Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Southeastern Louisiana softball team split a pair of games on the opening day of the Mizzou Tournament Friday afternoon at the Mizzou Softball Stadium.
 
SLU (10-6) opened the day with a 4-3 victory over Creighton (7-3). Senior Alli Daigle was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate and scored the eventual game-winning run in the top of the sixth inning.
 
In the win over the Blue Jays, senior Mahalia Gibson hit her team-high fourth home run of the season. Junior Rebecca Skains added two hits, while sophomore Ali McCoy chipped in with an RBI, as Southeastern finished with 10 hits in the victory.
 
Sophomore Tanner Wright (3-0) scattered seven hits in five innings of work to earn the win in the circle. Senior Rachel Hayes tossed two scoreless frames in relief to earn her first save of the season.
 
In the nightcap, Missouri (11-7) scored four runs in the third and three runs in the fourth to pull away for an 8-0 victory. Junior Jaquelyn Ramon, freshman Cameron Beal and Skains had the lone hits for the Lady Lions versus Missouri junior pitcher Madi Norman (4-0).
 
On Saturday, SLU closes tournament play versus Drake at 9 a.m. and Missouri at 11:30 a.m. Live stats for both games will be accessible on the softball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.
 
Game One – Southeastern Louisiana 4, Creighton 3
Southeastern jumped on top in the top of the first inning. With two outs, Gibson powered a solo home run over the right centerfield fence to stake the Lady Lions to a 1-0 lead.
 
Creighton tied the score in the bottom of the frame. Senior Hope Moreno singled home the Blue Jays' first run. However, Wright limited CU, who loaded the bases with one out. The Lake Charles, Louisiana native retired senior Jordyn Sturgeon and junior Jayci McGill to keep the score tied.
 
Southeastern retook the lead in the top of the fourth inning. RBI singles by Daigle and McCoy gave the Lady Lions a 3-1 advantage. Creighton tied it up in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly by sophomore Ashley Cantu and a run-scoring bunt single by senior Sam Crowley.
 
SLU took the lead for good in the top of the sixth inning. With one out, Daigle laced a double down the left field line. Senior Kinsey Nichols singled to move Daigle up a base, then the Rayne, Louisiana native scored when freshman Kiele Miller (3-2) uncorked a wild pitch.
 
Creighton mounted a threat in the bottom of the sixth inning. Senior Tash Coffiel singled to lead off the frame, chasing Wright from the game. Hayes allowed a single to Crowley and committed an error to put a pair of runners on with one out. However, Hayes struck out junior Kelli Finan and SLU freshman catcher Ella Manzer picked off Coffiel to third to keep the Lady Lion lead at one.
 
In the Blue Jay seventh, Hayes hit Nikki McNeil with one out to put the tying run on base. But the Ocean Springs, Mississippi product closed out the victory by retiring Sturgeon and McGill.
 
Game Two – Missouri 8, Southeastern Louisiana 0 (5 Innings)
Southeastern mounted its best threat in the top of the first inning against Norman. Ramon singled and Skains walked to put a pair of runners on with two outs, but Norman forced sophomore Brennan Bourgeois to ground out to keep the Lady Lions off the board.
 
In the bottom of the second, junior Kolby Romaine doubled off SLU sophomore pitcher Alley McDonald (1-2), then scored on a Lady Lion throwing error to take a 1-0 lead.
 
Missouri busted open the game in the bottom of the third inning. A pair of two-run singles by freshman Brooke Wilmes and Romaine stretched the Tiger advantage to 5-0. In the fourth, UM closed the scoring on a three-run home run by Wilmes.
 
Southeastern attempted to extend the game in the top of the fifth inning. Beal singled, but was thrown out trying to score later in the inning for the game's final out.