BATON ROUGE, La. – Southeastern Louisiana University head softball coach
Rick Fremin earned his 300
th win at SLU, as the reigning Southland Conference Tournament champion Lady Lions split a pair of games Sunday on the final day of the Tiger Classic at Tiger Park.
Fremin reached the 300-win milestone as the head of the Southeastern program after opening the day with a win over Central Arkansas. The 2024 Louisiana Coach of the Year has led the Lady Lions to three straight 40-win seasons and has a 300-184 mark during his nine-plus seasons in Hammond. The 20-year coaching veteran has a 624-412 record in a coaching career that includes stops at Jackson State (2011-15) and Belhaven (2006-10)
In the opening game of the day, Southeastern avenged Friday's 5-2 loss with a 5-0 victory over UCA (1-4).
Macie LaRue (2-0) tossed a complete-game, two-hit shutout, striking out seven Bears for her second straight win in the circle.
Ariel Gomez and
Colleen Kulivan led a nine-hit Southeastern attack with two hits apiece.
Kailey Dixon led SLU with two RBI, while
Chloe Magee scored two runs in the win over the Bears.
Southeastern was the first of LSU's first five Tiger Classic opponents to score a run off the No. 10 Tigers, taking a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning. However, LSU (5-0) answered with two runs in its half of the sixth to tie the score and then claimed a 3-2 walk-off victory in the bottom of the seventh.
Brilee Ford came off the bench with her first two hits as a Lion and an RBI to lead SLU at the plate versus the Tigers.
Shelby Morris also drove in a run for SLU.
Britney Lewinski held LSU to one hit in five-plus innings of work in a valiant effort in the circle for the Lady Lions.
SLU will open its home schedule 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.
Game One – Southeastern 5, Central Arkansas 0
Southeastern took the early lead in the top of the second inning against UCA starter Bailie Runner (0-3). Singles by Gomez and Kulivan put a pair in scoring position, then Dixon cleared the bases with a two-run single to put the Lady Lions up, 2-0.
SLU added to its lead in the fifth. Singles by Morris and Magee sandwiched around a
Shenita Tucker walk loaded the bases with no outs.
Maria Detillier drew a bases loaded walk to force in a run and one out later, Gomez plated a run on an RBI groundout to put SLU up, 4-0.
LaRue was never threatened through the first five innings, but walked a pair to put multiple runners on in the sixth. She forced Lilly Hood to ground out to third to keep UCA off the board.
Two UCA errors led to SLU adding an insurance run in the top of the seventh. LaRue sat down the Bears in the seventh to secure her first shutout at a Lady Lion.
Game Two – No. 10 LSU 3, Southeastern 2
After retiring the first four batters of the game, SLU starter
Britney Lewinski faced her first threat in the bottom of the second inning. After walking McKenzie Redoutey, she hit Maddox McKee to put a pair on with one out. Lewinski retired McKaela Walker and Jadyn Laneaux to keep the Tigers off the board.
Southeastern finally mounted a threat versus LSU ace Sydney Berzon in the top of the fifth inning. Ford beat on an infield single, then
Cydnee Schneider hit a sharp grounder to shortstop. Avery Hodge's throw to second was wide of the bag, giving SLU runners at the corners with no outs.
Kulivan then hit a grounder right back to Hodge, who threw out Ford at home. Dixon then grounded out to second, but Kulivan ran into the fielder and was called out on interference for the inning's second out. Morris then beat out an infield single and speedy pinch runner
Brilee Broussard scored all the way from second to give SLU a 1-0 lead.
Southeastern added to its advantage in the top of the sixth inning. Magee led off the inning with a double into the right centerfield gap. Two outs later, Ford laced an RBI single up the middle to score Magee and give the Lady Lions a 2-0 lead.
Lewinski walked the first two Tigers in the bottom of the sixth inning and gave way to SLU reliever
Hallie Burns (0-2). Maci Bergeron singled to load the bases with no outs. One out later, a sacrifice fly by Redoutey cut the lead to 2-1. After Burns hit McKee to reload the bases, she walked McKaela Walker to force in the tying run. Burns forced Laneaux to pop out to keep the score tied at 2-2.
Dixon beat out an infield single and Morris drew a walk to put a pair of runners on for the Lady Lions with no outs in the top of the seventh inning. However, Berzon retired Tucker and Magee for the first two outs of the inning. Detillier then launched a deep shot to left field, but Laneaux made an outstanding over-the-shoulder grab to keep SLU off the board and the game tied at 2-2.
Hodge drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second when Danieca Coffey followed with a bunt single. Jalia Lassiter then bunted both runners into scoring position. After walking Bergeron to load the bases, Tori Edwards hit a fly ball deep to centerfield that easily scored Hodge for the game-winner.
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.
