HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University softball team closed out a sweep in its opening Southland Conference series with a 7-3 victory over UIW Saturday afternoon at North Oak Park.
The win for SLU (23-10, 3-0 SLC) extended Southeastern's win streak to five games. UIW fell to 11-23 overall and 2-4 in league action.
Audrey Greely led Southeastern at the plate in the series finale, finishing 3-for-3 with a pair of RBI. Greely,
Madisen Blackford and
Bailey Krolczyk all scored two runs apiece.
The Lady Lion trio of
KK Ladner,
Heather Zumo (12-3) and
Ellie DuBois teamed to hold the Cardinals to six hits and struck out eight UIW batters. Zumo scattered two hits and struck out five in 3.2 innings of relief to earn the win.
Saturday's victory was a successful ending to the opening week of Southland Conference play and Alumni Weekend. Former Lady Lions Sonya Fortenberry, Grace DeLee,
Anna Rodenberg,
Cameron Beal,
Madison Watson, Rebecca Skains, Jacquelyn Ramon, Alley McDonald, Maddie Edmonston,
Kelci Bodin and Taylor Bishop all returned for the weekend series.
Southeastern head coach
Rick Fremin was pleased with how Southeastern performed on the way to opening Southland Conference play with a series win for the fourth straight spring.
"We knew UIW was going to be tough because of the offensive weapons it has," Fremin commented. "We did a great job keeping the ball in the park and limiting their talented leadoff batter. Our defense really carried the day Friday and I thought our base running was the difference today. We still have some things we'd like to clean up, but we're pleased with the start to Southland Conference play."
Greely's big day at the plate was the latest for a Southeastern squad that is getting production from different spots in the lineup from game to game. Friday saw
Madison Rayner hit a key two-run home run in the opener, while
Maddie Watson tied a single-game school record with seven RBI in the nightcap. Meanwhile, during the 5-0 week, all seven pitchers saw action in the circle with Zumo and
Mary-Cathryn (MC) Comeaux earning a pair of wins.
"I think that's a good thing," Fremin said of the different hitters' ability to step up each game. "We would like to see all the players have big days in the same game and we think that's coming. We're starting to put things together offensively and we want to continue to see the positive results from our pitching staff."
Southeastern sent 10 the plate in the bottom of the second to take the lead for good. Back-to-back singles by Blackford and Krolczyk combined with a
Lindsey Rizzo walk loaded the bases with one out. Greely then singled home a run before two more runs came home on a UIW error. Later in the inning, Rayner was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force in the inning's final run and put SLU up, 4-0.
Triples by Lauren Olivarri and Ryleigh Mata keyed a two-run top of the third for the Cardinals, cutting the Lady Lion advantage to 4-2. Southeastern answered right back in the bottom of the frame, as RBI by Greely and
Aeriyl Mass keyed a three-run frame and extended the SLU margin to 7-2.
UIW scratched across a run in the top of the fifth, but would get no closer.
Cam Goodman gunned a runner trying to score to highlight a scoreless sixth, while DuBois struck out the side in the seventh to lock down the sweep.
Southeastern will close out its home stand with a 4 p.m. doubleheader versus Jackson State Tuesday at North Oak Park. Fans will have the opportunity to enjoy fireworks and Tuesday's games 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.
