HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University softball team split a pair of contests on day two of Lion Classic II Saturday afternoon at North Oak Park.
Southeastern (12-6) opened the day with an 8-0 run-rule victory over Buffalo (7-7). In the nightcap, Marist (7-7) edged SLU, 3-2, in an extra-inning affair.
SLU ace
Heather Zumo (7-0) was dominant in the win over the Bulls, allowing one hit and striking out six in a complete-game shutout effort.
Aeriyl Mass,
Madison Rayner and
Bailey Krolczyk each collected two hits apiece in the win.
In the nightcap, Mass led Southeastern at the plate with a 3-for-4 showing, while
Lexi Johnson and
Lindsey Rizzo added two hits apiece.
Alyssa Romano (0-1) took the hard-luck loss in the circle for SLU, allowing four hits and no earned runs in 8.1 innings of work.
Southeastern and Marist will close out the tournament with a 10 a.m. contest on Sunday at North Oak Park. The game will be televised on ESPN+ and live stats will be available at
www.LionSports.net/sidearmstats/softball.
Game One – Southeastern 8, Buffalo 0
SLU scored all the runs it would need in the bottom of the first inning against BU starter Julia Tarantino (3-5). Mass led off the inning with a single and scored one out later on an RBI single by Rayner. A sacrifice fly by Johnson plated Rayner and gave the Lady Lions a 2-0 lead.
Southeastern added to its lead in the bottom of the third. Rizzo beat out an infield single to lead off the frame and scored two outs later when Krolczyk banged a double off the top of the left centerfield fence to give SLU a 3-0 cushion.
In the fourth,
Elise Jones ripped a double just inside the left field line and scored when
Cam Goodman ripped a triple into the left centerfield gap to put the Lady Lions ahead, 4-0.
Meanwhile, Zumo continued her torrid start to the 2022 season. After giving up a one-out single in the top of the first inning, the Baton Rouge, Louisiana native retired 17 straight batters to keep Buffalo scoreless.
Southeastern ended it in the sixth. Mass doubled in the frame's first run, then two more runs came in on a pair of Bull errors. Rayner singled home Goodman to clinch the victory.
Game Two – Marist 3, Southeastern 2 (9 Innings)
Marist touched up SLU starter
KK Ladner for a pair of runs in the top of the first inning, but Romano came in and prevented the early hole from getting any deeper. Southeastern answered in its half of the first, as Rayner's team-high eighth double of the season tied the game at 2-2.
From that point forward, Romano and Marist starter Kiley Myers (3-0) took over and matched zeroes until the Red Foxes broke the tie in the top of the ninth inning. Alyssa Grupp was placed on second to start the frame and scored two outs later on an RBI single by Kaitlyn Husic.
Johnson was placed on second to start the bottom of the ninth for Southeastern. However, Myers retired
Maddie Watson,
Audrey Greely and Goodman to secure the victory.
2022 Lion Classic II Schedule – March 4-6 – Hammond, La. – North Oak Park
Friday, March 4
Marist 2, Buffalo 1 (8 Innings)
Buffalo 5, Southeastern 2
Southeastern 10, Marist 2 (5 Innings)
Saturday, March 5
Buffalo 9, Marist 1 (5 Innings)
Southeastern 8, Buffalo 0 (6 Innings)
Marist 3, Southeastern 2 (9 Innings)
Sunday, March 6
10 a.m. –
Southeastern vs. Marist (ESPN+)
All times Central (CST) | Home team in
bold
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.
