CLEARWATER, Fla. – The two-time reigning Southland Conference Tournament champion Southeastern Louisiana University softball team capped the NFCA Leadoff Classic with a historic 4-2 victory over No. 5 Oregon Sunday morning at Eddie C. Moore Softball Complex.
The win for Southeastern (4-2) marked the highest-ranked opponent SLU has defeated in program history, besting a 1-0 win over No. 6 LSU during the 2007 season. The Lady Lions bounced back from an 0-2 start to the tournament to win the last four games of the weekend, capping the streak with a win over an OU (2-3) squad that advanced to the Women's College World Series last spring.
"After those first two losses, I challenged the team to play our style of ball," Southeastern head coach
Rick Fremin commented. "Our team responded with grit, fight and resiliency to win the next four games against some very respectable programs, capped by the win over Oregon,
"I'd put today's win right up there with the two Regional wins last season at LSU, considering the caliber of program Oregon is on a national level," Fremin added. "Our team was prepared for the moment and took advantage of this opportunity to share our story on a national stage on MLB Network. We're so thankful to our fans and we're hopeful that we made a few new fans throughout the weekend."
The Ducks jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, but
Hallie Burns (2-0) came off the bench to keep the deficit at a manageable 2-0. Burns tossed 4.2 innings of shutout relief, scattering two hits and striking out five. The Booneville, Miss. native was a stalwart in the circle throughout the tournament, finishing the weekend with a 0.98 ERA and holding opponents to a .122 batting average, striking out 19 in 14.1 innings of work.
"Our pitching staff as a whole was stellar today, but Burns was a staple in the middle of the rotation and really ate up their lineup," Fremin said. "Burns is truly finding herself in her second season with us. She maximized her opportunity and did a phenomenal job this week."
With Burns holding the high-powered Ducks at bay, Southeastern kept battling before finally breaking through in the top of the fifth inning, doing so against Oregon All-American ace Lyndsey Grein (1-3).
Shenita Tucker singled home pinch runner
Breezy Pantalion to get the Lady Lions on the board, then
Shelby Morris ripped a two-run triple into the left field corner to give Southeastern the lead for good. Later in the frame, Morris scored on a wild pitch to give SLU a 4-2 cushion.
"Grein is one of the pitchers we respect on a national level," Fremin commented. "But we want to face this caliber of pitching. We put a plan in place and our players executed the game plan to a near flawless level, especially considering the type of arms we faced today."
Once SLU took the lead, Fremin put the game in the hands of his capable pitching staff.
Macie LaRue came in and retired the first two batters in the sixth, but gave way to
Haley Crawford after she hit a pair of batters. Crawford struck out Katie Flannery to close out the sixth inning and then retired Oregon in order in the seventh inning, punctuating her second save of the season with a strikeout of Elon Butler.
Southeastern will open its home schedule Wednesday, hosting Louisiana Tech at 5 p.m. on ESPN+. The game, sponsored by First Guaranty Bank, will feature the signage for the 2025 Southland Conference Tournament championship and NCAA Baton Rouge Regional final appearance being unveiled prior to first pitch.
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.
