HAMMOND, La. – The top two teams in the Southland Conference softball standings meet in the final league series of the 2024 regular season, as Southeastern Louisiana University travels to SLC leader McNeese for a three-game set at Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond.
 
The series between Southeastern (42-10, 17-4 SLC) and McNeese (35-18, 19-2 SLC) opens with a 6 p.m. contest Friday and concludes with a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday. Live stats for the series, provided by the host Cowgirls, will be accessible via the softball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.
 
SLU can overtake McNeese for the regular season championship and the top seed in the 2024 North Oaks Health System Southland Conference Championships, set for May 7-10 at North Oak Park on the Southeastern campus with a series sweep in Lake Charles. The Lady Lions will be no lower than No. 2 seed in the league tournament.
 
SLU enters the series on a five-game winning streak, which included three run-rule victories over Lamar in the home finale. Southeastern junior Maddie Watson was named SLC Hitter of the Week after batting .727 in the 5-0 week.
 
The Lady Lions are currently leading the nation with 160 stolen bases, while ranking in the top 10 nationally in batting average (.350, 4^th), ERA (1.76, 8^th), on-base percentage (.418, 9^th), shutouts (15, 7^th), triples per game (0.40, 4^th), won-loss percentage (.808, 10^th) and wins (42, 4^th).
 
Ka'Lyn Watson leads Southeastern with a .411 batting average, 65 hits and 50 runs scored – one off the single-season school record. Ka'Lyn Watson is followed by Chloe Magee (.376), Maria Detillier (.368), Bailey Krolczyk (.368) and Audrey Greely (.336) among SLU's top hitters for average, as all nine SLU positional starters enter the final regular season series with a .300 or higher batting average.
 
Ka'Lyn Watson also leads the SLC with 29 stolen bases. She is one of seven Lady Lions with double-digit steals this spring, along with Magee (26), Cam Goodman (23), Greely (17), Colleen Kulivan (16), Brilee Broussard (13) and Krolczyk (12).
 
Lexi Johnson tops Southeastern with six home runs, while Krolczyk paces the Southland Conference with 16 doubles and six triples. Detillier's 43 RBI are good for second in the SLC and team-high honors.
 
The 15 shutouts recorded by the Southeastern pitching staff is a new single-season school record. Cera Blanchard (17-2, 1.30 ERA, 4 saves), Ellie DuBois (13-4, 1.41 ERA), Mary-Cathryn (MC) Comeaux (5-3, 2.45 ERA, 3 saves), Allison Brunson (3-0, 1.66 ERA, 1 save) and Chloe Bennett (4-1, 3.12 ERA, 1 save) have split time in the circle for SLU.
 
Southeastern will be facing a McNeese lineup that is hitting .276 as a team. Alexis Dibbley leads the Cowgirls with a .336 batting average, while Corine Poncho has slugged a league-best 15 home runs. Shaelyn Sanders (18-9, 1.76 ERA, 2 saves) is the ace of a Cowgirl pitching staff that carries a 2.37 team ERA into the final series of the season.
 
The field for the Southland Conference Tournament is set, as SLU and McNeese will be joined in Hammond by UIW, Nicholls, Lamar, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and HCU. Tickets can be purchased at www.Southland.org/tickets and the entire tournament will be televised on ESPN+.
 
Southland Conference Standings
McNeese – 19-2
Southeastern – 17-4
UIW – 14-7
Nicholls – 13-8
Lamar – 12-12
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi – 9-12
HCU – 7-14
Northwestern State – 4-17
Texas A&M-Commerce – 1-20
 
2024 North Oaks Health System Southland Conference Championships
May 7-10, 2024
North Oak Park | Hammond, La.
 
Tuesday, May 7
Game 1 – No. 6 seed vs. No. 7 seed (Elimination game), 1 p.m.
Game 2 – No. 4 seed vs. No. 5 seed, 3:30 p.m.
Game 3 – No. 3 seed vs. Game 1 winner, 6 p.m.
 
Wednesday, May 8
Game 4 – No. 1 seed vs. Game 2 winner, 11 a.m.
Game 5 – No. 2 seed vs. Game 3 winner, 1:30 p.m.
Game 6 – Game 2 loser vs. Game 5 loser (Elimination game), 4 p.m.
Game 7 – Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser (Elimination game), 6:30 p.m.
 
Thursday, May 9
Game 8 – Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 1 p.m.
Game 9 – Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner (Elimination game), 3:30 p.m.
Game 10 – Game 8 loser vs. Game 9 winner (Elimination game), 6 p.m.
 
Friday, May 10
Game 11 – Game 8 winner vs. Game 10 winner, Noon
Game 12 – Game 11 winner vs. Game 11 loser (if necessary), TBD

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.