in the bottom of the fourth inning. Ramon led off the frame with a single, stole second, moved to third on a Nichols ground out and scored on a Smith wild pitch to give the Lady Lions a 1-0 advantage.
 
SLU broke it open in its half of the sixth inning. Skains singled home Ramon for the first run of the inning. Senior first baseman Mahalia Gibson scored on an Islander error, then Skains stole home. Senior outfielder Peyton Sutton singled and later scored on an RBI single by senior catcher Carlie Whittington, who came all the way home on a three-base error by right fielder Taelor Thomas.
 
Whittington's run was Southeastern's fifth of the inning and gave the Lady Lions a commanding 6-0 lead. McCoy secured the shutout in the top of the seventh, forcing Islander second baseman Destiny Diaz to hit into a game-ending double play.
 
2018 Lion Classic II | Feb. 16-18 | North Oak Park
 
Friday, Feb. 16
Field One
Belmont 8, Omaha 0
Southeastern Louisiana 4, Omaha 1
Southeastern Louisiana 6, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 0


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