LAKE CHARLES, La. – Behind a complete-game shutout from
Lainee Bailey, the Southeastern Louisiana University softball team forced a deciding game three in the Southland Conference Softball Championship Series with a 2-0 win over McNeese Friday evening at Cowgirl Diamond.
Bailey (5-1) held the Cowgirls (41-19) to four hits in the first complete-game shutout of her Lady Lion career and the first shutout of McNeese at home by a conference opponent since 2017. With the win, SLU (47-14) tied the single-season school record for victories for the third straight season and extended its single-season school mark with its 17
th shutout of the season.
More importantly, Southeastern forced a deciding game three in the first-ever SLC Championship Series. First pitch for Saturday's championship contest is set for 6 p.m.
Chloe Magee drove in the game-winning run for Southeastern, as she and Detillier had two hits apiece. Magee and Morris scored SLU's two runs.
Both McNeese starter Kadence Williams (11-8) and Bailey matched zeroes and pitched out of jams throughout the contest. In the bottom of the fourth, singles by Magee, Detillier and
Blair Walsh loaded the bases with one out. However, Williams retired
Maddie Watson and
Colleen Kulivan to keep the scored tied at 0-0.
SLU finally broke through in the bottom of the fifth inning. Morris singled and stole second with two outs. Magee hit a sharp single to left to score Morris, which Samantha Mundine misplayed, allowing the speedy Magee to race all the way home and give Southeastern a 2-0 lead.
Bailey would make it stand. In the sixth, Reese Reyna led off the frame with a double, but Bailey retired the next three Cowgirls to keep McNeese scoreless. Delaney Dunham led off the McNeese seventh with a single, but again Bailey responded, forcing Kassidy Chance, Nyjah Fontenot and Jada Munoz to ground out to close out the shutout.
The Lady Lion victory snapped a 39-game McNeese home winning streak versus Southland opponents and a 14-game home postseason winning streak in SLC Tournament play that dated back to 2009.
2025 Southland Conference Softball Championship Series
Game 1 – McNeese 3, Southeastern 2
Game 2 – Southeastern 2, McNeese 0
Game 3 – Saturday, 6 p.m. (ESPN+)
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.
