COMMERCE, Texas – The two-time reigning Southland Conference Tournament champion Southeastern Louisiana University softball team opened SLC play with a doubleheader sweep of East Texas A&M Friday afternoon at the John Cain Family Softball Complex.
Southeastern (17-9, 2-0 SLC) extended its winning streak to three games with the wins, while the host Lions fell to 5-20 overall and 0-2 in league action.
SLU hit a season-high four home runs in the opener, rolling to a 13-0 mercy-rule victory.
Maria Detillier hit two home runs, while
Brilee Ford and
Shenita Tucker each also hit round trippers for Southeastern. The visiting Lady Lions had eight extra-base hits as a team, as
Kailey Dixon tripled twice, while
Shelby Morris and
Katie Lott each doubled.
Hallie Burns (5-3) and
Katherine Thiessen held East Texas A&M to two hits on the way to the eighth shutout victory of the spring for SLU.
Southeastern jumped out to a 7-0 lead and never looked back in a 11-4 victory in the nightcap. Detillier hit her third home run of the day, while Morris and
Chloe Magee paced a 12-hit Lady Lion attack with three hits apiece.
Bre Clark (1-0) earned her first collegiate win, allowing two hits in two innings of relief.
The series wraps up with a noon contest Saturday. Saturday's series finale will be televised on ESPN+.
Game One – Southeastern 13, East Texas A&M 0 (5 Innings)
Detillier gave SLU an early 1-0 lead against Lion starter Madison Kloepper (3-7) in the top of the first inning with a solo home run over the centerfield fence. Ford's solo home run in the second doubled Southeastern's advantage.
The Lady Lions broke open the game with a seven-run third inning. Home runs by Tucker and Detillier, along with RBI by Dixon,
Colleen Kulivan and Morris put Southeastern up, 9-0.
Addison Contorno drove in the first run of the SLU fourth, then
Veronica Puckett came off the bench with a two-run single to stretch the lead to 12-0. An RBI double by Lott closed out the scoring in the top of the fifth.
Burns fanned five in three shutout innings, then Thiessen added three strikeouts of her own in two innings of scoreless relief to close out the shutout.
Game Two – Southeastern 11, East Texas A&M 4
Detillier struck again in the first inning of the nightcap, powering a two-run home run off Avery Rohlman (0-1) to stake SLU to a 2-0 advantage. Tucker and Magee each drove in runs in the top of the second to double the lead.
An East Texas A&M error, along with RBI by Tucker and Morris extended Southeastern's lead to 7-0 in the third inning. East Texas A&M would finally get on the board with three runs in the fourth and added another run in the fifth to pull within, 7-4.
SLU quelled any more thoughts of a comeback with a three-run sixth, as
Ka'Lyn Watson and
Blair Walsh drove in runs to pad the Lady Lions' cushion to 10-4.
Cydnee Schneider drove in Morris in the top of the seventh inning to close out the scoring.
Cera Blanchard held the host Lions without a hit in two innings of shutout relief to close out the win for Southeastern.
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.
