HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana softball team will close out the 2019 regular season with a three-game Southland Conference series at Nicholls this weekend.
Due to expected inclement weather in the Thibodaux area, the series between the Lady Lions (31-19, 16-8 Southland) and the hosts Colonels (30-19, 19-5 Southland) will open with a 5 p.m. doubleheader on Friday. The series concludes with a noon contest on Saturday.
Southeastern will be among the eight-team Southland Conference Tournament field next week in Natchitoches, but this final weekend will determine tournament seeding. Depending on the results of this week's series, SLU could by seeded anywhere from No. 2 – No. 7.
Nicholls is one of three Southland teams still in contention for the regular season championship, as the Colonels sit one game behind league-leader Sam Houston State. The final regular season weekend will serve as a preview for next week's tournament, as all eight tournament teams face off against each other to close out conference play.
Both SLU and Nicholls have won all but one conference series this season. The Colonels have won their last five leagues sets, while Southeastern has claimed four in a row.
This week's series will feature strength-on-strength when the Lady Lions are at the plate. Southeastern leads the Southland Conference with a .307 team batting average and will be facing a Nicholls staff that carries a league-low 2.13 team earned run average.
SLU is led in batting average by
Ella Manzer, who is hitting at a .361 clip.
Jaquelyn Ramon tops the Southland with 43 runs scored, while
Rebecca Skains has a team-high 41 RBI and leads the league with a single-season school record 17 doubles.
Madisen Blackford paces SLU with six home runs.
The Lady Lions still remain the national leader with 211 stolen bases – the 13
th-highest total in Division I history. Ramon shares the national lead with 57 steals on the year – one off the Southland Conference and school single-season record – and is 10
th all-time with 178 career steals.
SLU will be facing a Nicholls staff that is led by Megan Landry (23-10, 1.69 ERA, 1 save). Emily Danehower (5-1, 1.91 ERA) and Alexis LaBure (2-7, 3.50 ERA, 1 save) are the other primary arms for the Colonels.
Offensively, Nicholls carries a .263 batting average into the final regular season series. Kali Clement is third in the league with a .373 batting average and leads the Colonels with six home runs. Kasey Frederick has a team-high 32 RBI to pace the hosts.
Looking to slow down the Colonels will be a Lady Lion staff that features a 2.78 ERA behind ace
Alley McDonald (12-6, 2.04 ERA, 1 save).
Tanner Wright (6-5, 2.80 ERA),
Sophie Hannabas (6-5, 3.69 ERA, 1 save) and
Karlee Kraft (4-0, 2.16 ERA) have held the role of backing McDonald among a deep pitching staff.
The Southland Conference Tournament opens next Tuesday in Natchitoches and runs through Friday. The first three days of the tournament will be streamed live 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. Friday's noon championship game will be on ESPNU with the if necessary game set for ESPN3.
2019 Southland Conference Softball Standings
Team Southland Overall
Sam Houston State 20-4 29-20
Nicholls 19-5 30-19
Stephen F. Austin 17-7 33-17
Southeastern La. 16-8 31-19
McNeese 16-8 25-28
Lamar 14-10 23-30
Northwestern State 13-11 26-24
Central Arkansas 11-13 25-25
Houston Baptist 7-17 20-23
Abilene Christian 6-18 13-28
A&M-Corpus Christi 3-21 8-41
Incarnate Word 2-22 6-40
Weekend Schedule
Southeastern Louisiana at Nicholls – Friday - 5 p.m. (DH); Saturday – 12 p.m.
Stephen F. Austin at Sam Houston State – Friday – 4 p.m. (DH); Saturday – 12 p.m.
Lamar at McNeese – Friday – 6 p.m.; Saturday – 12 p.m. (DH)
Central Arkansas at Northwestern State – Friday – 4 p.m. (DH); Saturday – 1 p.m.
Abilene Christian at Houston Baptist – Friday – 1 p.m. (DH); Saturday – 12 p.m.
UIW at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi – Friday – 1 p.m. (DH); Saturday – 12 p.m.
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.
