HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana senior pitcher Heather Zumo tossed the seventh no-hitter in program history, as the Lady Lion softball team blanked South Dakota, 11-0, in the season opener for both teams Thursday evening at Mike Darouse Field.
 
Playing for the first time in 336 days, Southeastern (1-0) scored in every inning on the way to the season-opening triumph. Zumo (1-0) allowed four walks and struck out four on the way to the first no-hitter for Southeastern since Karlee Kraft, Caitlyn VanHemelryck and Ali McCoy combined for a no-hitter in a win over Jackson State in 2019.
 
Aeriyl Mass led the Lady Lions at the plate, finishing 3-for-3 with a home run, four RBI and three runs scored. Cameron Goodman also scored three runs, while Ella Manzer and Lexi Johnson each drove in two runs apiece.
 
Holly Fletcher (0-1) took the loss for South Dakota (1-0), allowing three runs in an inning of work. Fletcher and Sarah Lisko combined to allow eight hits and seven earned runs, as SLU took advantage of four Coyote errors.
 
Mass led off the bottom of the first inning with a single, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Lindsey Rizzo, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a USD error to give SLU the early 1-0 advantage.
 
The Lady Lions padded their lead in the bottom of the second inning with another error allowing Greely to score the frame's first run. A two-run double by Manzer added to the tally, then Manzer would score one-out later on an RBI double into the left field corner by Johnson.
 
Mass deposited her first home run of the season over the left centerfield fence in the bottom of the third inning. The Lake Charles, Louisiana native's first home run as a Lady Lion highlighted a five-run frame that gave SLU a 10-0 lead. Mass singled home Goodman in the bottom of the fourth for the game's final run.
 
Meanwhile, Zumo was never threatened, allowing just a pair of walks through the first four innings. In the fifth, the Baton Rouge, Louisiana native walked the first two batters of the inning, but rallied to strike out Makayla Tsagalis, force Lauren Wooken to fly out to left field and then induce a line out to the shortstop from Camille Fowler to etch her name into the Southeastern record books.
 
The two teams will return to action on Friday, competing in a 5 p.m. doubleheader at Darouse Field at St. Thomas Aquinas High School.
 
USD – 000 00 – 0 0 4 (0-1)
SLU – 145 1x – 11 8 0 (1-0)
Holly Fletcher, Sarah Lisko (2) and Skylar Arellano. Heather Zumo and Ella Manzer, Shelby Sitzman (5). W – Zumo (1-0). L – Fletcher (0-1). HR – SLU: Aeriyl Mass (1). 2B – SLU: Ella Manzer (1), Lexi Johnson (1).
 
2021 Lion Classic – Hammond, Louisiana
 
Thursday, February 11
Game 1 – Southeastern Louisiana 11, South Dakota 0 (5 Innings)
 
Friday, February 12
5 p.m. - SLU vs. South Dakota (at St. Thomas Aquinas HS)
7 p.m. - SLU vs. South Dakota (at St. Thomas Aquinas HS)
 
Saturday, February 13
2:30 p.m. - Nicholls vs. North Texas (at St. Thomas Aquinas HS or SLU)
4:30 p.m. - Nicholls vs. South Dakota (at St. Thomas Aquinas HS or SLU)
6:30 p.m. - SLU vs. South Dakota (at St. Thomas Aquinas HS or SLU)*
8:30 p.m. - SLU vs. North Texas (at St. Thomas Aquinas HS or SLU)*
* - Game will be broadcast on Southeastern Sports Network if at SLU
 
Sunday, February 14
10 a.m. - South Dakota vs. Nicholls (at St. Thomas Aquinas HS or SLU)
12 p.m. - South Dakota vs. North Texas (at St. Thomas Aquinas HS or SLU)
2 p.m. - North Texas vs. Nicholls (at St. Thomas Aquinas HS or SLU)
 
TICKETS
For ticket information, please contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit www.LionSports.net/tickets. Southeastern is implementing mobile ticketing as the primary source for securing tickets for the 2020-21 season. All tickets will be available via e-mail and text message in a PDF format for fans to download on their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded to Apple Wallet.
 
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.