COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Southeastern Louisiana University softball team split a pair of nonconference contests on the opening day of the Texas A&M Invitational Thursday at Davis Diamond.
SLU (9-3) opened the day with an 8-0 victory over UTSA (2-9) in five innings. In the nightcap, No. 17 Texas A&M (10-0) rallied past the Lady Lions for a 4-1 victory.
Ka'Lyn Watson continued her torrid start to the 2024 season with a 4-for-4 showing in the win over the Roadrunners.
Maddie Watson was 3-for-3 at the plate for SLU, driving in three runs.
Bailey Krolczyk and
Maria Detillier added two RBI apiece.
Cera Blanchard (3-0) remained unbeaten in the circle, holding UTSA to one hit and fanning eight in four shutout innings of work, while
Allison Brunson tossed a perfect fifth to close out the Lady Lions' sixth shutout of the spring.
Lexi Johnson's RBI single in the top of the fourth inning gave SLU a brief lead over the unbeaten Aggies. However, Texas A&M scored three in the fourth and plated another run in the fifth to spoil Southeastern's upset bid. Krolczyk had two hits for the Lady Lions, while Detillier scored the team's lone run.
SLU will open Friday's action with an 11:30 a.m. contest versus St. Thomas (1-9), then matches up with North Dakota State (6-6) at 2 p.m. Live stats for both games will be accessible on the softball schedule page at
www.LionSports.net.
Game One – Southeastern 8, UTSA 0 (5 Innings)
A meeting between two former Southland Conference rivals was scoreless until Southeastern broke loose for a big inning versus UTSA starter Jamie Gilbert (1-3) in the top of the third inning.
Cam Goodman drew a leadoff walk, stole second, advanced to third on a bunt single by
Ka'Lyn Watson and scored on an RBI infield single by
Chloe Magee.
Detillier then cleared the bases with her team-high fourth double of the season, then scored on an RBI single by Krolczyk. Krolczyk scored one batter later on an RBI single by
Maddie Watson to give SLU a commanding 5-0 advantage.
Southeastern added to its lead in the top of the fourth inning. Krolczyk drove in the frame's first run, then
Maddie Watson singled home two more to give the Lady Lions an 8-0 lead.
Blanchard allowed just one infield single and fanned a season-high eight, as she was never threatened by UTSA. Brunson retired the Roadrunners in order in the fifth to close out the shutout win.
Game Two – No. 17 Texas A&M 4, Southeastern 1
Texas A&M mounted a threat in the bottom of the third against SLU starter
Ellie DuBois, chasing her by putting two in scoring position with two outs. Mary-Cathyrn (MC) Comeaux (1-1) retired Trinity Cannon to end the threat and kept the game scoreless.
SLU took the lead in the top of the fourth inning. Detillier walked, moved to second on a Krolczyk single, then scored on an RBI single by Johnson. Johnson's hit spelled the end of the night for Aggie starter Brooke Vestal, but reliever Shaylee Ackerman (3-0) retired
Maddie Watson and
Audrey Greely to quell Southeastern's hopes of a big inning.
Texas A&M answered in the bottom of the fourth inning. Keely Williams singled home the inning's first run. A Lady Lion error led to two more runs and a 3-1 Aggie lead. Texas A&M added to its advantage in the bottom of the fifth inning, as Jazmine Hill hit a one-out solo home run.
Ackerman made the lead hold up.
Colleen Kulivan doubled in the top of the seventh, but Ackerman bounced back to retire Goodman to close out the victory.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Softball, follow @LionUpSoftball on X and Instagram, like /SLUathletics on Facebook.
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.
TICKETS
For ticket information, please contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit
www.LionSports.net/tickets. Southeastern offers mobile ticketing as the primary source for securing tickets. All tickets will be available via e-mail in a PDF format for fans to download on their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded to Apple Wallet.
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics has a clear bag policy for all ticketed events. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit
www.LionSports.net/clear.
