HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University softball team will look to continue its school-record unbeaten start to the 2023 season when it travels to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to compete in the Easton Bama Bash.
 
SLU (9-0) opens the tournament with an 11 a.m. contest versus Indiana State (3-2) Friday and closes the opening day with a 6:30 p.m. game versus host Alabama (6-2). Day two sees the Lady Lions take on the host Crimson Tide at 1:30 p.m. and Kennesaw State (3-6) at 4 p.m. SLU's tournament slate wraps up with a 10:30 a.m. contest versus Indiana State Sunday.
 
Live stats for the tournament will be accessible on the softball schedule page at www.LionSports.net. SLU's games versus Alabama will be televised on SEC Network+.
 
The Lady Lions are off to an undefeated start thanks in large part to a .380 team batting average. Two-time Southland Conference Hitter of the Week Lexi Johnson leads SLU with a .615 batting average with Ka'Lyn Watson (.500), Maddie Leal (.474), Cam Goodman (.458) and Madison Rayner (.400) rounding out the team's top five hitters for average.
 
Johnson and Rayner have been SLU's top power threats, sharing the team lead with two home runs and two triples apiece, while Leal has a team-high three doubles. Johnson also paces the squad with nine runs scored and 13 RBI. Bailey Krolczyk and Goodman each have stolen four bases.
 
Eight Southeastern pitchers have combined for a 1.23 team earned run average and have held opponents to a .170 team batting average. KK Ladner (1-0, 1.50 ERA) and Cera Blanchard (4-0, 1.37 ERA, 1 save) have been the primary arms for the Lady Lions, while Mary-Cathryn (MC) Comeaux (2-0, 1.05 ERA), Chyanne Ellett (1-0, 1.50 ERA), Leah Marshall (1-0, 0.00 ERA), Ellie DuBois (0-0, 2.33 ERA), Alyssa Romano (0-0, 0.00 ERA) and Lainee Bailey (0-0, 0.00 ERA) have also seen action for the Lady Lions.
 
Southeastern is opening the tournament facing an ISU team that has a .217 team batting average behind Isabella Henning (.467) and Kennedy Shade (.417). The trio of Lexi Benko (1-0, 0.95 ERA), Lauren Sackett (2-0, 0.78 ERA) and Cassi Newbanks (0-2, 2.52 ERA) have teamed for a 1.31 team ERA.
 
Ally Shipman (.417) and Ashley Prange (.407, 4 HR, 11 RBI) are the top hitters for an Alabama team that is batting .319 as a team. Montana Fouts (4-1, 2.90 ERA) and Lauren Esman (1-0, 2.03 ERA) have handled the majority of the work in the circle for the Crimson Tide.
 
Brinaya Bailey's .360 batting average tops the Kennesaw State lineup, while Melanie Bennett (2-1, 4.29 ERA) and Lindsey Kyte (1-3, 6.00 ERA) have logged the most innings in the circle.
 
Following this week's action, Southeastern will continue its 21-game road swing with a 4 p.m. contest at FAMU March 1.
 
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.