HAMMOND, La. – Expected inclement weather in the Starkville, Mississippi area has altered the Southeastern Louisiana softball team's playing schedule for The Snowman Alex Wilcox Memorial Tournament hosted by Mississippi State.
 
The tournament was originally slated to run from Friday through Sunday, but has now been changed to a Sunday and Monday schedule. The Lady Lions (6-6) will face host Mississippi State (7-3) at 3 p.m. and Alcorn State (2-3) at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday.
 
Monday's schedule will see SLU face Georgia Tech (5-4) at 10 a.m. and Alcorn State at 12:30 p.m. Live stats, provided by Mississippi State, will be accessible on the softball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.
 
After playing 12 games in the season's first 11 days, Southeastern has had the week off heading into its first road tournament of the season. The Lady Lions are batting .331 as a team, while also leading Division I with 52 stolen bases.
 
Pacing the SLU lineup is Ella Manzer, who has been named the Southland Conference Hitter of the Week each of the first two weeks of 2019. The Alexandria, Louisiana native is second nationally with a .679 batting average, while also leading SLU with 19 hits, two home runs and 11 runs batted in.
 
Jaquelyn Ramon follows Manzer with a .406 batting average, while leading the nation with 19 stolen bases to go with a team-high 12 runs scored. Ramon currently has 140 career stolen bases – a school and Southland record, as well as the highest total among active Division I players.
 
Lindsey Rizzo (.393), Madisen Blackford (.364) and Rebecca Skains (.357) round out SLU's top five in batting average. Skains also leads the team with six doubles, while she and Bobbi Smith each have two triples.
 
The Lady Lions have used seven different pitchers that have combined for a 3.02 team earned run average. Alley McDonald (1-2, 3.13 ERA), Tanner Wright (2-1, 1.69 ERA), Sophie Hannabas (1-2, 3.56 ERA), Karlee Kraft (1-0, 1.75 ERA), Briahna Bennett (1-1, 4.20 ERA), Shelby Sitzman (0-0, 2.62 ERA) and Ali McCoy (0-0, 21.00 ERA) have all seen action in the circle for Southeastern.
 
SLU will open the tournament versus the host Bulldogs, who are hitting .328 as a team. Mia Davidson leads MSU with a .545 batting average, as she (6 HR, 15 RBI) and Fa Leilua (7 HR, 17 RBI) form a formidable power duo. Mississippi State has a 1.97 team earned run average, as Emily Williams (1-1, 2.80 ERA, 1 save), Alyssa Loza (2-1, 2.29 ERA), Grace Fagan (2-1, 1.37 ERA) and Candace Dennis (2-0, 0.68 ERA) have split time in the circle.
 
The Lady Lions will twice face an Alcorn State team that boasts a .344 team batting average behind the trio of Bri Smith (.714), Brittney Triplett (.571) and Victoria Tyler (.444). Paige Taylor (2-1, 1.24 ERA) and Ambria Dorsey (0-2, 4.00 ERA) have shared pitching duties for the Lady Braves.
 
Rounding out the tournament field is Georgia Tech, which is led by Breanna Roper (.485, 2 HR, 13 RBI) and Katie Krzus (5 HR, 13 RBI), among others and comes to Starkville with a .309 team batting average. Morgan Bruce (2-0, 3.80 ERA) and Amber Johns (2-3, 3.68 ERA) are the primary arms for the Yellow Jackets.
 
Following the tournament, SLU will return home to host Kent State on Wednesday at 4 p.m. at North Oak Park. Next Wednesday will feature a Cane's Challenge. If the Lady Lions score three or more runs versus KSU, fans can redeem their game ticket or student coupon at their local participating Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers to receive a free combo with the purchase of another of equal or greater value.
 
LionVision subscribers will be able to access a live video stream (no audio) of the Southeastern-Kent State game at www.LionSports.net/watch.
 
The Snowman: Alex Wilcox Memorial Tournament
 
Sunday, February 24
10 a.m. – Alcorn State vs. Georgia Tech
12:30 p.m. – Mississippi State vs. Georgia Tech
3 p.m. – Mississippi State vs. Southeastern Louisiana
5:30 p.m. – Southeastern Louisiana vs. Alcorn State
 
Monday, February 25
10 a.m. – Georgia Tech vs. Southeastern Louisiana
12:30 p.m. – Alcorn State vs. Southeastern Louisiana
3 p.m. – Mississippi State vs. Georgia Tech
5:30 p.m. – Mississippi State vs. Alcorn State
 
Home teams 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.