HAMMOND, La. – The two-time reigning Southland Conference Tournament champion Southeastern Louisiana University softball team embarks on a trip that includes seven games in five days and is bookended by matchups with the winners of the last five national championships this week.
 
Winners of its last nine games, SLU (13-3) opens the challenging stretch with a 6 p.m. contest at No. 3 and reigning national champion Texas (14-1). The Lady Lions then will play five straight games against former Southland Conference rivals, starting with a 4 p.m. contest at UTSA (5-9) Thursday.
 
In a battle of two teams ranked in the top 10 of the latest D1Softball mid-major poll, No. 3 Southeastern will face No. 9 Texas State (9-6) for a three-game series. The series opens with a 3 p.m. doubleheader Friday and closes Saturday at noon. SLU caps the trip by heading to Norman, Okla. Sunday to face Sam Houston State (11-5) at 10 a.m. and No. 5 Oklahoma (13-2).
 
Wednesday's game and Sunday's game at Oklahoma will be televised on SEC Network+. Thursday's and Saturday's contests will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
Southeastern is coming off a perfect weekend at the Michelle Short and Adam Brown Memorial Collegiate Classic. SLU outscored host UCA, Evansville and St. Louis, by a score of 25-4 in the four wins last weekend.
 
The Lady Lions are hitting .298 as a team heading into the trip. Ka'Lyn Watson leads the team with a .351 batting average, followed by Cydnee Schneider (.349), Chloe Magee (.348), Shelby Morris (.346) and Brilee Ford (.304). Morris also paces the team with 18 hits, 15 runs scored and eight stolen bases.
 
Watson's three home runs lead the team, while she shares team-high honors with Maria Detillier with 10 RBI apiece. Schneider paces the roster with six doubles.
 
Opponents are hitting .186 off a SLU pitching staff that is currently eighth in Division I with a 1.63 team earned run average. Cera Blanchard (5-0, 1.01 ERA, 1 save), Hallie Burns (4-0, 1.28 ERA), Haley Crawford (1-1, 1.35 ERA, 2 saves), Macie LaRue (2-0, 1.58 ERA, 1 save), Tyler Oubre (0-1, 5.48 ERA), Bre Clark (0-0, 0.00 ERA) and Katherine Thiessen (1-1, 6.00 ERA) have all shared time in the circle for Southeastern.
 
The Lady Lion pitchers will open the week against a Texas lineup that is hitting .396 as a team, led by Kaiah Altmeyer (.542). Kavan Teagan (6-0, 2.53 ERA) paces a UT pitching staff with a 2.54 team ERA.
 
UTSA's Madison Hornback (.379) is the top hitter for average for a Roadrunner lineup that is hitting .308 on the year, while Arlette Hernandez (4-2, 2.73 ERA) is the ace of the UTSA staff.
 
Aiyana Coleman (.400, 4 HR, 15 RBI) paces the Texas State lineup, while Madison Azua (7-5, 2.46 ERA) has thrown more than half the innings for the Bobcats.
 
Sophia Lundstrom (.415), Bella Perez (.396, 4 HR, 13 RBI) and Veronica Harrison (5 HR, 15 RBI) are the top hitters for SHSU. Amy Abke (4-0, 2.25 ERA) leads the Bearkat pitching staff.
 
Kai Minor (.561) and Kendall Wells (10 HR) are the top hitters for an Oklahoma lineup that boasts a .434 team average and 56 home runs. Audrey Lowry (8-1, 1.72 ERA) and Miali Guachino (4-0, 2.82 ERA, 1 save) are the one-two punch in the circle for the Sooners.
 
Following this week's trip, Southeastern will close out pre-Southland Conference play with a 5 p.m. contest at UT Arlington March 5.
 
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.