HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University softball team earned a Southland Conference doubleheader sweep of Northwestern State Friday evening at North Oak Park.
Taking the twin bill gave Southeastern (35-8, 12-2 SLC) its 14
th consecutive Southland Conference series victory. Starting in 2019, the winner of the SLU and NSU (14-25, 2-12 SLC) series has received the Cypress Trophy. Friday's sweep allowed the Lady Lions to retain the honor for the third straight season.
In the opener, Southeastern held off a late NSU rally and came away with a 5-4 victory.
Ka'Lyn Watson and
Audrey Greely drove in two runs apiece to lead the Lady Lions.
Ellie DuBois (12-3) allowed one run and scattered four hits in six innings of work to earn the win.
Southeastern completed the sweep with a 5-1 win in the nightcap.
Ka'Lyn Watson was 2-for-2 with a pair of RBI, while
Cam Goodman led SLU with two runs apiece.
Cera Blanchard (14-2) struck out five in six scoreless innings to improve to 7-0 in Southland Conference play.
Southeastern will look for its third straight SLC series sweep Saturday, when the series wraps up at noon. Saturday's series finale will be televised on ESPN+.
Following the game, Southeastern will recognize the 2024 senior class of Greely, DuBois, Goodman, Blanchard,
Ka'Lyn Watson,
Sophia Stoddard,
Sadie Hewitt,
Mary-Cathryn (MC) Comeaux,
Lexi Johnson and
Bailey Krolczyk in a special Senior Day ceremony.
Game One – Southeastern 5, Northwestern State 4
Southeastern took the lead for good versus NSU starter Kenzie Seely (7-11) in the bottom of the second inning. A Greely walk and a
Colleen Kulivan single put a pair of runners on with one out. One out later,
Ka'Lyn Watson ripped a triple into the right field corner to clear the bases and stake the Lady Lions to a 2-0 advantage.
DuBois and Seely matched zeroes until Southeastern extended its lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. Singles by
Chloe Magee and
Bailey Krolczyk, followed by a
Maddie Watson walk loaded the bases with one out. One out later, Greely singled home a pair of runs. Later in the frame, Johnson stole home to put SLU up, 5-0.
Northwestern State scored its first run in the top of the sixth inning. After breaking through to cut the lead to 5-1, the Lady Demons loaded the bases with two outs.
Chloe Bennett kept the lead at four, striking out Kat Marshall to end NSU's threat.
An RBI single by Kennedy Reynolds and a two-run triple by Tristin Court in the top of the seventh inning cut the SLU lead to 5-4 with no outs. DuBois forced Laney Roos to hit a grounder to Johnson, who gunned down Reynolds at home for the inning's first out. On the next pitch, Cameron Curtis grounded into a double play to end the Lady Demons' comeback bid.
Game Two – Southeastern 5, Northwestern State 1
Southeastern took advantage of three NSU errors in a four-run second inning against NSU starter Maggie Darr (5-12). Errors led to the first two runs of the inning, then
Ka'Lyn Watson tripled home another run before stealing home to put SLU up, 4-0.
Goodman's speed helped add to SLU's lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Marrero, Louisiana native drew a one-out walk and promptly stole second.
Ka'Lyn Watson then lifted a fly ball deep to right field. Roos made an amazing diving catch in foul territory, but Goodman tagged up and raced all the way home from second to give Southeastern a 5-0 lead.
Blanchard continued her mastery versus conference opposition, leaving the game with six shutout innings in the books. The Metairie, Louisiana is 7-0 with a microscopic 0.35 earned run average versus SLC foes this spring.
NSU was able to get on the board in its half of the seventh, but Comeaux retired three straight Demons to close out the sweep.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Softball, follow @LionUpSoftball on X and Instagram, like /LionUpAthletics 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.
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