HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University softball team will return to action this week, competing in the Mardi Gras Mambo, which opens Friday at the Youngsville Sports Complex.
 
SLU (6-2) will open the tournament Friday with a 2 p.m. contest versus Portland State (6-4) and faces No. 2 Alabama (9-0) at 4 p.m. The Lady Lions will take on Lipscomb (3-5) at 3 p.m. and Eastern Illinois (6-4) at 5 p.m. Saturday. Sunday's tournament finale will see Southeastern face St. Thomas (2-3) at 9 a.m. Live stats for all of Southeastern's games will be available at www.LionSports.net/sidearmstats/softball.
 
After opening the season with a 3-0 showing at Lion Classic I in Hammond, the Lady Lions are in the midst of an 11-game road swing. Southeastern opened its 2022 road slate with a 3-2 mark at the Troy Cox Invitational in Lac Cruces, New Mexico.
 
Through the first two weeks, SLU leads the Southland Conference with a .344 team batting average. Audrey Greely, who was named Southland Hitter of the Week on Tuesday, leads the team with a .600 batting average. Madison Rayner (.417), Cam Goodman (.400), Lexi Johnson (.370) and Lindsey Rizzo (.368) round out the team's top five hitters for average.
 
Johnson also leads the team with four home runs, 10 RBI and eight runs scored. Rayner and Maddie Watson each have a home run, as both, along with Madisen Blackford have six RBI. Rayner also leads the team with four doubles.
 
Southeastern is currently ninth in Division I with 21 stolen bases. Goodman tops the roster with eight steals, while Aeriyl Mass has five to her credit.
 
The SLU pitching staff enters this week's tournament with a 3.81 team earned run average. Heather Zumo (3-0, 1.91 ERA) and Mary-Cathryn (MC) Comeaux (3-1, 4.54 ERA, 1 save) have been the top arms for the Lady Lions.
 
Portland State has a .332 team batting average behind Maddie Thompson (.432). Paetynn Lopez has a team-high three home runs, while Olivia Dean and Kiara McCrea each have 10 RBI. Olivia Grey (5-0, 1.26 ERA) and Allicitie Frost (1-1, 6.50 ERA) have handled the majority of the work in the circle for PSU.
 
The quartet of Dallas Goodnight, Ashley Prange, Jenna Johnson and Ally Shipman share the team lead with a .435 batting average for the Crimson Tide. Prange, Shipman and Megan Bloodworth have three home runs apiece, while Shipman has driven in 15 RBI for Alabama. Montana Fouts (3-0, 0.69 ERA, 1 save), Lexi Kilfoyl (2-0, 0.00 ERA), Jaala Torrence (2-0, 1.27 ERA) and Alex Salter (2-0, 1.91 ERA) have all split time in the circle for the Crimson Tide.
 
Saturday's action will open up with Southeastern facing a Lipscomb team that is led ab Amy Vetula and her team-high .545 batting average. Presley Leebrick and Maci Cunconan each have eight RBI apiece for LU. Makayia Veneziale (1-2, 5.25 ERA), Laine Barefoot (1-1, 2.28 ERA), Kate Peters (0-0, 1.85 ERA) and Emily Yakubowski (1-2, 5.56 ERA) have split time in the circle for Lipscomb.
 
Morgan Lewis (.424) leads Eastern Illinois in batting average, while Lindy Milkowski has a team-high three home runs and Riley Dittmar paces the squad with 14 RBI. Alexa Rehmeier (4-0, 1.44 ERA), Rachel Kaufman (1-1, 4.11 ERA, 1 save) and Tieghan Morio (1-1, 5.91 ERA) each have seen significant time in the circle for EIU.
 
Brooke Ellestad (.412) and Sarah Hudson (2 HR, 7 RBI) are the top hitters for St. Thomas. Megan Baniecke (1-1, 6.77 ERA), Isabelle True (0-1, 3.50 ERA, 1 save) and Christina Crawford (0-1, 9.55 ERA, 1 save) have combined to handle most of the pitching duties for St. Thomas.
 
Following this week's action, Southeastern will close out its road swing with a 4 p.m. contest at Louisiana Tech on March 2.
 
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.