HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana collected 10 hits and held off a late Kent State rally in a 7-5 victory over the Golden Flashes in non-conference softball action Wednesday evening at North Oak Park.
With the win, Southeastern improved to 9-8 overall. Kent State (6-6) cut into a five-run deficit in the top of the seventh inning, but the Lady Lions were able to close out the victory.
Rebecca Skains led SLU with three hits, while
Lindsey Rizzo and
Pryscilla Prince had two hits apiece.
Mima Doucet and
Bobbi Smith led Southeastern with two RBI each.
Five different Lady Lions –
Alley McDonald,
Tanner Wright,
Briahna Bennett,
Karlee Kraft and
Sophie Hannabas – combined to hold the Golden Flashes to eight hits in the win. Wright (3-3) earned the victory, while Hannabas secured her first career save.
"Alley and Tanner have been handling the majority of the load in the circle, but we're seeing our freshmen get more comfortable," Southeastern head coach
Rick Fremin commented. "We're trying not to put the pressure on just one person and our staff is responding well to that strategy. I'm pleased to see our pitchers healthy and filling up the zone."
McDonald pitched out of a two-on, one-out jam in the top of the first inning, before SLU took the lead for good in the bottom of the frame. Skains plated Rizzo with an RBI single and scored on a single to left by Doucet to give the Lady Lions a 2-0 cushion.
The Golden Flashes put the first two runners on in the top of the second versus McDonald. However, the Whitehouse, Tennessee native forced Megan Turner to ground into a double play, then struck out Jen Cader to maintain a two-run advantage.
Southeastern doubled its lead in the bottom of the third inning. RBI's by
Madisen Blackford and Smith put SLU ahead, 4-0.
An error led to Kent State's first run in the top of the fourth inning. Carlee Selle reached on an error to lead off the frame and was replaced on the base paths by Brooklyn Whitt. Whitt would eventually score on a sacrifice fly by Maria Cedgely to cut the Lady Lion lead to 4-1.
Southeastern answered right back in the bottom of the fourth.
Jaquelyn Ramon reached on an error, stole her Division I-leading 26
th base of the season and scored on an RBI single by Rizzo. Rizzo later scored on a sacrifice fly by Doucet to put the Lady Lions ahead, 6-1.
A two-out rally allowed KSU to cut into the Lady Lion lead in the top of the fifth inning. Kennadie Goth beat out a bunt single, then scored on an RBI double by Bailey Brownfield to pull the Golden Flashes closer, trailing 6-2.
Southeastern got the run back without the benefit of a hit in the bottom of the fifth inning. Blackford walked, stole second, advanced to third on a Kent State error and scored on a sacrifice fly by
Bobbi Smith to put the Lady Lions ahead, 7-2.
With two outs in the top of the seventh inning, a three-run home run by Alexis Taube cut the SLU lead to 7-5. Hannabas came in and allowed a single to Hunter Brancifort to bring the tying run to the plate. However, Ramon made a leaping catch off the bat of Shelby Hard for the game's final out.
Southeastern will head to Montgomery, Alabama to compete in the ASU Invitational, hosted by Alabama State. The Lady Lions open up the tournament on Friday, facing Tennessee Tech at 9:30 a.m. and Eastern Kentucky at 12 p.m.
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.
