THIBODAUX, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University softball team opened up its Southland Conference series at Nicholls with a doubleheader sweep of the Colonels Friday evening at Swanner Field.
With the victories, SLU (28-12, 6-2 SLC) clinched its second league series win of the season. Nicholls fell to 10-27 overall and 2-6 in conference action.
In the opener, Southeastern used a seven-run sixth inning to rally for a 10-4 victory.
Bailey Krolczyk led SLU with three RBI, as she,
Aeriyl Mass and
Cam Goodman finished with two hits apiece. Mass set the tone for a 10-hit attack with her second home run of the season to lead off the contest.
Heather Zumo (14-3) earned the victory in the circle, scattering five hits and striking out five in six innings of work.
Ellie DuBois struck out a pair in a scoreless seventh to close out the win.
Southeastern racked up 15 hits in an 11-2 victory in the nightcap.
Lexi Johnson tied her own single-game school record with three doubles, while Mass led the way with four hits.
Maddie Watson and
Audrey Greely each homered and shared team-high honors with three RBI.
KK Ladner (4-2) struck out five in 4.1 shutout innings to earn the win in the circle for the Lady Lions.
The series wraps up with a noon contest Saturday. A live video stream will be accessible at
www.youtube.com/nichollsathletics and live stats will be available at
www.geauxcolonels.com/sidearmstats/softball.
Game One – Southeastern 10, Nicholls 4
Southeastern jumped out to a lead versus Nicholls starter Paris Lehman (5-11) in the top of the first inning. Mass hit the second pitch of the game over the centerfield fence to put SLU on the board. A Nicholls error led to a second run and then an RBI single by Krolczyk put the Lady Lions up, 3-0.
Nicholls answered right back against Zumo in the bottom of the first. A two-run home run by Melise Gossen put the Colonels on the board and cut the Southeastern lead to 3-2.
SLU's next threat came in the top of the fourth inning. The Lady Lions loaded the bases, but Lehman struck out Mass to end the threat.
Nicholls took its first lead in the bottom of the fifth. After loading the bases with no outs, a sacrifice fly by Alexa Poche' tied it and the Colonels took a 4-3 lead later in the frame with an unearned run.
Southeastern took the lead for good in the top of the fifth, sending 11 to the plate in a seven-run frame. Greely doubled home the tying run. Later in the frame,
Lindsey Rizzo and
Madisen Blackford each drove in runs, while
Madison Rayner and Krolczyk contributed two-run singles to stake SLU to a 10-4 advantage.
DuBois walked the first two batters of the seventh, but settled in. After retiring the lead runner for the first out of the frame, the sophomore from Shreveport, Louisiana posted back-to-back strikeouts to nail down the win.
Game Two – Southeastern 11, Nicholls 2
Southeastern loaded the bases in the top of the first against Nicholls starter Brittney Turner with one out. However, Turner recovered to retire Blackford and Krolczyk to keep the game scoreless.
Nicholls mounted its own threat in the bottom of the first versus Ladner. With runners on first and second with two outs, Kennedy Hebert hit a sharp single to right field that Johnson scooped and gunned down Alexa Poche' trying to score to keep the game scoreless.
Mass led off the SLU third with a double to the left centerfield gap. Two outs later, Watson powered her fourth home run of her freshman campaign over the centerfield fence to put Southeastern up, 2-0.
SLU broke open the game in its half of the fifth. Rayner, Watson, Krolczyk, Johnson and Greely all drove in runs in a five-run frame that put the Lady Lions up, 7-0.
Southeastern put the game further out of reach in the top of the seventh. Johnson plated the inning's first run with an RBI double. Johnson tied her own single-game school record with her third double of the contest. Johnson previously matched the mark last month versus South Dakota. Johnson, Blackford and former Lady Lion Lori Debenedetto (1995) are the only Southeastern players with three doubles in a contest.
Greely followed with a towering home run over the centerfield fence to extend the lead to 10-0. A Nicholls error allowed SLU to head into the bottom of the seventh with a commanding 11-0 lead.
A two-run home run by Shelby Devine helped the Colonels avoid the shutout, but
Mary-Cathryn (MC) Comeaux struck out Syndee Shelton to close out the doubleheader sweep.
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.
