HAMMOND, La. – The two-time reigning Southland Conference Tournament champion and No. 25 Southeastern Louisiana University softball team opens its home schedule, before heading to the Mardi Gras Mambo in Youngsville, La.
 
Southeastern (4-2), which made its first-ever appearance in this week's NFCA/GoRout Division 1 Coaches Poll, will open the week in the friendly confines of North Oak Park, hosting Louisiana Tech (4-0) Wednesday at 5 p.m. Wednesday's game, which will be sponsored by First Guaranty Bank, will be televised on ESPN+ and can be heard at www.LionSports.net/listenlive. Prior to the game, Southeastern will unveil the outfield signage commemorating last season's SLC Tournament championship.
 
The Lady Lions then head to Youngsville, La. for the Mardi Gras Mambo. Southeastern has rescheduled its 10 a.m. Sunday game versus Eastern Illinois (2-3) for Thursday at 8 p.m. due to forecast inclement weather later in the weekend. Friday will see SLU face Georgia State (5-0) at 2 p.m. and New Mexico (2-3) at 4 p.m. Southeastern takes on SIU-Edwardsville (1-4) at 3 p.m. and St. Thomas (4-1) at 5 p.m. Saturday.
 
Southeastern is hitting .299 as a team heading into this week's slate. Cydnee Schneider leads the team with a .438 batting average, followed by Shelby Morris (.409), Ka'Lyn Watson (.400), Maria Detillier (.353) and Colleen Kulivan (.308). Morris, who was named to the All-Tournament Team at the season-opening Leadoff Classic, paces the squad with seven runs, nine hits and one triple.
 
Morris, Schneider and Detillier each have two doubles, while Watson has a team-high two home runs. Southeastern also has 14 stolen bases, led by Shenita Tucker's four steals.
 
The Lady Lion pitching staff currently has a 2.15 team earned run average and has held opponents to a .186 batting average. SLC Pitcher of the Week Hallie Burns (2-0, 0.98 ERA), Cera Blanchard (2-0, 2.63 ERA), Haley Crawford (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 saves), Macie LaRue (0-0, 2.33 ERA), Tyler Oubre (0-1, 9.00 ERA), Bre Clark (0-0, 0.00 ERA) and Katherine Thiessen (0-1, 42.04 ERA) have all seen action in the circle for SLU.
 
Aleah Brooks (.563) and Reese Torres (.556) are the top hitters for a Louisiana Tech team that carries a .331 team batting average into Hammond. The trio of Bryannah Campos (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 save), Allie Floyd (0-0, 3.50 ERA) and Laney Johnson (2-0, 2.33 ERA) have shared the majority of time in the circle for the Bulldogs.
 
Eastern Illinois is led by Abbi Hatton (.400) and Bryanna French (1-1, 2.39 ERA). Chloe Hatcher (.727, 2 HR, 9 RBI) has been on fire early this season for Georgia State, as has ace Makayla Stephens (4-0, 1.58 ERA). SLU closes Friday versus a New Mexico team led by Brianna Williams (.4455) and McKenna Guest (1-1, 2.19 ERA).
 
SIUE awaits Southeastern Saturday and is led by Arissah Garza (.429) and Mia Volpert (1-1, 5.02 ERA). Ella Cook (.500) and Cassidy Carby (3 HR, 11 RBI) are the big bats for St. Thomas, while the Tommies' pitching staff is anchored by Ava Kleinfeldt (2-0, 3.50 ERA).
 
The trip to the Mardi Gras Mambo opens a stretch of 20 consecutive games away from home for Southeastern. Next weekend, SLU travels to Conway, Ark. to compete in the UCA Softball Tournament.
 
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.
 
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