HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana softball team opened a four-game home stand with a 6-4 win over Mississippi State in non-conference action Monday afternoon at North Oak Park.
 
The Lady Lions (21-13) earned a win over a Southeastern Conference opponent for the second straight season, having earned an 8-0 win at Texas A&M last February. SLU's fifth straight victory dropped Mississippi State to 18-15 overall.
 
Aeriyl Mass and Cameron Goodman each collected two hits, one run and one RBI to lead the Lady Lion attack. Madisen Blackford and Kelci Bodin also drove in runs for Southeastern.
 
Sophie Hannabas, Shelby Sitzman, MC Comeaux, Heather Zumo and Ellie DuBois combined to hold Mississippi State to nine hits. Comeaux (8-5) earned the win, while DuBois recorded her fifth save, extending her single-season school record total.
 
Mississippi State jumped on top, as hits by Chloe Malau'ulu, Mia Davidson and Fa Leilua opened the game and resulted in a pair of runs. Hannabas settled down after the rough start and kept the deficit at 2-0.
 
Southeastern answered right back in the bottom of the first inning. Mass and Lindsey Rizzo opened the frame with consecutive singles, then consecutive bunts by Blackford and Bodin plated a run. A throwing error allowed Rizzo to score and tie the game up at 2-2.
 
An RBI double by Malau'ulu put the Bulldogs back on top, 3-2, in the top of the second inning. Blackford drew a bases loaded walk in the bottom of the frame to tie the game back up.
 
Southeastern took the lead for good in the bottom of the third inning. Madison Watson was hit by a pitch and gave way to pinch runner Anna Rodenberg. Three wild pitches by Emily Williams (3-3) allowed Rodenberg to score. Goodman padded the lead when she blooped an RBI single just out of the reach of diving MSU centerfielder Brylie St. Clair, giving SLU a 5-3 lead.
 
Mississippi State threatened and chased Comeaux from the game in the top of the fifth inning. With two on and one out, Zumo came in and retired Carter Spexarth and Paige Cook to maintain the two-run advantage.
 
SLU added an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth. Goodman legged out a triple, then scored on an infield single by Mass to give Southeastern a 6-3 advantage.
 
Zumo stranded two more Bulldogs in the sixth, but a one-out home run by Leilua chased her from the game in the top of the seventh innings. DuBois sat down Cook and Jackie McKenna to close out the victory for the hosts.
 
Up Next
SLU will welcome McNeese for a three-game Southland series at North Oak Park. The series opens with a 5 p.m. contest on Friday and concludes with a 12 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday.
 
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.