YOUNGSVILLE, La. – The reigning Southland Conference Tournament champion Southeastern Louisiana University softball team picked up a pair of victories on Friday's opening day of the Mardi Gras Mambo at the Youngsville Sports Complex.
Southeastern (13-6) opened the day with a 6-1 victory over Maine (1-8).
Maria Detillier and
Cydnee Schneider led the Lady with two hits apiece, as Detillier also scored two runs and drove in a pair.
Macie LaRue (4-0) struck out eight Black Bears in five innings of work to remain undefeated in the circle for the Lady Lions. She and
Lainee Bailey combined to hold UM to two hits.
In the nightcap, SLU pounded out 12 hits in a 9-3 victory over Big 12 Conference member Iowa State (6-9) - the Lady Lions' first win of 2025 over a P4 program.
Colleen Kulivan finished 3-for-3 with a triple and two doubles, as she, Detillier and
Kailey Dixon drove in two runs apiece. Kulivan and Dixon each scored two runs as well.
Hallie Burns (4-2) tossed four innings of shutout relief, holding ISU to four hits to earn the victory in the circle.
Southeastern will return to action Saturday, facing West Georgia at 3 p.m. and Army at 5 p.m. Live stats will be available at
www.lionsports.net/sidearmstats/softball.
Game One – Southeastern 6, Maine 1
After Maine scored an unearned run in the top of the first, SLU answered right back in the bottom of the frame.
Chloe Magee beat out a bunt single, stole second, moved to third on a throwing error and scored on a sacrifice fly by
Brilee Ford. Later in the inning, an RBI single by Schneider gave the Lady Lions a 2-1 cushion.
Southeastern furthered its advantage in the bottom of the second inning. Detillier drove in the first two runs of the inning, then she and Ford executed a double steal later in the frame that resulted in a Black Bear error and two more runs to put the Lady Lions up, 6-1.
Southeastern's early offensive explosion was more than enough to top the Black Bears. LaRue and Bailey combined to hold Maine to two base runners over the final five innings to close out the 6-1 victory.
Game Two – Southeastern 9, Iowa State 3
The Cyclones took the lead in the top of the second inning versus SLU starter
Britney Lewinski. Tatum Johnson doubled and scored later in the frame by beating a throw home on a grounder off the bat of Ashley Minor. A SLU error later in the frame allowed Iowa State to take a 2-0 lead.
SLU answered right back in the bottom of the second versus ISU starter Abby Huhn (1-1). Ford beat out an infield single to lead off the inning, then moved to second when Schneider drew a walk. One out later, Kulivan laced a double into the left field corner to clear the bases and knot the score at 2-2.
After ISU retook the lead with a run in the third, Southeastern took the lead for good in the bottom of the third. A one-out single by Magee put the tying run aboard, then Detillier tripled into the right centerfield gap to tie the game. Detillier raced home on a Ford ground out to give Southeastern a 4-3 advantage.
Kulivan led off the fourth inning with a triple down the right field line and then beat the throw home on Dixon's grounder to second. One out later,
Shenita Tucker singled home Dixon to put SLU up, 6-3.
The Lady Lions added to their tally in the fifth, as consecutive doubles by Kulivan and Dixon led to the inning's first run. Dixon would take advantage of a pair of ISU errors to come home later in the frame to put SLU up, 8-3.
Southeastern closed out its scoring in the sixth. Magee led off the frame with a single, stole second and scored on a Detillier RBI single to provide the final 9-3 margin.
Iowa State put runners on in every inning versus Burns but could never break through. The Booneville, Mississippi native deftly pitched out of jams, stranding six Cyclones in four scoreless innings.
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.
