HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University softball team will close out the regular season this week, traveling to Natchitoches for a three-game Southland Conference series at Northwestern State.
 
The series between the Lady Lions (41-12, 16-5 SLC) and the host Lady Demons (24-22, 10-11 SLC) will open with a 4 p.m. doubleheader Friday and concludes Saturday at noon. The series will be televised on ESPN+.
 
Southeastern, which has won all seven of its conference series and set a new single-season school record for victories for the second straight season, will be no lower than the No. 2 seed in next week's Southland Conference Tournament. SLU can be the top seed by winning two more games in Natchitoches than league-leading McNeese does in its final three-game Southland series at HCU.
 
NSU will secure a spot in the SLC Tournament with a win or a UIW loss at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi this week. The Lady Demons could be as high as the No. 3 seed in the league tournament.
 
The Cypress Trophy has been awarded to the winner of the series between Southeastern and Northwestern State since 2019. The Lady Demons hoisted the trophy in 2019 and 2021, while Southeastern took it for the first time in 2022.
 
Southeastern took two-of-three from SLC leader McNeese in its most recent action. The Lady Lions will be coming off a nine-day layoff when it opens the series versus the Lady Demons.
 
SLU has a SLC-high .311 team batting average heading into the series. Bailey Krolczyk, the conference leader in hits (58), home runs (nine), RBI (46), slugging percentage (.671) and OPS (1.061), leads Southeastern with a .382 batting average.
 
Krolczyk is one of seven regulars with a .300 or higher batting average, along with Maria Detillier (.336), Cam Goodman (.333), Lexi Johnson (.327), Audrey Greely (.320), Maddie Leal (.308) and Ka'Lyn Watson (.304). Detillier has scored a league-high 42 runs, while Goodman leads the SLC in stolen bases (31) and walks (29).
 
Johnson shares the top spot in the SLC in home runs with Krolczyk and Nicholls' Melise Gossen. Johnson and Madison Rayner share the team lead and are tied for second in the league with four triples. Krolczyk is second in the conference with a team-high 15 doubles and is two extra-base hits away from the program's single-season record.
 
The trio of KK Ladner (14-1, 1.81 ERA), Cera Blanchard (15-6, 2.55 ERA, 2 saves) and Mary-Cathryn (MC) Comeaux (8-4, 2.66 ERA, 3 saves) have led a Southeastern pitching staff that carries a 2.61 earned run average into the final regular season series. The school's career saves leader Ellie DuBois (0-0, 4.20 ERA, 2 saves) is the top arm out of the SLU bullpen.
 
Northwestern State is hitting .266 as a team heading into the series. Makenzie Chaffin leads NSU with a .311 batting average and three home runs, while Keely Dubois has a conference-high 16 doubles to go with a .309 batting average and team-high 30 RBI.
 
Maggie Darr (12-9, 3.03 ERA, 1 save) is the ace for the Lady Demons. The deep NSU pitching staff has a 3.34 team ERA, as Kenzie Seely (6-6, 3.61 ERA, 1 save), Ryleigh Denton (4-4, 3.13 ERA, 2 saves) and Bronte Rhoden (2-3, 3.42 ERA, 3 saves) have all seen significant time in the circle for Northwestern State.
 
The Southland Conference Tournament is scheduled for May 9-12 and will air on ESPN+ from Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond on the McNeese campus in Lake Charles. Tickets are available by visiting McNeeseSports.com or by calling the McNeese ticket office at (337) 562-4678.
 
Current Southland Conference Standings
McNeese – 18-3
Southeastern – 16-5
Nicholls – 13-11
Northwestern State – 10-11
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi – 9-12
HCU – 9-12
Lamar – 9-12
UIW – 7-14
Texas A&M-Commerce – 5-16
 
Final Weekend Schedule
Southeastern at Northwestern State | Friday, 4 p.m. (DH); Saturday, Noon
McNeese at HCU | Friday, 4 p.m. (DH); Saturday, Noon
UIW at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi | Friday, Noon (DH); Saturday, Noon
Texas A&M-Commerce at Lamar | Friday, 3 p.m. (DH); Saturday, Noon
 
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.