LAKE CHARLES, La. – The two-time reigning Southland Conference Tournament champion Southeastern Louisiana University softball team claimed a doubleheader sweep of four-time reigning SLC regular season champion McNeese Friday evening at Cowgirl Diamond.
In a battle of the only two non-Power 4 programs to win 40 or more games every season from 2022-25, Southeastern (32-9, 14-0 SLC) claimed two victories to extend their school-record winning streak to 18 games. With the doubleheader sweep of McNeese (23-15, 7-7 SLC), the Lions not only remained unbeaten in Southland play, but earned their first regular season series win in Lake Charles since 2001.
Southeastern recorded its 15
th shutout of the season in a 4-0 win in the series opener.
Hallie Burns (11-3) allowed two hits in four scoreless innings, then
Cera Blanchard held the Cowgirls off the board over the final three frames to earn her second save of 2026.
Cydnee Schneider led the Southeastern offense in game one, homering and driving in a pair of runs.
The Southeastern offense came alive in a big way in the nightcap, racking up 15 hits in a 10-5 victory. Schneider and
Shelby Morris each had three hits, while
Chloe Magee and
Maria Detillier collected two hits apiece. Detillier led SLU with four RBI, while Schneider and
Brilee Ford each drove in a pair.
Macie LaRue,
Haley Crawford (4-1), Burns and Blanchard combined to hold the Cowgirls to four hits in the nightcap.
The series wraps us with a 1 p.m. contest Friday that will be televised on ESPN+.
Game One – Southeastern 4, McNeese 0
Southeastern took the early lead in the top of the first inning against McNeese starter Kynlei Chapman (5-5). Morris reached on an error to lead off the inning and scored on a sacrifice fly by Schneider to give the Lions an early 1-0 lead.
SLU doubled its tally in the top of the second inning. Ford drew a leadoff walk and was replaced on the basepaths by
Breezy Pantalion. After being bunted over to second by
Kailey Dixon, Pantalion stole third and scored when the throw down skipped into foul territory.
Slick base running allowed the Lions to add to their lead in the top of the fourth inning. Ford beat out a bunt single and then got caught in a rundown long enough for
Ka'Lyn Watson to score and extend the Southeastern advantage to 3-0.
SLU added further to its lead in the top of the sixth inning. With one out, Schneider ripped her first home run of the season well over the right field fence to give Southeastern a 4-0 cushion.
Blanchard held the Cowgirls at bay the rest of the way, with a slickly turned double play by Magee ending the game in the seventh.
Game Two – Southeastern 10, McNeese
Southeastern jumped in front in the top of the first inning, as Morris hit the first pitch of the game from McNeese starter Brookelyn Taylor (8-6) into the right field corner for her team-high fifth triple of the season. Later in the frame, Schneider singled home Morris to stake SLU to a 1-0 lead.
McNeese answered in a big way in the bottom of the first inning. After consecutive one-out walks, Maddie Taylor hit a three-run home run over the left centerfield fence to give the Cowgirls a 3-1 advantage.
The Lions answered in the top of the third. Magee led off the frame with a double and scored on an RBI single by Detillier. Later in the frame, Ford gave Southeastern a 4-3 lead with a two-run double into the right centerfield gap.
A defensive lapse allowed the Cowgirls to tie the game in the bottom of the third inning. With runners on first and third with two outs, McNeese attempted a double steal. The runner at first, Alexis Dibbley, avoided the tag long enough for Nyjah Fontenot to race home to knot the score at 4-4.
Southeastern retook the lead in the top of the fourth inning. Morris started the rally with a single, then advanced all the way to third on a bunt single by Magee. The throw down to third went awry when Fontenot was injured trying to cover third, allowing Morris to score the go-ahead run and put SLU up, 5-4. Later in the frame, Schneider laced an RBI single into right centerfield to score Magee and chase Brookelyn Taylor from the game.
The Lions added to their tally in the top of the fifth inning, as a
Shenita Tucker single, a Morris double and a Magee walk loaded the bases. Detillier then singled home a pair to put Southeastern up, 8-4.
McNeese took advantage of a pair of SLU errors to cut into the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning, chopping the advantage to 8-5.
Southeastern got the run back in the top of the sixth inning. Watson singled and scored on an RBI single by
Katherine Thiessen to put the Lions in front, 9-5. A Detillier sacrifice fly scored Morris in the seventh and gave SLU a 10-5 lead. Blanchard shook off a two-out single to toss a scoreless seventh to complete the sweep.
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.
