NATCHITOCHES, La. – The reigning Southland Conference Tournament champion Southeastern Louisiana University softball team scored in the final inning of both ends of its Southland Conference doubleheader sweep of Northwestern State Friday evening at Demon Diamond.
With the two wins, Southeastern (25-8, 7-1 SLC) remained atop the Southland Conference standings and retained the Cypress Trophy for the fourth straight season. Northwestern State fell to 3-26 overall and 0-8 in league play, as SLU celebrated the 48
th birthday of head coach
Rick Fremin with its third straight series victory to open league play.
In the opener,
Maria Detillier belted a two-run home run in the top of the seventh inning to give SLU a 4-3 come-from-behind victory.
Chloe Magee,
Brilee Ford and
Cydnee Schneider had two hits apiece for the Lady Lions.
Macie LaRue (9-0) earned the win in the circle for the Lady Lions, scattering four hits in six innings of work.
Britney Lewinski tossed a scoreless seventh to earn her third save of the season.
RBI by Ford and Schneider broke a 5-5 tie and gave SLU a 7-5 extra-inning win in the nightcap. Magee and
Maddie Watson each had three hits in the victory, while Schneider homered and drove in three runs.
Five SLU pitchers –
Olivia Henry,
Celia Lamkin,
Lainee Bailey,
Hallie Burns and Lewinski – shared the circle in game two. Lewinski (4-4) threw three innings of shutout relief to earn the win.
The series wraps up with a noon contest Saturday. The series finale will be televised on ESPN+.
Game One – Southeastern 4, Northwestern State 3
Northwestern State took the lead in the bottom of the first inning. Cameron Curtis doubled just out of the reach of a diving
Shenita Tucker, then Brynn Daniel reached on an error. Curtis and Daniel executed a double steal perfectly to put the Demons up, 1-0.
Southeastern finally got to Brooke Stohler (2-16) in the top of the third inning. Tucker drew a leadoff walk, stole second and scored on an RBI double by Magee to tie the score at 1-1.
The Lady Lions took their first lead in the top of the fifth inning.
Shelby Morris beat out an infield single to lead off the inning and scored two outs later on an RBI double by Ford to put SLU up, 2-1.
LaRue retired 12 Lady Demons in a row before the first two batters reached in the bottom of the sixth inning. After retiring the next two NSU batters, Aly Delafield singled home a pair of runs to give Northwestern State a 3-2 advantage.
Southeastern would not go away, quietly, however. Magee beat out a one-out bunt single, then Detillier bombed a two-run home run over the left field fence to put the Lady Lions back on top, 4-3.
Lewinski retired the Demons in order in the bottom of the seventh inning to close out the victory.
Game Two – Southeastern 7, Northwestern State 5 (8 Innings)
SLU stranded five base runners in the first two innings before finally getting to Kaymie Chandler in the top of the third inning. Schneider followed a Detillier walk with a towering shot over the right field fence. The Elkhorn, Nebraska native's third home run of the season gave SLU a 2-0 cushion.
NSU answered in the bottom of the third with a two-out rally. Delafield singled home a run to pull Northwestern State within, 2-1. After Northwestern State loaded the bases against
Celia Lamkin,
Lainee Bailey retired Daniel to maintain Southeastern's one-run advantage.
Southeastern padded its lead in the top of the fourth inning.
Kailey Dixon beat out an infield single, then Chandler hit Morris to put a pair on. Consecutive RBI singles by Magee and Detillier plated a pair of runs. An RBI groundout by Ford scored Magee and stretched the SLU lead to 5-1.
Northwestern State put two runners in scoring position with one out to chase Bailey from the game in the bottom of the fifth. However, Burns came in and retired the next two Demons to keep Southeastern's advantage at 5-1.
Burns walked in a run in the sixth inning and gave way to Lewinski with the bases loaded and no outs. Northwestern State would score a run off a fielder's choice, when the runner at third beat Watson's throw home. DJ Lynch then doubled home a pair of runs to tie the score.
Southeastern retook the lead in the top of the eighth inning. Magee singled and Detillier walked, then Ford singled home Magee to put SLU on top. Another run would score on an RBI groundout by Schneider to give the Lady Lions a 7-5 advantage.
Lewinski retired NSU in order in the bottom of the eighth inning to complete the series sweep.
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.
