HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana softball team reached several milestones in a doubleheader sweep of Jackson State in non-conference action Tuesday evening at North Oak Park.
Southeastern improved to 26-17 with a pair of 7-0 shutout victories over the visiting Lady Tigers (10-33). In the nightcap, the SLU trio of
Karlee Kraft (4-0),
Ali McCoy and
Caitlyn VanHemelryck combined for the sixth no-hitter in program history and the first since Rachael Hellyer tossed a no-hitter versus Arkansas-Pine Bluff on March 19, 2014.
Southeastern also finished with 10 steals in the two wins, running its Division I-leading season total to 189. The Lady Lions' total tops the previous Southland Conference single-season record of 185, set by the 2002 Northwestern State team.
"Anytime we can reach any of these milestones, as the head coach I'm pleased for our program and the direction we're headed," Southeastern head coach
Rick Fremin said. "We did some exciting things today in front our home crowd and we're very pleased with the accomplishments."
In the opener,
Sophie Hannabas (5-4) and
Tanner Wright combined to hold JSU to five hits in a combined shutout effort.
Hannah Blackford led SLU at the plate with a 3-for-3 performance, as she and
Pryscilla Prince shared the team lead with two RBI each.
Kraft, McCoy and VanHemelryck combined to retire the final 14 Lady Tigers they faced on the way to the historic performance in the nightcap. McCoy and
Mima Doucet each had two hits apiece, while
Caroline Manzer and
Rebecca Skains each had two RBI for Southeastern.
Jaquelyn Ramon stole her Division I-leading 54
th stolen base of the season in the nightcap. Ramon now has moved into a tie for 10
th place on the all-time Division I career leaderboard with California's Jamia Reid (2009-12) with 175 stolen bases.
This weekend, 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 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.
Game One – Southeastern Louisiana 7, Jackson State 0
Southeastern took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning against JSU starter Destyn Jones (1-8).
Briahna Bennett walked, then
Madison Watson reached on a throwing error. While Watson was caught in a run down between first and second, the opportunistic Bennett raced home to give SLU a 1-0 lead.
Southeastern put a pair on via a
Brennan Bourgeois walk and a
Caroline Manzer double.
Hannah Blackford increased the lead to 3-0 with a flare into right centerfield to clear the bases.
JSU mounted its first scoring threat in the top of the third inning, putting a pair of runners on with one out. Hannabas recovered, retiring Sierra Smith and Ariana Cruz to keep JSU off the board.
The Lady Lions added to their lead in the bottom of the third inning. A pair of errors and an RBI groundout by Bourgeois put SLU ahead, 5-0.
Jackson State would threaten again in the top of the fourth inning, loading the bases with two outs. However, Hannabas struck out Brooke Boechler to keep the Lady Tigers scoreless.
Southeastern closed out the scoring in the bottom of the fourth inning. A two-run single by Prince plated Kraft and
Hannah Blackford to put SLU ahead, 7-0.
Hannabas tossed a perfect fifth, then Wright finished out the shutout with a pair of scoreless frames in the JSU sixth and seventh innings.
Game Two – Southeastern Louisiana 7, Jackson State 0
Southeastern took the lead versus Jackson State starter Elyssa Sanchez (2-8) in the bottom of the second inning.
Caroline Manzer ripped a triple into the right field corner to plate
Hannah Blackford and McCoy. Manzer would later score on a
Madisen Blackford grounder to put SLU ahead, 3-0.
Cruz reached on a one-out error in the top of the third inning, but it would be the last base runner JSU would have for the remainder of the game. Kraft struck out Cheyenne Aplon to end the frame – one of seven strikeouts for the freshman from the Ponchatoula, Louisiana native.
The Lady Lions padded its lead in the bottom of the third inning. RBI groundouts by Skains and
Ella Manzer extended the Southeastern advantage to 5-0.
Doucet laced a triple into the right centerfield gap with one out in the bottom of the fifth inning and scored on a Skains sacrifice fly to put SLU ahead, 6-0.
Kraft struck out the side in the fifth, before giving way to McCoy, who retired JSU in order in the top of the sixth inning. McCoy then provided the final score in the Southeastern sixth. The Maurepas, Louisiana native singled, stole second, moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a wild pitch.
VanHemelryck induced three straight groundouts in the top of the seventh inning to close out the first Lady Lion no-hitter in over five years.
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.
