HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University softball team opened tournament play at the 2024 North Oaks Health System Southland Conference Softball Championship with a 4-1 victory over Nicholls Wednesday afternoon at North Oak Park.
With the win, No. 2 seed SLU (43-13) will face UIW Thursday at 1 p.m. with a berth in the SLC Tournament championship game on the line. Nicholls (30-25) will face Lamar later Wednesday in an elimination game.
Cera Blanchard (18-2) went the distance in the circle, scattering five hits and holding the Colonels without an earned run.
Chloe Magee,
Maria Detillier,
Lexi Johnson and
Audrey Greely all drove in runs for the Lady Lions.
SLU gave Blanchard all the offense she would need in the bottom of the first inning against Nicholls starter Molly Yoo (7-9). Southland Hitter of the Year
Ka'Lyn Watson singled up the middle to lead off the game and scored when Detillier roped an RBI double down the right field line.
Watson's run was her 51
st of the season, tying the single-season school record set by Jaquelyn Ramon in 2019. Later in the frame, Johnson singled to right center to plate Detillier and stake the Lady Lions to a 2-0 lead.
Southeastern added to its lead in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Cam Goodman singled to lead off the frame. After a sacrifice bunt by
Ka'Lyn Watson and a passed ball, Goodman beat the throw home on a Magee groundout to put SLU up, 3-0.
After Blanchard pitched out of a jam in the first, she retired 14 Nicholls batters in a row before the Colonels finally broke through in the top of the sixth inning. An RBI single by Abby Anderson forced in an unearned run and cut the Lady Lion advantage to 3-1.
SLU added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Greely doubled home
Maddie Watson to put the Lady Lions up, 4-1.
Blanchard made the three-run advantage stand up. The first team All-Southland Conference selection from Metairie, Louisiana shook off a pair of two-out singles and retired Claire Sisco for the final out to secure the victory.
2024 North Oaks Health System Southland Conference Championships
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 vs. Lamar (Elimination game), 4 p.m.
Game 7 – McNeese vs. HCU (Elimination game), 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 9
Game 8 – Southeastern vs. UIW, 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.
