HOUSTON – The Southeastern Louisiana University softball team continued its historic winning streak with a Southland Conference doubleheader sweep of HCU Friday evening at Husky Field.
SLU (37-8, 12-2 SLC) tied a school record with its 12
th straight win – tying the school record set by the 1999 team. Southeastern opened the day with a 6-3 victory, then closed out the day with an 8-0 mercy rule win in the nightcap, dropping an HCU squad that came in with a four-game win streak to 18-22 overall and 7-7 in SLC play.
Bailey Krolczyk had two hits in both games to extend her school-record hitting streak to 19 games.
Cam Goodman led Southeastern at the plate, finishing the day 7-for-9, while also swiping three bags to run her career stolen base total to 101.
The Lady Lions opened the day with a hard-fought victory. Goodman was 4-for-5 with two RBI to fuel a 12-hit attack, while Krolczyk and
Madison Rayner contributed two hits apiece.
KK Ladner (11-1) won her 10
th straight decision, scattering four hits and striking out five in six innings of work.
Mary-Cathryn (MC) Comeaux tossed a scoreless seventh to earn her third save of 2023.
SLU opened the game with a four-run first and never looked back in the nightcap. Goodman led Southeastern with three hits, while
Maria Detillier,
Maddie Watson and Krolczyk had two hits apiece. Watson led SLU with three RBI, while Krolczyk drove in a pair.
Cera Blanchard (14-4) went the distance, facing one over the minimum and striking out six Huskies in a complete-game shutout effort.
Saturday's series finale is set for noon and live stats will be available at
www.hcuhuskies.com/sidearmstats/softball.
Game One – Southeastern 6, HCU 3
HCU took advantage of a pair of errors to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Krolczyk doubled to lead off the top of the second inning, moved to third on a
Maddie Watson ground out and scored on a wild pitch. After
Audrey Greely and
Maddie Leal worked back-to-back walks, Goodman singled home Greely to give SLU a 2-1 lead.
Ladner and HCU starter Katy Janes (6-9) matched zeroes until the bottom of the fourth inning. An RBI double by Kaicey Hagler over the head of Leal in right field knotted the score at 2-2.
In the top of the fifth, SLU retook the lead.
Lexi Johnson led off the frame with a double and was replaced on the base paths by
Colleen Kulivan. Kulivan moved to third on a Krolczyk ground out, before beating the throw home on a squeeze bunt by
Maddie Watson to put Southeastern back up, 3-2.
The Lady Lions added to their lead in the top of the sixth inning. Goodman led off the frame with a bunt single, then Detillier laid down a sacrifice bunt in front of home plate and the throw down to first was high, allowing Goodman to race home all the way from first. Later in the frame, Detillier scored on a Krolczyk RBI groundout to give SLU a 5-2 cushion.
The host Huskies pulled closer in the bottom of the sixth inning. Autum Sydlik hit a home run over the centerfield fence to cut the Southeastern advantage to 5-3.
Southeastern got the run back in the top of the seventh inning.
Ka'Lyn Watson reached on an error and scored on an RBI single by Goodman to put the Lady Lions ahead, 6-3.
The leadoff runner reached on an error in the bottom of the seventh, but Comeaux closed the door, retiring the next three Huskies to secure the victory.
Game Two – Southeastern 8, HCU 0 (5 Innings)
Southeastern jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Johnson, Krolczyk and
Maddie Watson all drove in runs to give SLU the early advantage.
The Lady Lions added to their lead in the fourth inning. An RBI single by Krolczyk and a two-run base knock by
Maddie Watson staked Southeastern to a 7-0 cushion.
SLU closed out the scoring in the top of the fifth inning. Goodman reached on a single, stole second and scored on an RBI single by Detillier.
Blanchard was dominant with a double by AB Garcia in the third inning her only blemish on the way to the victory.
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.
