HAMMOND, La. – For the first time in program history, the Southeastern Louisiana University softball team are Southland Conference champions.
With one out in the bottom of the seventh inning, SLU senior first baseman
Lexi Johnson hit a walk-off three-run home run to give the Lady Lions (45-13) a thrilling 8-7 victory over UIW in the championship game of the 2024 North Oaks Health System Southland Conference Softball Championship Friday afternoon at North Oak Park.
The SLC Tournament title earns Southeastern its first-ever NCAA Tournament berth. The 64-team field will be announced Sunday at 6 p.m. (CDT) on ESPN2.
"We're thankful for this moment and the opportunity to raise this trophy for the first time," Ninth-year SLU head coach
Rick Fremin commented. "Many of the players on this team came here to be the first ones to help this program bring a championship to Hammond, America. We're also thankful to the consistent support from our administration, Director of Athletics Jay Artigues and President Dr. William Wainwright."
Southeastern built a 5-0 lead through four innings only to see UIW (34-17) refuse to give up in the final frames. The Cardinals scored their first run in the fifth and tied it up with four runs in the sixth inning.
In the top of the seventh, UIW first baseman and SLC Player of the Year Victoria Altamirano hit a bases loaded double to give the Cardinals a 7-5 advantage. SLU senior
Mary-Cathryn (MC) Comeaux (6-3) forced
Jillian Gutierrez to hit into a double play to keep the deficit at two runs heading into SLU's final trip.
"We had lost our focus, so before our final at-bat I wanted us to lean in to the situation," Fremin said. "I told the team to be relentless, to give everything they had and control what they can control – their attitude and effort. I wouldn't want to go to war in that situation with anybody else than this group and once we got someone on, I knew we had a chance."
With one out in the seventh,
Maria Detillier reached on a UIW error to give SLU the aforementioned base runner.
Bailey Krolczyk followed with a sharp single up the middle to bring the winning run to the plate in the form of Johnson, the team's leader in home runs.
Like many players on a Southeastern roster that includes 18 Louisiana natives, Johnson has deep ties to the Southeastern program. The two-time All-SLC first baseman from Reserve was coached at Riverside Academy by a pair of former Lady Lion first basemen in Tamra Ladnier Regalo and Tori Sheppard Lachney and first committed to SLU as a seventh-grader.
Johnson fouled off the first two pitches she saw from UIW freshman Larissa Jacquez (11-6). After taking a pitch for a ball and fouling off the next pitch, Johnson lined the second 1-2 offering over the left centerfield fence to give Southeastern its most dramatic and meaningful victory in the program's 40-year history.
"I was nervous when I first came up, but I just kept telling myself to just do my part to keep the rally going," Johnson said.
Johnson is part of a 10-member SLU senior class that has been the nucleus of the winningest stretch in program history. 2024 marks the program's third straight season of 40-plus wins, as the Lady Lions head into the NCAA Tournament with a 132-43 record over the past three years.
"We've worked so hard, so we feel like we deserve this and it's been a long time coming," Johnson commented. "Our senior group knew this was our year, but tried not to put too much pressure on ourselves and trust in the work we've put in."
Johnson's home run capped a 10-hit attack for SLU in Friday's championship win.
Maddie Watson hit her first home run of the season for the Lady Lions, as she,
Ka'Lyn Watson, Krolczyk and
Colleen Kulivan each collected two hits.
Audrey Greely led Southeastern with two runs scored.
Johnson, who was named SLC Tournament Most Valuable Player, was joined on the All-Tournament team by Krolczyk,
Cera Blanchard,
Maddie Watson and
Ka'Lyn Watson. The All-Tournament team also included the UIW quartet of Altamirano, Maddison Guillen, Avalon Sanchez and Samantha Portillio, the McNeese pair of Shaelyn Sanders and Alexis Dibbley and Nicholls' Claire Sisco.
UIW – 000 014 2 – 7 8 3 (34-17)
SLU – 040 100 3 – 8 10 4 (45-13)
Samantha Portillo, Maddy Blake (2), Larissa Jacquez (3) and Jaisy Caceres.
Cera Blanchard, MC Comeaux (7) and
Bailey Krolczyk. W – Comeaux (6-3). L – Jacquez (11-7). HR – SLU:
Lexi Johnson (7),
Maddie Watson (1). 2B – UIW: Victoria Altamirano (19), Avalon Sanchez (8), Maddison Guillen (9); SLU:
Ka'Lyn Watson (8),
Bailey Krolczyk (19),
Colleen Kulivan (5). T – 2:16. A – 457.
2024 North Oaks Health System Southland Conference Softball Championship All-Tournament Team
Lexi Johnson, Southeastern (MVP)
Cera Blanchard, Southeastern
Bailey Krolczyk, Southeastern
Ka'Lyn Watson, Southeastern
Maddie Watson, Southeastern
Samantha Portillo, UIW
Victoria Altamirano, UIW
Avalon Sanchez, UIW
Maddison Guillen, UIW
Shaelyn Sanders, McNeese
Alexis Dibbley, McNeese
Claire Sisco, Nicholls
2024 North Oaks Health System Southland Conference Softball Championship
May 7-10, 2024
North Oak Park | Hammond, La.
All games on ESPN+
Tuesday, May 7
Game 1 – No. 7 HCU 7, No. 6 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 2 (AMCC eliminated)
Game 2 – No. 4 UIW 5, No. 5 Lamar (8 innings)
Game 3 – No. 3 Nicholls 5, HCU 4
Wednesday, May 8
Game 4 – UIW 3, No. 1 McNeese 2
Game 5 – No. 2 Southeastern 4, Nicholls 1
Game 6 – Nicholls 5, Lamar 8 (8 Innings) (Lamar eliminated)
Game 7 – McNeese 8, HCU 6 (HCU eliminated)
Thursday, May 9
Game 8 – Southeastern 6, UIW 1
Game 9 – McNeese 4, Nicholls 3 (8 Innings) (Nicholls eliminated)
Game 10 – UIW 8, McNeese 7 (McNeese eliminated)
Friday, May 10
Game 11 – Southeastern 8, UIW 7 (UIW eliminated)
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 . 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.
