HAMMOND, La. – The No. 2 seed Southeastern Louisiana University softball team advanced to the finals of the 2025 Southland Conference Softball Championships Hammond Bracket Presented by GeoSurfaces with a 7-3 victory over Stephen F. Austin Friday afternoon at North Oak Park.
Southeastern (45-13) will face the winner of Saturday's 1 p.m. elimination game between SFA (27-28) and Nicholls (30-23) at 4 p.m. Saturday. The SFA-Nicholls winner will have to beat Southeastern twice to advance to next week's Southland Conference Championship Series.
Nicholls staved off elimination earlier in the day Friday with a 4-0 win over HCU (17-33). All Southland Conference Softball Championship games are televised on ESPN+.
Shelby Morris,
Cydnee Schneider and
Kailey Dixon fueled a 10-hit SLU attack with two hits apiece.
Shenita Tucker drove in a pair of runs for the Lady Lions.
SLC Newcomer of the Year
Macie LaRue (18-2) struck out eight batters in 6.2 innings of work to earn the win.
Hallie Burns came in and held off a late SFA rally to close out the win for the Lady Lions.
Southeastern broke the game open early against SFA ace Alexis Telford (11-8) in the bottom of the second inning. Dixon singled home the game's first run, then teamed with
Maddie Watson for a perfectly executed double steal to plate another run for SLU. Dixon and Tucker would run back the same play later in the inning, then Tucker would score when Morris beat out an infield single to give the Lady Lions a 4-0 cushion.
Southeastern padded its lead further in the bottom of the third.
Maria Detillier led off the frame with a single and scored one out later when
Brilee Ford ripped a triple just inside the right field line. Later in the frame, Tucker would slice a two-run single down the left field line to give SLU a commanding 7-0 lead.
LaRue cruised through the first six innings, before allowing three runs to the Lumberjacks with two outs in the top of the seventh. Burns walked the first two batters she faced in relief to load the bases and bring the tying run to plate. The Booneville, Mississippi native settled down and forced Kelby Robbins to pop out to close the win and put SLU in the driver's seat for its fourth straight Southland Conference Tournament championship game appearance.
2025 Southland Conference Softball Championships Hammond Bracket Presented by GeoSurfaces | May 1-4 | North Oak Park
Thursday, May 1
Game 1 – No. 6 SFA 7, No. 3 Nicholls 4
Game 2 – No. 2 Southeastern 4, No. 7 HCU 3
Friday, May 2
Game 3 – Nicholls 4, HCU 0 (HCU eliminated)
Game 4 – Southeastern 7, SFA 3
Saturday, May 3
Game 5 – Nicholls vs. SFA, 1 p.m. (Elimination game)
Game 6 – Southeastern vs. Game 5 Winner, 4 p.m.
Sunday, May 4
Game 7 – Game 6 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser. 1 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.
