HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana softball team split a pair of non-conference contests on day two of Lion Classic II on Saturday at North Oak Park.
The Lady Lions (6-5) opened the day with an 8-4 win over Southland Conference rival Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (1-8). In the nightcap, UTSA (3-6) edged SLU, 1-0, in a pitcher's duel.
In the opener,
Ella Manzer,
Madisen Blackford and
Lindsey Rizzo each collected two hits apiece to lead SLU to victory. Blackford, Rizzo and
Jaquelyn Ramon each had two doubles apiece, while Manzer drove in a team-high two runs.
Briahna Bennett (1-1) scattered two hits in 3.1 innings of work to earn her first win as a Lady Lion.
Manzer was 3-for-3 in the nightcap, but the Lady Lions could not scratch across a run against UTSA starter Madison Nelson. SLU starter
Tanner Wright (2-1) allowed just three hits in a complete-game effort and took the tough-luck loss in the circle.
In Saturday's other games, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville picked up a 3-1 victory over Missouri State and a 4-2 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Missouri State opened the day with a 6-2 triumph over Prairie View, which bounced back with a 6-2 win over UTSA.
The tournament closes with a pair of games, both on Field One, on Sunday. Missouri State and UTSA face off in the opener at 9 a.m. with SLU and SIU-E set for the 11 a.m. tournament finale.
Game One – Southeastern Louisiana 8, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 4
RBI singles by Ashleigh Sgambelluri and Whitney Wenedel staked the Islanders to a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning against SLU starter
Sophie Hannabas. The Lady Lions threatened against AMCC starter Kandace Johnson in the bottom of the fourth inning, as singles by Manzer and
Mima Doucet put a pair of runners on with one out. However, Johnson retired Bennett and
Pryscilla Prince to maintain the lead.
SLU finally broke through in the bottom of the fifth inning. Blackford singled to lead off the frame, moved to second on a Rizzo walk and scored when Ramon reached on an error. Rizzo scored the game-tying run when
Rebecca Skains reached on a fielder's choice. Manzer gave the Lady Lions the lead for good with a two-run double to put SLU ahead, 4-2.
An RBI double by Alyson Silvas cut the lead in half in the top of the sixth inning, but the Lady Lions broke the game open in the bottom of the frame. Blackford led off the Southeastern sixth with a double and scored on a Rizzo single and an Islander error.
The Lady Lions used its base running skill to pad the lead. Rizzo stole home, Ramon scored on a throwing error and
Bobbi Smith raced home on a wild pitch to give SLU an 8-3 lead.
Samantha Burke doubled and scored versus SLU's
Shelby Sitzman in the top of the seventh inning, but Sitzman forced Sgambelluri to pop out to Doucet for the final out.
UTSA 1, Southeastern Louisiana 0
Southeastern mounted its first big threat in the bottom of the third inning. Back-to-back singles by Blackford and Rizzo opened the inning, but Nelson retired Ramon, Smith and Skains to keep SLU off the board.
Wright cruised through the Roadrunner lineup until UTSA threatened to break through in the top of the fifth inning. Hailey Garza and Lauren Coerver walked to put a pair of runners on, but Wright forced Celeste Loughman to fly out to keep the game scoreless.
Rizzo reached on an error and Ramon beat out an infield single to put a pair of runners on with one out. However, Smith flied out and Skains grounded out to strand two more runners.
SLU opened the sixth inning with consecutive singles by Manzer and Doucet. Nelson again held firm. After a sacrifice bunt by
Amberlyn Alfano,
Madison Watson and Blackford both were retired on infield pop-ups.
The Roadrunners finally took the lead in their half of the seventh. Kindell Brooks doubled to open the inning, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Kaitlin Lopez and scored on an RBI single by Riley Grunberg to give UTSA a 1-0 advantage.
Ramon reached on a one-out error and stole her 18
th base of the season to move into scoring position with one out. Nelson forced both Smith and Skains to line out to secure the shutout win.
2019 Lion Classic II – February 15-17, 2019 – North Oak Park
Tournament Standings
Southern Illinois-Edwardsville – 3-1
Missouri State – 3-1
Southeastern Louisiana – 2-2
Prairie View – 2-2
UTSA – 2-2
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi – 0-4
Friday, February 15
SIU-Edwardsville 5, UTSA 4
Prairie View 8, SIU-Edwardsville 6
Southeastern Louisiana 7, Prairie View 0
Missouri State 5, Southeastern Louisiana 3
UTSA 5, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 3
Missouri State 4, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 1
Saturday, February 16
SIU-Edwardsville 4, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 2
Southeastern Louisiana 8, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 4
UTSA 1, Southeastern Louisiana 0
Missouri State 6, Prairie View 2
Prairie View 6, UTSA 2
SIU-Edwardsville 3, Missouri State 1
Sunday, February 17
Field One
9 a.m. –
Missouri State vs. UTSA (LionVision)
11 a.m. –
Southeastern Louisiana vs. SIU-Edwardsville (LionVision)
Home team in
bold
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.
