HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana softball team will open a string of three straight Southland Conference home series this week, when Lamar comes to town for a three-game league set at North Oak Park.
 
The series between the Lady Lions (22-16, 10-5 Southland) and visiting Cardinals (19-22, 10-5 Southland) opens with a 4 p.m. doubleheader on Friday and concludes with a noon contest on Saturday.
 
Live video (LionVision subscription required – no audio on Saturday) and stats for the series will be accessible at www.LionSports.net. Saturday's contest opens Super Lion Saturday.
 
North Oak Park will be one of Saturday's "Pass-Sport" stops.Tangi Tourism will provide "Pass-Sport" cards for the day's activities. Fans can get their cards stamped at the 10:45 a.m. tailgate party, the 11 a.m. football spring game, the 12 p.m. softball game and the 1 p.m. baseball game. Any fan with at least two stamps on their card will be entered into a drawing to win a movie prize pack valued over $100 courtesy of Tangi Tourism. The drawing will be held and the winner announced at that day's SLU-NSU baseball game.

Saturday is Local Heroes Appreciation at North Oak Park, as all first responders, service members and military personnel will receive a discounted ticket with a valid ID.
 
Southeastern and Lamar are currently tied for fourth in the Southland standings and are two games out of the league lead. The top seven teams in the conference standings are separated by just three games.
 
SLU carries a league-best .317 batting average into this week's series. Rebecca Skains (.374, 4^th), Jaquelyn Ramon (.368, 5^th) and Ella Manzer (.360, 9^th) all rank among the Southland batting average leaders. Ramon also leads the league with 39 runs scored and a .482 on-base percentage, while ranking second in the league with 23 walks. Skains is second with 49 hits.
 
Skains also leads SLU with 37 runs batted in and is second in the Southland, while Madisen Blackford (25 RBI, 8^th) joins her in the league's top 10. Skains also leads the conference with her single-season school record tying 17 doubles, while Bobbi Smith paces the Lady Lions and the Southland with five triples.
 
The Lady Lions are leading the nation with 170 stolen bases – 14 off the single-season school record and 15 shy of the Southland Conference mark. Ramon leads Division I and the Southland with 53 stolen bases and is joined in the league's top 10 by Smith (22, 5^th), Lindsey Rizzo (22, 5^th), Mima Doucet (19, 8^th) and Pryscilla Prince (13, 10^th). Ramon's Southland and SLU career record of 174 career stolen bases rank her 11^th in Division I history.
 
Looking to slow down the Lady Lion lineup will be a Lamar staff that features a 3.18 earned run average. The quartet of Julia Voluntad (6-8, 3.00 ERA, 2 saves), Jade Lewis (2-8, 5.34 ERA, 2 saves), Aaliyah Ruiz (3-2, 2.23 ERA, 1 save) and Erin Kyle (7-4, 2.02 ERA, 1 save) have split time in the circle for the Cardinals.
 
Lamar carries a .237 team batting average into this weekend's series. Savana Guidry leads LU with a .310 batting average, while Lewis tops the team with eight doubles and 15 RBI.
 
The SLU pitching staff carries a 3.07 team ERA and will be looking to silence the Lamar bats. Alley McDonald (8-5, 1.97 ERA, 1 save), Tanner Wright (5-4, 2.95 ERA), Karlee Kraft (3-0, 2.12 ERA) and Sophie Hannabas (4-4, 4.63 ERA, 1 save) are the primary arms for Southeastern. McDonald is currently seventh in ERA and fifth in wins in the conference and has a 6-1 record with an 0.84 ERA versus league competition.
 
Southeastern will continue its seven-game home stand next Tuesday, hosting Jackson State at 5 p.m. at North Oak Park. The Southeastern Channel will broadcast the contest on the Southland Digital Network at www.Southland.org/live and via the Southland apps available for iPhone, Android, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Roku.
 
Tuesday's game will also feature a Cane's Challenge. If the Lady Lions score three or more runs, fans can take their game ticket or student coupon to their participating Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers to receive a free combo with the purchase of another of equal or greater value.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.