HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University softball team has begun preseason preparations for the upcoming 2022 season, which opens Feb. 11.
 
The Lady Lions return 11 letterwinners, including five positional starters and the top three pitchers, from last season's squad that finished 28-23 overall and 14-10 in Southland Conference play. Nine talented newcomers round out a Southeastern roster that heads into 2022 with high hopes.
 
Season and single-game tickets are available now by contacting the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visiting www.LionSports.net. Season ticket holders are invited to the Season Ticket Pickup Event on Feb. 4 at 11 a.m. at North Oak Park in conjunction with SLU's 11:15 a.m. scrimmage.
 
The Lady Lions will host a pair of regular season tournaments – Lion Classic I (Feb. 11-13) and Lion Classic II (March 4-6). The Lion Classics will be separate from the season ticket packages, but tournament and single-game tickets for both tournaments are available by contacting the SLU Athletics Ticket Office.  
 
"We have great team chemistry heading into this season," Southeastern seventh-year head coach Rick Fremin commented. "We gelled as a team and came together well in the fall.
 
"We identified some aspects we need to improve on and also some positive things we can build on from the fall," Fremin added. "We need to clean some things defensively and our pitching staff needs to limit the freebies, whether from walks or hit batters, they allow. On the positive side, we believe we have a good blend of speed and power throughout our lineup."
 
SLU has led Division I in either total stolen bases, stolen bases per game or both in all six of Fremin's seasons in Hammond. All-Southland performers Audrey Greely (.398, 3 HR, 22 RBI, 18 SB in 2021), Aeriyl Mass (.369, 3 HR, 30 RBI, 30 SB) and Lindsey Rizzo (.346, 30 SB), as well as speedster Cam Goodman (.322, 4 3B, 29 SB) were the key contributors to extending the stolen base streak and all return this spring.
 
Multi-time All-Southland performer Madisen Blackford also is back in 2022. Lexi Johnson heads into her sophomore campaign with high expectations after an impressive fall.
 
Fremin cited newcomers Bailey Krolczyk, Madison Rayner, Blaire Bizette and Elise Jones, among others, as potential contributors to a high-powered middle of the lineup. Freshman Maddie Watson's defensive prowess also puts her in the position to earn significant playing time.
 
All-Southland performer Heather Zumo (16-7, 2.27 ERA), Mary-Cathryn (MC) Comeaux (9-5, 4.62 ERA). Ellie DuBois (0-2, 3.03 ERA, school-record 6 saves) and Alyssa Romano (1-0, 3.73 ERA) all return in the circle for Southeastern. Zumo, Comeaux and transfer KK Ladner, who finished 9-7 with a 2.70 ERA at Southern Miss in 2021, are expected to give SLU a trio of productive options in the weekend rotation.
 
The Lady Lions open the season at home, hosting Southeast Missouri on Feb. 11 at 5 p.m. on the opening day of Lion Classic I at North Oak Park. The Lion Classics are a part of the SLU nonconference home schedule that includes visits by Alcorn State (March 29), Jackson State (April 5) and UL Lafayette (April 12).
 
Southeastern will hit the road for four nonconference tournaments, traveling to New Mexico State (Feb. 18-20), Youngsville, Louisiana (Feb. 25-27), Memphis (March 10-12) and Chattanooga (March 18-20) for nonconference weekends. The Lady Lions will also visit Louisiana Tech (March 2), LSU (March 15), Jacksonville State (March 17), ULM (March 23) and Southern (April 19) in nonconference play.
 
SLU opens its Southland Conference schedule at home, hosting UIW for a three-game series on April 1 and 2. League foes HBU (April 22-23) and Northwestern State (May 6-7) will also visit North Oak Park. The Lady Lions will be on the road for Southland series at McNeese (April 8-9), Nicholls (April 15-16) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (April 29-30).
 
All seven Southland teams will advance to the Southland Conference Tournament, scheduled for May 10-13. SLU will serve as the host at North Oak Park for the second straight season.
 
2022 Southeastern Softball Schedule
Feb. 11 | Southeast Missouri vs. Alabama A&M (Lion Classic I) | Hammond | 1 p.m.
Feb. 11 | Nicholls vs. Alabama A&M (Lion Classic I) | Hammond | 3 p.m.
Feb. 11 | Southeast Missouri (Lion Classic I) | Hammond | 5 p.m. (ESPN+)
Feb. 12 | Nicholls vs. Alabama A&M (Lion Classic I) | Hammond | 11 a.m.
Feb. 12 | Nicholls vs. Southeast Missouri (Lion Classic I) | Hammond | 1 p.m.
Feb. 12 | Southeast Missouri (Lion Classic I) | Hammond | 3 p.m.
Feb. 12 | Alabama A&M (Lion Classic I) | Hammond | 5 p.m.
Feb. 13 | Southeast Missouri vs. Nicholls (Lion Classic I) | Hammond | 11 a.m.
Feb. 18 | vs. Northern Colorado (Troy Cox Invitational) | Las Cruces, N.M. | 10 a.m.
Feb. 18 | vs. Nebraska (Troy Cox Invitational) | Las Cruces, N.M. | 12:30 p.m.
Feb. 19 | vs. UT Arlington (Troy Cox Invitational) | Las Cruces, N.M. | 10 a.m.
Feb. 19 | vs. Iowa State (Troy Cox Invitational) | Las Cruces, N.M. | 5:30 p.m.
Feb. 20 | at New Mexico State (Troy Cox Invitational) | Las Cruces, N.M. | 12:30 p.m.
Feb. 25 | vs. Portland State (Mardi Gras Mambo) | Youngsville | 2 p.m.
Feb. 25 | vs. Alabama (Mardi Gras Mambo) | Youngsville | 4 p.m.
Feb. 26 | vs. Lipscomb (Mardi Gras Mambo) | Youngsville | 3 p.m.
Feb. 26 | vs. Eastern Illinois (Mardi Gras Mambo) | Youngsville | 5 p.m.
Feb. 27 | vs. St. Thomas (Mardi Gras Mambo) | Youngsville | 9 a.m.
March 2 | at Louisiana Tech | Ruston | 6 p.m.
March 4 | Gardner Webb vs. Marist (Lion Classic II) | Hammond | 11 a.m.
March 4 | Gardner Webb vs. Buffalo (Lion Classic II) | Hammond | 1 p.m.
March 4 | Buffalo (Lion Classic II) | Hammond | 3 p.m. (ESPN+)
March 4 | Marist (Lion Classic II) | Hammond | 5 p.m. (ESPN+)
March 5 | Gardner Webb vs. Buffalo (Lion Classic II) | Hammond | 11 a.m.
March 5 | Buffalo (Lion Classic II) | Hammond | 1 p.m. (ESPN+)
March 5 | Marist (Lion Classic II) | Hammond | 3 p.m. (ESPN+)
March 5 | Gardner Webb vs. Marist (Lion Classic II) | Hammond | 5 p.m.
March 6 | Buffalo vs. Marist (Lion Classic II) | Hammond | 9 a.m.
March 6 | Gardner Webb (Lion Classic II) | Hammond | 11 a.m. (ESPN+)
March 10 | vs. Central Arkansas (Memphis Tournament) | Memphis, Tenn. | 4 p.m.
March 11 | vs. South Dakota (Memphis Tournament) | Memphis, Tenn. | 11:30 a.m.
March 11 | at Memphis (Memphis Tournament) | Memphis, Tenn. | 4:30 p.m.
March 12 | vs. Central Arkansas (Memphis Tournament) | Memphis, Tenn. | 10:30 a.m.
March 12 | vs. Oklahoma State (Memphis Tournament) | Memphis, Tenn. | 3 p.m.
March 15 | at LSU | Baton Rouge | 6 p.m.
March 17 | at Jacksonville State | Jacksonville, Ala. | 4 p.m.
March 18 | vs. Bucknell (Chatty's Patty's) | Chattanooga, Tenn. | 12:30 p.m.
March 18 | at Chattanooga (Chatty's Patty's) | Chattanooga, Tenn. | 5:30 p.m.
March 19 | vs. Bucknell (Chatty's Patty's) | Chattanooga, Tenn. | 10 a.m.
March 19 | at Chattanooga (Chatty's Patty's) | Chattanooga, Tenn. | 12:30 p.m.
March 20 | at Chattanooga (Chatty's Patty's) | Chattanooga, Tenn. | 1 p.m.
March 23 | at ULM | Monroe | 6 p.m.
March 29 | Alcorn State (DH) | Hammond | 4 p.m. (ESPN+)
April 1 | UIW (DH) | Hammond | 4 p.m. (ESPN+)*
April 2 | UIW | Hammond | 12 p.m. (ESPN+)*
April 5 | Jackson State (DH) | Hammond | 4 p.m. (ESPN+)
April 8 | at McNeese | Lake Charles | 6:30 p.m.*
April 9 | at McNeese (DH) | Lake Charles | 1 p.m.*
April 12 | UL Lafayette | Hammond | 6 p.m. (ESPN+)
April 15 | at Nicholls (DH) | Thibodaux | 4 p.m.*
April 16 | at Nicholls | Thibodaux | 12 p.m.*
April 19 | at Southern | Baton Rouge | 3 p.m.
April 22 | HBU (DH) | Hammond | 4 p.m. (ESPN+)*
April 23 | HBU | Hammond | 12 p.m. (ESPN+)*
April 29 | at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (DH) | Corpus Christi, Texas | 1 p.m.*
April 30 | at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi | Corpus Christi, Texas | 12 p.m.*
May 6 | Northwestern State (DH) | Hammond | 4 p.m. (ESPN+)*
May 7 | Northwestern State (Senior Day) | Hammond | 12 p.m. (ESPN+)*
May 10-13 | Southland Conference Softball Tournament | Hammond | TBA (ESPN+)
 
Southeastern home events in bold | All times Central | * - Southland Conference game
 
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.