HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana softball team claimed the Lion Classic I championship with a 7-3 victory over Mississippi Valley State on the tournament's final day Sunday at North Oak Park.
The Lady Lions (4-2) finished the tournament with a 4-1 record, besting Nicholls, Northern Illinois and Southern Illinois, who each finished the weekend with a 3-2 tournament mark. San Jose State was 2-3, while MVSU was 0-5.
Rebecca Skains (4-for-4) and
Ella Manzer (3-for-3) paced an 11-hit Southeastern attack in the win over the Delta Devils. The Lady Lions, who have led the nation in stolen bases in two of the past three seasons, stole a season-high nine bases to get past MVSU.
Tanner Wright (2-0) scattered four hits in four innings of relief to earn the victory.
Mississippi Valley State jumped on top in the top of the first inning. Errors by
Lindsey Rizzo and
Jaquelyn Ramon led to an unearned run that gave the Delta Devils a 1-0 lead.
SLU answered in the bottom of the first inning. Ramon stole second after a leadoff single, then scored on an RBI single by Skains to knot the score at 1-1.
Wright and MVSU starter Alyssa Montes (0-2) matched zeroes until the Lady Lions broke through in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Mima Doucet drew a walk, stole second and scored when
Pryscilla Prince reached on an error on a sacrifice bunt.
Prince then stole second and third, before sliding around the tag at home on a foul out by
Ali McCoy. Rizzo followed with a single, stole second and the speedster from Watson, Louisiana scored all the way from second on a sacrifice bunt by Ramon.
The inning rolled on, as
Bobbi Smith beat out an infield single and promptly stole second. Skains then flared a double inside the left field line to plate Smith. Manzer closed out the inning's tally with an RBI single to score Skains and put SLU up, 6-1.
The Delta Devils cut into the lead with two runs in the top of the fifth inning. Deshonte Smith and Jodeci Afoa-Tuia each collected RBI to chop the Southeastern advantage to 6-3.
The Lady Lions closed out the scoring in the bottom of the sixth inning. Skains ripped a triple into the right centerfield gap, then she and
Madisen Blackford perfectly executed a double steal to put SLU up, 7-3.
Alley McDonald came in and threw a perfect seventh inning to close out the victory.
In Sunday's other games, Nicholls defeated San Jose State, 4-2, Southern Illinois earned a 15-3 mercy-rule victory over MVSU, while Northern Illinois edged Nicholls, 2-1.
Southeastern will open its road schedule on Wednesday, traveling to Ruston, Louisiana for a 5 p.m. non-conference contest at Louisiana Tech.
2019 Lion Classic I – February 8-10, 2019 – North Oak Park (Hammond, La.)
Tournament Standings
Southeastern Louisiana – 4-1
Nicholls – 3-2
Northern Illinois – 3-2
Southern Illinois – 3-2
San Jose State – 2-3
Mississippi Valley State – 0-5
Friday, February 8
Nicholls 9, Southern Illinois 0 (5 Innings)
Southeastern Louisiana 4, Southern Illinois 3
Northern Illinois 7, Southeastern Louisiana 3
San Jose State 3, Northern Illinois 2
San Jose State 4, Mississippi Valley State 0
Saturday, February 9
Northern Illinois 8, Mississippi Valley State 0 (5 Innings)
Southeastern Louisiana 5, Northern Illinois 2
Southeastern Louisiana 19, Mississippi Valley State 4 (5 Innings)
Nicholls 3, San Jose State 2
Southern Illinois 7, Nicholls 6
Southern Illinois 6, San Jose State 1
Sunday, February 10
Nicholls 4, San Jose State 2
Southeastern Louisiana 7, Mississippi Valley State 3
Southern Illinois 15, Mississippi Valley State 3 (5 Innings)
Northern Illinois 2, Nicholls 1
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics has instituted a clear bag policy for all ticketed events (softball, baseball, football and basketball), effective with the start of the 2018 football season. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit
www.LionSports.net/clear.
HOME RUN CLUB / S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the softball program are encouraged to join the Home Run Club. Lady Lion softball alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.
All membership fees and donations to both the Home Run Club and S Club (softball) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern softball program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Softball, follow @SLUlionsoftball on Twitter and Instagram, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.
