HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to rally past McNeese for a 3-2 victory in the opening game of a key Southland Conference softball series Friday evening at North Oak Park.
The Lady Lions (30-18, 15-7 Southland) have hit the 30-win mark in back-to-back seasons for only the second time in school history. More importantly, SLU's comeback pulled it even with the visiting Cowgirls (24-27, 15-7 Southland) in the league standings.
With SLU trailing in its final at-bat,
Bobbi Smith, who reached on all three plate appearances Friday, got the rally started with a single to left field with one out.
Jaquelyn Ramon followed with a bunt single, then
Lindsey Rizzo hit a sharp single to left to load the bases.
That brought up
Rebecca Skains, who led SLU with three hits in Friday's win. Skains hit a ball to the right side of the infield that easily scored Smith. As a bonus, McNeese first baseman Kristan Dietz was pulled far enough off the bag by Skains' grounder that she couldn't get back to the base in time to prevent Skains from beating out an infield single.
With the bases still loaded and only one out,
Ella Manzer hit a chopper to the shortstop. McNeese's Cory McCrary fielded it cleanly, but Ramon, the Division I stolen base leader, was too quick, sliding home ahead of the tag for the game-winner.
Southeastern's late-inning heroics helped SLU ace
Alley McDonald (12-6) avoid a tough-luck loss in the circle. The Whitehouse, Tennessee native went the distance, scattering six hits and yielding one earned run, on the way to her 10
th Southland victory of the season.
Skains, Ramon (2-for-4) and Rizzo (2-for-4) all led SLU at the plate, as the Lady Lions finished with 10 hits versus the McNeese pair of Alexsandra (10-10) and Saleen Flores.
McNeese took a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning thanks to an RBI single by Aubree Turbeville, while another run scored on a Lady Lion error. SLU cut the lead in half in the bottom of the fourth inning, when Skains scored while
Mima Doucet was caught in a rundown.
Turbeville gunned out a pair of Lady Lions trying to steal, but SLU did manage to swipe three bases on the night. Southeastern's nation-leading steals total has climbed to 211 – tied with the 1997 Alcorn State team for the 13
th-highest in Division I history.
The series wraps up on Saturday with a noon doubleheader. LionVision subscribers will be able to access a live video stream of the series at
www.LionSports.net/watch. 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.
SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT TICKETS
Tickets are on sale for the Southland Conference Softball Tournament, which will be played May 7-10 at Northwestern State's Lady Demon Diamond. Available options include an all-tournament pass ($20 for adults, $10 kids) and single-game tickets ($10 adults, $5 kids). With valid ID, students from Southland institutions will receive free admission. Tickets can be purchased at
nsudemons.com. Click "packages" for all-tournament passes. In addition, fans can call the ticket office at 318-357-4268 or buy tickets at the gate via cash or card.
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.