MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Southeastern Louisiana University softball team rolled to a 13-5 run-rule victory over South Dakota on day two of the UofM Tournament Friday at the Tigers Softball Complex.
SLU (14-7) finished with 12 hits, as
Lexi Johnson led the way with a 3-for-4 showing, tying a single-game school record with three doubles.
Madison Rayner,
Bailey Krolczyk,
Maddie Watson and
Sarah Diaz all contributed two hits apiece to help drop South Dakota to 12-5 overall.
Heather Zumo (9-1) threw 2.1 innings of shutout relief to earn the victory in the circle for Southeastern. The Lady Lions were scheduled to face Memphis in the final game of the day on Friday, but frigid temperatures in the area forced the cancellation of the nightcap.
Southeastern jumped on South Dakota starter Clara Edwards (7-4) in the bottom of the first inning.
Aeriyl Mass walked and eventually stole home for the game's first run, while Krolczyk and Watson each drove in runs in the frame. Krolczyk scored on a wild pitch later in the inning to give SLU a 4-0 lead.
Mary-Cathryn (MC) Comeaux put a couple of scoreless frames on the board before the Coyotes got to her in the third. A three-run home run by Aleesia Sainz cut into the lead, before RBI by Jadyn Dewitte and Lauren Eamiquel gave USD a 5-4 advantage.
Southeastern dominated from that point forward. The Lady Lions batted around in a five-run bottom of the third, as Diaz,
Cam Goodman, Mass and Rayner all drove in runs to put SLU up, 9-5.
Johnson doubled and scored on a Diaz single to add to the lead in the bottom of the fourth. The Lady Lions walked it off in the bottom of the fifth. SLU scored the frame's first run on an error, then Johnson doubled home a pair of runs to secure the run-rule victory. The Reserve, Louisiana native is the third player in program history with three doubles in a game, joining teammate
Madisen Blackford (2019) and Lori Debenedetto (1995).
Due to the cold weather, Memphis has pushed the start time of Saturday's action back 90 minutes. SLU will face Central Arkansas at noon and No. 10 Oklahoma State at 4:30 p.m. Live stats for the games will be accessible on the softball schedule page at
www.LionSports.net.
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.
