CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Southeastern Louisiana University softball team held off a late Bucknell rally in a 5-4 victory on the opening day of the Chatty's Patty's Tournament Friday afternoon at Frost Stadium.
Southeastern (16-8) took a 5-0 lead after five innings only to see Bucknell (3-17) rally for four runs over the final two frames.
KK Ladner (2-1) earned the win in the circle, scattering three hits and striking out four in six innings of work.
Blaire Bizette hit her first home run as a Lady Lion, while
Aeriyl Mass,
Lindsey Rizzo and
Cam Goodman each drove in runs.
Ladner and Bison starter Kelly Toomey held the opposing lineups at bay until the Lady Lions broke through in the bottom of the fourth inning. Rizzo doubled home pinch runner
Sarah Diaz to break the tie, then scored on an infield single by Goodman. The speedy Goodman scored on a double by Mass to give Southeastern a 3-0 lead.
SLU padded its lead in the bottom of the fifth.
Lexi Johnson reached on a Bison error, then Bizette lined a two-run home run over the left field fence to put the Lady Lions ahead, 5-0.
Bucknell touched up Lady Lion reliever
Ellie DuBois for two runs in the top of the sixth inning. Ladner came back in the circle for the seventh, but allowed a two-run home run by Nicole Rivait to trim the lead to 5-4. The Bison would get no closer, as Ladner struck out Sarah Baluch to close out the victory.
Southeastern will be back in action on Saturday, facing Bucknell at 9 a.m. and Chattanooga at 11:30 a.m. The game versus the host Mocs will be televised on ESPN+.
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.
