HOUSTON, Texas – Southeastern Louisiana and Houston Baptist split a pair of one-run decisions in Southland Conference softball action Friday evening at Husky Field.
SLU (13-12, 4-1 Southland) opened the day's action with a 2-1 win over HBU (9-5, 2-3 Southland).
Aeriyl Mass tripled home both Lady Lion runs in the top of the fifth inning.
Heather Zumo (8-2) earned the win in the circle, allowing two hits and striking out seven in five innings of work.
Ellie DuBois threw two shutout innings of relief to earn her third save of the season.
In the nightcap, HBU rallied with three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning for a 6-5 victory. Mass (3 RBI) and
Lindsey Rizzo led Southeastern with two hits each, while
Madisen Blackford and
Ella Manzer each drove in runs.
The rubber game of the series is set for Saturday at noon. Links to live stats and video, provided by HBU, are available on the softball schedule page at
www.LionSports.net.
Game One – Southeastern Louisiana 2, Houston Baptist 1
Zumo and HBU starter Jessica Patek matched zeroes through the first three and a half innings before the Huskies broke through in the bottom of the fourth inning. Heidi Jaquez led off the frame with her second home run of the season to put Houston Baptist up, 1-0.
Southeastern answered right back in the top of the fifth inning. Singles by
Kelci Bodin and
Audrey Greely put the go-ahead runners on base. Mass then cleared the bases with a triple to centerfield to give Southeastern a 2-1 lead.
Houston Baptist put runners on first and second in the bottom of the seventh inning with one out. However, DuBois forced Riley Bullen to hit into a game-ending double play to close out the win.
Game Two – Houston Baptist 6, Southeastern Louisiana 5
HBU scored two runs in the first and added another run in the second versus
MC Comeaux and DuBois in the first two innings to take a 3-0 lead.
Southeastern was able to tie the score in the fourth.
Madison Watson singled, then Bodin and
Cameron Goodman walked to load the bases with two outs. Mass greeted reliever Lyndie Swanson with a three-run double to knot the contest at 3-3.
SLU took the lead in the top of the fifth inning. Rizzo led off the inning with a single, stole second and scored on an RBI single by Blackford. Blackford scored one batter later on a sacrifice fly by Manzer to give the Lady Lions a 5-3 cushion.
Sophie Hannabas (0-3) made the lead stand up until the bottom of the sixth inning. A two-run home run by Autumn Sydlik tied the score, then an RBI double by Jasie Roberts gave HBU a 6-5 advantage.
In the seventh, Rizzo singled to put the game-tying run on base with one out. Swanson recovered to retire Blackford and Manzer to allow the Huskies to earn the split.
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.
