HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana softball team will host Houston Baptist for a three-game Southland Conference series this week at North Oak Park.
 
Due to expected inclement weather, the series schedule between the Lady Lions (20-14, 7-5 Southland) and the visiting Huskies (6-20, 3-9 Southland) has been altered. The two teams will play a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Friday and a 2 p.m. contest on Saturday.
 
Senior Day and Alumni Day festivities will remain on Saturday with both groups recognized before Saturday's series finale. The crawfish boil for SLU alumni will still be held following Saturday's game. LionVision subscribers will be able to access a live video stream (no audio) of the series at www.LionSports.net/watch.
 
Southeastern will honor a large senior class on Saturday. Nine Lady Lions – Carlie Whittington, Kinsey Nichols, Mahalia Gibson, Alli Daigle, Grace DeLee, Maddie Edmonston, Peyton Sutton, Lacey Hill and Rachel Hayes - are in the midst of their final collegiate seasons.
 
Southeastern carries a .283 team batting average into the series. Sophomore Ali McCoy tops the team with a .339 batting average, followed by Daigle (.329), Nichols (.313), Edmonston (.310), junior Rebecca Skains (.308), Gibson (.307) and sophomore Mattie Ort (.300). Edmonston leads the team and is fifth in the Southland with 25 runs, while junior Jaquelyn Ramon (22, 8^th) and Gibson (21, 9^th) joins her in the league's top 10.
 
Gibson is among the conference leaders in home runs (7, 4^th), RBI (30, 3^rd) and slugging percentage (.624, 4^th), while she and Skains are tied for ninth in the Southland with a team-high seven doubles. SLU is also seventh in Division I with 14 triples, as McCoy, Daigle, Nichols, Skains and Gibson have two triples apiece.
 
The Lady Lions are also leading Division I with 3.15 stolen bases per game, as SLU has swiped 107 bags in 2018. Edmonson leads the Southland with 23 steals, followed by Nichols (18, 3^rd) and Ramon (16, 5^th).
 
Ramon's 102 career stolen bases are a school record and are the ninth-highest total among active Division I players. Nichols is second in school history with 74 stolen bases.
 
In the circle, SLU heads into the series with a 3.16 team earned run average. Hayes (7-6, 2.72 ERA, 2 saves), Hill (8-4, 3.54 ERA), sophomore Tanner Wright (4-1, 2.79 ERA) and sophomore Alley McDonald (1-3, 3.84 ERA) are the primary pitchers for SLU.
 
Southeastern will face an HBU team that is batting .211 on the season. Sophomore Heidi Jaquez leads the Huskies with a .286 batting average, while she and junior Demi Janak share the team lead with four home runs apiece.
 
Opponents are hitting .273 versus a Houston Baptist pitching staff that carries a 4.40 team ERA. Freshman Jessica Patak (4-11, 3.55 ERA, 1 save) is the HBU ace, while freshman Elliot Estes (1-4, 3.80 ERA) and senior Stephanie Buenrostro (0-5, 7.50 ERA) have also seen significant action in the circle for the Huskies.
 
Following the series, SLU will have a busy week with five games on tap. The week opens with a 5 p.m. contest on Tuesday at ULM. Live stats for the game, provided by the hosts, will be accessible on the softball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.