HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southeastern Louisiana scored four runs in the top of the first inning and never looked back on the way to a 9-3 victory at Southern Miss in non-conference softball action Tuesday evening at the USM Softball Complex.
 
SLU (11-8) closed out a 11-game road swing and its pre-Southland Conference schedule by snapping a three-game losing streak. Southern Miss fell to 9-11 overall.
 
Senior Alli Daigle continued her torrid start to March with her first home run as a Lady Lion. Senior Maddie Edmonston, junior Rebecca Skains and freshman Madison Watson each had two hits apiece, as Southeastern finished with 10 hits in the win.
 
Senior Lacey Hill (5-2) scattered three hits over five innings to increase her team-high win total. Senior Rachel Hayes tossed two shutout innings of relief to close out the win.
 
SLU chased USM starter Reagan Watkins (0-1) from her collegiate debut before she could record an out in the top of the first inning. Edmonston led off the frame with a single, stole second and scored on an RBI single by junior Jaquelyn Ramon.
 
After senior Mahalia Gibson walked, Skains plated Ramon with an RBI double down the right field line. Freshman pinch runner Madisen Blackford scored on an RBI single by Ella Manzer. Later in the inning, Skains scored on a sacrifice fly by sophomore Ali McCoy to give the Lady Lions a 4-0 lead.
 
SLU padded the lead in the top of the third inning. McCoy walked and Watson singled to put a pair of runners on. Daigle then hammered a three-run home run to give Southeastern a 7-0 advantage. The Rayne, Louisiana native is hitting .571 over the five games this month.
 
Hill didn't allow a hit until the bottom of the fourth inning. Chase Nelson led off the inning with a triple, then Sarah Van Schaik and Samantha Papp followed with RBI doubles to cut the SLU lead to 7-2.
 
Southeastern got the run back in the fifth. A two-run single by Edmonston scored senior Peyton Sutton and freshman Anna Rodenberg to put SLU up, 9-2.
 
USM closed out the scoring in the bottom of the sixth inning. Nelson walked, moved to third on a double by Van Schaik and scored on a sacrifice fly by Papp to cut the Southeastern lead to 9-3.
 
Hayes hit the leadoff batter in the top of the seventh, but retired the next three Golden Eagles to nail down the victory.
 
Southeastern will return home to open Southland Conference play this weekend, welcoming Abilene Christian for a three-game series at North Oak Park. The series opens with a 5 p.m. contest on Friday with a 12 p.m. doubleheader set for Saturday. Live stats and live video (no audio – LionVision subscription required) will be accessible on the softball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.