HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana softball team will close out its non-conference home schedule on Tuesday, hosting Jackson State for a 3 p.m. doubleheader at North Oak Park.
 
The Lady Lions (24-17) and the visiting Lady Tigers (10-31) were originally scheduled to play a single game. The teams were originally scheduled to play a single game, but both teams have had multiple rainouts earlier this season and mutually agreed to play a doubleheader.
 
Southeastern Athletics Marketing and Promotions will serve free pizza to students for the second game tomorrow.
 
Tuesday is a Cane's Challenge. If the Lady Lions score three runs or more in game two, fans will be able to redeem their game ticket or student coupons to their local participating Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers to receive a free combo with the purchase of another of equal or greater value.  
 
The Southeastern Channel will broadcast Tuesday's 5 p.m. softball 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. LionVision subscribers will be able to access a live video stream of the 3 p.m. opener at www.LionSports.net/watch.
 
Southeastern is coming off taking two of three from Southland Conference foe Lamar this past weekend. With three conference series (nine games) left, SLU needs two wins, one win and a Houston Baptist loss or two HBU losses to clinch a spot in next month's Southland Conference Tournament.
 
The Lady Lions enter Tuesday's twin bill with a league-best .318 batting average – the 21^st-highest in the latest Division I rankings. Jaquelyn Ramon (.367, 5^th), Rebecca Skains (.366, 6^th), Ella Manzer (.361, 7^th) and Madisen Blackford (.353, 9^th) represent SLU in the Southland top 10. Ramon leads the league with 39 runs scored and is second in on-base percentage (.476).
 
Skains is second in the Southland in both hits (52) and RBI (38), while her conference-high and single-season school record 17 doubles rank third in the nation. Blackford (25 RBI, 8^th) joins Skains among the RBI leaders in the league and leads SLU with four home runs.
 
Skains is joined among the conference doubles leaders by Blackford (11, 5^th) and Manzer (10, 9^th). Bobbi Smith currently leads the Southland and ranks 11^th nationally with five triples.
 
Southeastern leads the nation with 179 stolen bases and is within striking distance of the single-season school (184, 2018) and Southland (185, Northwestern State, 2002) records. Ramon leads the Lady Lions with 53 stolen bases and needs five steals to match the single-season and conference record held by former teammate and current assistant coach Katie Lacour.
 
Ramon is the Southland Conference and school career record holder with 174 stolen bases and ranks 11^th in Division I history. The Channelview, Texas native is joined in the league's top 10 this season by Mima Doucet (24, 5^th), Smith (23, 6^th) and Lindsey Rizzo (22, 8^th).
 
The Lady Lions will be facing a Jackson State pitching staff that carries a 7.31 team earned run average. Kayla Owens (7-10, 4.61 ERA), Elyssa Sanchez (1-7, 10.34 ERA), Leah Hopson (0-4, 9.88 ERA) and Destyn Jones (1-7, 9.07 ERA) have shared the work in the circle for JSU.
 
The Lady Tigers also come to Hammond with a .209 team batting average. Cheyenne Aplon has a team-high .266 batting average, while Kelsey Smith leads Jackson State with 18 RBI.
 
Looking to slow down the JSU lineup will be a Southeastern pitching staff that carries a 3.00 team ERA. Alley McDonald (10-5, 1.88 ERA, 1 save) has established herself as the team's ace, ranking among the league leaders in wins (4^th) and earned run average (7^th). Tanner Wright (5-5, 3.08 ERA), Sophie Hannabas (4-4, 4.42 ERA, 1 save) and Karlee Kraft (3-0, 2.12 ERA) are among the other primary arms for SLU.
 
Following Tuesday's series finale, SLU hosts Central Arkansas for a three-game Southland Conference series, starting with a 4 p.m. doubleheader on Friday. Prior to Saturday's noon series finale, Southeastern will honor seniors Ramon, Skains and Caitlin VanHemelryck, as well as student manager William Hess.
 
Every home 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.

LionVision subscribers will be able to access a live video stream of the series at www.LionSports.net/watch.
 
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.