HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana softball team will open the road portion of its 2020 schedule this week, traveling to Gainesville, Florida to compete in the UF Bubly Invitational on the University of Florida campus.
On Friday, Southeastern (5-1) faces North Dakota State (1-3) at 8 a.m. and Florida A&M (0-4) at 10:30 a.m. SLU takes on Longwood (2-2) at 3:30 p.m. and FAMU at 6 p.m. on Saturday. On Sunday, the Lady Lions match up with the host No. 8 Gators (5-1) at 10:30 a.m. Live stats for the tournament games will be available at www.floridagators.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary.
SLU opened the season by winning the Lion Classic, outscoring opponents, 43-14, on the way to a 5-0 finish in the tournament. UAB handed Southeastern its first loss on Wednesday with a 9-2 triumph over the Lady Lions.
Southeastern enters the road trip with a .371 team batting average. Reigning Southland Conference Hitter of the Week
Madisen Blackford and
Lindsey Rizzo share the team lead with a .500 batting average. Rizzo and
Aeriyl Mass each have scored eight runs apiece.
Briahna Bennett paces the Lady Lions with two home runs, as she and
Ella Manzer share team-high honors with two doubles each. Blackford leads the team with two triples and seven RBI.
Eight different pitchers have combined for a 2.33 team earned run average for the Lady Lions.
Alley McDonald (2-0, 3.62 ERA),
Heather Zumo (1-1, 3.89 ERA),
MC Comeaux (1-0, 1.17 ERA),
Karlee Kraft (1-0, 0.00 ERA),
Sophie Hannabas (0-0, 3.00 ERA, 1 save),
Tanner Wright (0-0, 0.00 ERA),
Anna Westberry (0-0, 0.00 ERA) and
Shelby Sitzman (0-0, 0.00 ERA) have all seen time in the circle for SLU.
Southeastern opens the tournament versus a NDSU team that is hitting .310 as a team. Montana DeCamp leads the Bison with a .462 batting average. Paige Vargas (1-1, 4.44 ERA) has been the primary arm for a North Dakota State pitching staff the comes to Gainesville with a 6.19 team ERA.
Florida A&M has faced a tough early schedule with all of their losses coming to nationally-ranked opponents. Melkayla Irvis has a team-best .333 batting average, while three pitchers have split time in the circle evenly, combining for an 18.31 team ERA.
Longwood is batting .231 as a team through the first four games of 2020. Lauren Taylor (.429) and Madison Blair (.400) lead the Lancers at the plate, while Sydney Backstrom (1-1, 3.68 ERA, 1 save) and Arleigh Wood (1-1, 4.66 ERA) split the majority of the time in the circle.
Cheyenne Lindsey is leading Florida with a .500 batting average, while Jordan Roberts has four home runs and nine RBI to her credit for the Gators. Natalie Lugo (2-1, 2.86 ERA, 1 save) and Rylee Trilcek (2-0, 2.84 ERA, 1 save) have been the most used pitchers for a UF staff that currently has a 3.41 team ERA.
Up Next
Southeastern returns home on Tuesday to host Mississippi State at 6 p.m. at North Oak Park. The Southeastern Sports Network will offer a free video stream of Tuesday's game. Tune in online at www.LionSports.net or the Lions Game Day Experience app for Android or iOS devices. Fans can also watch on Southeastern's YouTube channel (/SLUathletics) with any mobile, tablet or smart TV device (e.g., Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Android TV and Roku).
Tuesday's game will also feature a Cane's Challenge. If the Lady Lions score three or more runs, fans can redeem their game ticket or student coupon at their local 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 @LionUpSoftball 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 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.
