HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana softball team will open the 2019 season at home this week, starting with a 5 p.m. contest versus San Jose State on Thursday at North Oak Park.
 
The Lady Lions and the visiting Spartans are two of the six teams competing in the three-day Lion Classic I, which opens on Friday. During tournament play, SLU will face Southern Illinois (3 p.m.) and Northern Illinois (5 p.m.) on Friday. On Saturday, Southeastern takes on NIU at 1 p.m. and Mississippi Valley State at 3:30 p.m. The Lady Lions will face MVSU on Sunday at noon in the tournament finale.
 
Defending Southland Conference regular season champion Nicholls rounds out the field. All of Southeastern's games will be played on Field One. Live stats and live video (no audio – LionVision subscription required) for all games on Field One will be available at www.LionSports.net.
 
Five positional starters and 15 letter winners return from last season's SLU squad, which finished 38-21 overall and 18-9 in league play – good for a second-place showing. The Lady Lions' overall and conference win totals, as well as their league finish in 2018 were school records.
 
In the lineup, All-Southland performers Jaquelyn Ramon and Ali McCoy return, as do key contributors Rebecca Skains, Ella Manzer and Madison Watson, among others. Reinforcing the Lady Lion attack will be newcomers Bobbi Smith, Mima Doucet, Emily Henderson, Karlee Kraft and Lindsey Rizzo, among others.
 
Juniors Alley McDonald and Ali McCoy are the top returning pitchers for the Lady Lions. Sophie Hannabas and Briahna Bennett are two of the new faces expected to make an immediate impact in the circle.
 
San Jose State finished 32-17 overall in 2018. The Spartans' top four hitters – Cassidy Clark (.375), Madison Aurin (.338, 10 HR, 52 RBI), Georgia Blair (.322) and Kaelin Amrein (.302) – and top two pitchers – Caroline Bowman (14-2, 3.15 ERA) and Aurin (16-13, 3.18 ERA) – all return for this season.
 
Southern Illinois was 31-22 overall a season ago. The top returning hitters for the Salukis are Maddy Vermejan (.346, 5 HR, 27 RBI), Jenny Jansen (.329, 8 HR, 29 RBI) and Katelyn Massa (.310, 11 HR, 48 RBI). Staff ace Brianna Jones (26-8, 2.08 ERA) also returns for SIU.
 
Northern Illinois comes to Hammond after a 24-32 campaign in 2018. Jenny Van Geertry (.385, 7 HR, 30 RBI) and Sam Schmidt (.348, 5 HR, 28 RBI) are the top returning hitters, while Alex Frenz (12-7, 2.61 ERA) is the Huskies' top returner in the circle.
 
MVSU will look to bounce back from a 14-31 record a season ago. Jaime Parmley returns after hitting .320 in 2018, while Alyssa Montes (6-8, 7.57 ERA) is the top returning pitcher for the Delta Devilettes.
 
Following this weekend's tournament, Southeastern will hit the road for the first time in 2019. The Lady Lions will be at Louisiana Tech on Wednesday for a 5 p.m. non-conference contest in Ruston.
 
2019 Lion Classic I – February 8-10, 2019 – North Oak Park (Hammond, La.)
 
Friday, February 8
Field One
1 p.m. – Nicholls vs. Southern Illinois
3 p.m. – Southeastern Louisiana vs. Southern Illinois
5 p.m. – Southeastern Louisiana vs. Northern Illinois
 
Field Three
3 p.m. – San Jose State vs. Northern Illinois
5 p.m. – San Jose State vs. Mississippi Valley State
 
Saturday, February 9
Field One
11 a.m. – Northern Illinois vs. Mississippi Valley State
1 p.m. – Southeastern Louisiana vs. Northern Illinois
3:30 p.m. – Southeastern Louisiana vs. Mississippi Valley State
5:30 p.m. – Nicholls vs. San Jose State
 
Field Three
1 p.m. – Nicholls vs. Southern Illinois
3:30 p.m. – San Jose State vs. Southern Illinois
 
Sunday, February 10
Field One
10 a.m. – Nicholls vs. San Jose State
12 p.m. – Southeastern Louisiana vs. Mississippi Valley State
 
Field Three
10 a.m. – Southern Illinois vs. Mississippi Valley State
12 p.m. – Nicholls vs. Northern Illinois
 
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.