BATON ROUGE, La. – The two-time defending Southland Conference Tournament champion Southeastern Louisiana University softball team took down No. 10 LSU, 4-3, on the opening day of the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional Friday evening at Tiger Park.
With the win, Southeastern (49-14) advances to face Nebraska (40-13), which defeated UConn, 10-2, in Friday's opening game, Saturday at noon in the 1-0 game. The host Tigers (41-15) will face UConn (35-18) in a 2:30 p.m. elimination game Saturday.
The win for Southeastern was just the second-ever for the Lady Lions in 26 meetings versus the Tigers. It was the first victory for SLU since a 1-0 win over LSU on April 30, 2007.
"We've had a lot of close calls here and we had to play like warriors to get a victory," Southeastern head coach Rick Fremin said. "This group never quits fighting and I'm proud of our effort tonight to earn a win in this stacked Baton Rouge Regional."
Cydnee Schneider singled home the tie-breaking run in the top of the seventh inning. Lainee Bailey (6-1) tossed 4.2 innings of no-hit relief to earn the win in the circle.
LSU struck first in the bottom of the second inning. With the bases loaded and two outs, Jalia Lassiter laced a two-run ground rule double into the left centerfield gap to score a pair of Tigers and give LSU a 2-0 lead.
SLU mounted its first threat in the top of the third inning, as Shenita Tucker walked and Shelby Morris beat out a bunt single to put a pair of runners on with one out. However, LSU starter Jayden Heavener retired the next two Lady Lions to keep Southeastern off the board.
The Tigers padded their lead in their half of the third. An RBI single by Jadyn Laneaux extended LSU's advantage to 3-0.
Southeastern tied it up in the top of the fourth inning. Maddie Watson doubled in the first run of the frame. Kailey Dixon drove in a run on an RBI fielder's choice and Colleen Kulivan later scored on a wild pitch by Heavener to tie the score at 3-3.
SLU took the lead in the top of the seventh inning. After Heavener hit Maria Detillier, Schneider laced a single to right centerfield. Detillier was running with the pitch and raced all the way home to put the Lady Lions on top, 4-3.
Bailey made it stand up in the bottom of the seventh inning, despite allowing two walks to put a pair of runners on with one out. McKenzie Redoutey hit a line drive that Kulivan was able to race down in left centerfield. Sierra Daniel roped a line drive that Detillier snagged to clinch the win.
2025 NCAA Baton Rouge Regional | May 16-18 | Tiger Park
Friday, May 16
Game 1 – No. 19 Nebraska 10, UConn 2 (6 Innings)
Game 2 – Southeastern 4, No. 10 LSU 3
Saturday, May 17
Game 3 – Nebraska vs. Southeastern| Noon | ESPN+
Game 4 – UConn vs. No. 10 LSU | 2:30 p.m. | ESPN+ (Elimination Game)
Game 5 – Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Winner | 5 p.m. | ESPN+ (Elimination Game)
Sunday, May 18
Game 6 – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner | 2 p.m. | ESPN+
Game 7 – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner | 4:30 p.m.*
* - Game 7 is only necessary if Game 5 Winner also wins Game 6
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.
