HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University softball team opened up the 2023 season with a 2-1 victory over Missouri State on the opening day of the Lion Classic Friday evening at North Oak Park.
A two-run home run by
Audrey Greely provided the Lady Lions (1-0) with all the offense they needed, as
KK Ladner and
Cera Blanchard (1-0) combined to hold MSU (0-2) to four hits and strike out eight Bears. In the opening game of the day, Nicholls (1-1) defeated Missouri State, 8-3.
Greely was 2-for-3 at the plate to lead Southeastern.
Madison Rayner,
Maddie Watson,
Lexi Johnson and
Maddie Leal also had hits for the Lady Lions.
Southeastern jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second against MSU starter McKenzie Vaughan (0-1). Johnson led off the frame with an infield single, then Greely launched a 2-2 pitch over the left field fence to stake SLU to the early advantage.
Missouri State cut the lead in half on an RBI fielder's choice by McKayla Carney in the top of the third inning. The Bears would get no closer, as Ladner struck out Vaughan and forced Krehbiel to foul out to left field to end the threat.
MSU threatened multiple times in the latter innings, but Blanchard answered the bell each time. The newcomer from Metairie, Louisiana by way of Copiah-Lincoln Community College stranded runners in the fifth and sixth with inning-ending strikeouts. In the seventh, the tying run was on board before Blanchard retired Carney to preserve the victory.
Day two of the Lion Classic will start with a 1 p.m. meeting between Nicholls and Missouri State, before SLU and the Bears meet at 3 p.m. or 30 minutes after the conclusion of the opener. Live stats for both games will be available at
www.LionSports.net/sidearmstats/softball and the nightcap 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.
