HAMMOND, La. – The reigning Southland Conference Tournament champion Southeastern Louisiana University softball team will open up the 2025 season this week, traveling to Baton Rouge to compete in the Tiger Classic.
 
SLU opens tournament play Friday, facing Charlotte at 11 a.m. and Central Arkansas at 1:30 p.m. Charlotte awaits again Saturday for an 11 a.m. meeting. Sunday's final day of the tournament will see the Lady Lions face UCA at 12:30 p.m. and No. 10 LSU at 3 p.m.
 
Live stats, provided by host LSU, for all tournament games will be accessible via the softball schedule page at www.LionSports.net. Sunday's matchup with LSU is scheduled to air on SEC Network+.
 
Southeastern is coming off its first-ever NCAA Tournament berth last spring, as the Lady Lions tied a single-season school record for victories, finishing 47-15 overall on the way to the championship game of the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional.
 
Under 2024 Louisiana Coach of the Year Rick Fremin, SLU posted its third straight 40-win season. Southeastern, which was picked to finish first in the preseason Southland Conference poll, is one of 13 Division I teams in the nation to have won 40 games in each of the past three campaigns.
 
Southeastern returns four positional starters from last season's squad. Preseason All-Southland Conference selections Maria Detillier (.354, 11 2B, 4 HR, 49 RBI, 42 runs in 2024), Chloe Magee (.343, 46 runs, 29 SB) and Maddie Watson (.304, 10 2B, 30 RBI, 22 BB) all return for the Lady Lions, as does Colleen Kulivan (.294, 26 runs, 17 SB).
 
The reigning SLC Newcomer of the Year, Shenita Tucker, also represented SLU on the preseason All-SLC squads after batting .335 with 27 stolen bases and 42 runs scored last spring at Lamar. Tucker leads a group of talented newcomers that is expected to pay immediate dividends for Southeastern.
 
No area will see a larger influx of new talent for the Lady Lions than their pitching staff. A pair of Division I transfers in Britney Lewinski (Syracuse) and Hallie Burns (Ole Miss) lead a staff that also features newcomers Macie LaRue, Lainee Bailey, Celia Lamkin and Olivia Henry.
 
Like Southeastern, Charlotte is coming of a conference championship and NCAA Regional appearance in 2024. The Niners are under new leadership in first-year head coach Courtney Breault and return just six letterwinners on a roster that features 15 newcomers.
 
Southeastern's former Southland rival UCA posted a 26-27-1 finish last spring, as the Bears advanced to the semifinals of the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament. Preseason All-ASUN performers Madi Young and Kylie Griffin are the top returners for the Bears. SLU last met Central Arkansas at the 2022 Memphis Tournament with UCA earning a 6-1 victory.
 
The host and nationally-ranked Tigers were 44-17 a season ago on the way to an appearance in the NCAA Super Regional at Stanford. Two-time All-American Sydney Berzon returns in the circle, while preseason All-American Danieca Coffey is a career .358 hitter that paces the LSU lineup. Last spring, SLU dropped a 7-5 extra-inning thriller to the Tigers in Baton Rouge.
 
Following this weekend, SLU will open its home schedule next Wednesday, hosting Louisiana Tech at 5 p.m. at North Oak Park. The contest will be televised on ESPN+ and an online audio stream will be available at LionUpRadio.org. Prior to the game, Southeastern will unveil its 2024 Southland Conference Tournament championship and NCAA Regional appearance signage, while fans will also be able to receive postgame autographs from their favorite Lady Lions.
 
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.