Box Score

LAKE CHARLES, La. – In a battle of the top two teams in the Southland Conference standings, top-seeded McNeese broke a 2-2 tie with a four-run sixth inning on the way to a 6-2 victory over the No. 2 seed Southeastern Louisiana University softball team in the winner's bracket of the Southland Conference Softball Tournament Thursday night at Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond.
 
For only the fifth time in league history, the SLC features a pair of 40-win teams and Thursday's tightly-contested matchup was befitting the contestants' lofty resumes.
 
Southeastern (46-13) will face the winner of Friday's 11 a.m. elimination game between Nicholls and Lamar at 1:30 p.m. Friday's surviving team will have to defeat the Cowgirls (43-14) twice on championship Saturday, which starts at noon. All tournament games will be televised on ESPN+.
 
Ka'Lyn Watson and Maddie Leal each drove in runs for the Lady Lions. Cera Blanchard (17-7) took the loss, allowing four runs on four hits in 3.2 innings of relief.
 
SLU took the lead in the top of the second inning with a two-out rally. Consecutive singles by Madison Rayner, Ka'Lyn Watson and Leal gave the Lady Lions a 1-0 cushion.
 
MC Comeaux pitched out of trouble until the Cowgirls broke through in the bottom of the third inning. An RBI single by Chloe Gomez knotted the score and chased Comeaux from the game. Blanchard came in and walked another run in to give McNeese a 2-1 lead.
 
Southeastern evened the game in the top of the sixth inning. Audrey Greely beat out a bunt single, then scored when Ka'Lyn Watson ripped a triple into the right centerfield gap to knot the game at 2-2.
 
McNeese retook the in the bottom of the sixth inning. Mariana Torres doubled just out of the reach of Leal to lead off the inning, then advanced on a sacrifice fly by Brooke Otto. Kaylee Lopez then hit a comebacker to the circle and Torres beat the tag on a very close play at home to put the Cowgirls back on top, 3-2.
 
Alayis Seneca followed with a two-run double to give McNeese a 5-2 advantage heading into the final ending. An RBI single by Reese Reyna sent the Cowgirls into the final game with a four-run cushion.
 
Ashley Vallejo (17-8) made it stand up, shaking off a one-out single by Bailey Krolczyk by retiring Lexi Johnson and Maddie Watson to close out the win.
 
2023 Southland Conference Softball Championship (All games on ESPN+)
 
Tuesday, May 9
Game 1 | No. 5 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 3, No. 4 Lamar 2
Game 2 | No. 2 Southeastern 7, No. 7 HCU 1
Game 3 | No. 6 Northwestern State 8, No. 3 Nicholls 2 (8 Innings)
 
Wednesday, May 10
Game 4 | No. 1 McNeese 2, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 1
Game 5 | Southeastern 13, Northwestern State 1
 
Thursday, May 11
Game 6 | Nicholls, 2, HCU 1 (HCU eliminated)
Game 7 | Lamar 5, Northwestern State 4 (NSU eliminated)
Game 8 | Nicholls 1, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 0 (AMCC eliminated)
Game 9 | McNeese 6, Southeastern 2
 
Friday, May 12
Game 10 | Nicholls vs. Lamar | 11 a.m. (Elimination game)
Game 11 | Southeastern vs. Game 10 Winner | 1:30 p.m. (Elimination game)
 
Saturday, May 13
Game 12 | McNeese vs. Game 11 Winner | Noon
Game 13 | McNeese vs. Game 11 Winner (Only necessary if Game 11 winner wins Game 12) | 2:30 p.m.
 
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.