HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana softball team will begin a stretch of 11 games away from North Oak Park this weekend, competing in the Mardi Gras Mambo this week at the Youngsville Sports Complex.
 
The Lady Lions (8-3) open the tournament with a 3 p.m. contest versus Middle Tennessee State (5-7) on Friday. On Saturday, SLU faces Alcorn State (5-7) at 5 p.m. and Mississippi Valley State (1-4) at 7 p.m. Southeastern closes the tournament with a 2 p.m. contest versus ULM (3-7) on Sunday.
 
SLU carries a .354 team batting average into the tournament. Lindsey Rizzo leads the team with a .517 batting average, followed by Kelci Bodin (.500), Aeriyl Mass (.444), Madisen Blackford (.433) and Ella Manzer (.385) are the other top hitters for average. Mass (12) and Rizzo (11) are the leading run scorers and share the team lead with eight steals apiece.
 
Briahna Bennett leads Southeastern with two home runs, while Manzer, Bodin and Karlee Kraft have one apiece. Manzer and Kraft share the team lead with nine RBI, while Manzer also paces the squad with four doubles. Blackford lead the Lady Lions with two triples.
 
Eight Southeastern pitchers have combined for a 3.60 team ERA. Alley McDonald (3-0, 2.14 ERA), MC Comeaux (2-0, 1.05 ERA), Sophie Hannabas (1-0, 2.40 ERA, 1 save), Heather Zumo (1-1, 5.73 ERA), Kraft (1-1, 3.94 ERA), Tanner Wright (0-0, 0.00 ERA), Shelby Sitzman (0-1, 17.18 ERA) and Anna Westberry (0-0, 9.00 ERA) all have seen action in the circle for SLU.
 
Lexie Cushing (.441, 5 HR, 8 RBI) leads MTSU at the plate, as the Blue Raiders have hit .280 as a team with 15 home runs through the season's first 12 games. Amber Baldwin (2-1, 5.64 ERA, 1 save), Mia Marinakis (1-2, 4.33 ERA) and Kailey Ahlstrom (1-2, 3.75 ERA) are the primary arms for Middle Tennessee State.
 
Simone McKinney's .405 batting average paces Alcorn State. The Lady Braves pitching staff is led by Ambria Dorsey (2-2, 4.38 ERA), Brenn Ursin (2-2, 6.00 ERA) and Kiri Parker (1-3, 4.63 ERA).
 
Mississippi Valley State opened the season with a win over Saint Louis. The Delta Devilettes have dropped decisions to St. Louis, Southern Miss (twice) and Ole Miss in their last four contests.
 
ULM enters the tournament with a .257 batting average behind Korie Kreps' team-high .500 batting average. Murphy Williams (1-1, 3.82 ERA) and Amber Coons (2-1, 3.98 ERA) are the top arms for the Warhawks.
 
Up Next
This weekend's tournament is the first of two in as many weeks for Southeastern. The Lady Lions will head to College Station, Texas to compete in the Reveille Classic, facing both host Texas A&M and Kansas twice.
 
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.