HAMMOND, La. – The 2026 Southland Conference regular season champion and two-time reigning SLC Tournament champion Southeastern Louisiana University softball team will wrap up the regular season by hosting UIW for a three-game conference series this week at North Oak Park.
 
The series, sponsored by North Oaks Health System, between SLU (42-11, 22-2 SLC) and the visiting Cardinals (31-17, 16-8 SLC) opens with a 4 p.m. doubleheader Friday and concludes Saturday at noon. All three games will be televised on ESPN+.
 
Southeastern has already clinched the No. 1 seed and home field advantage throughout the Southland Conference Championships. UIW is one of four schools, along with McNeese, Nicholls and Lamar, competing to be the No. 2 seed and host the other round of bracket play next weekend.
 
SLU enters the weekend with a .344 team batting average, as Shelby Morris leads the team with a .418 batting average, 76 hits, 55 runs scored, six triples and 22 stolen bases. Cydnee Schneider (.389), Brilee Ford (.383), Ka'Lyn Watson (.352) and Colleen Kulivan (.348) are the other top hitters for average for the Lions.
 
Maria Detillier paces Southeastern with eight home runs and 52 RBI, while Watson (6 HR, 25 RBI) and Ford (5 HR, 38 RBI) are the other top power threats. Schneider leads the Southland Conference with a team-high 19 doubles.
 
The Lion pitching staff leads Division I with 19 shutouts and is second nationally with a 1.60 team earned run average. Hallie Burns (18-4, 1.35 ERA, 2 saves) and Cera Blanchard (12-1, 1.13 ERA, 3 saves) are the team's primary arms, while Macie LaRue (5-2, 2.36 ERA, 1 save), Haley Crawford (4-2, 1.35 ERA, 2 saves), Tyler Oubre (0-1, 4.57 ERA), Bre Clark (1-0, 1.00 ERA), Katherine Thiessen (2-1, 1.70 ERA) and Celia Lamkin (0-0, 3.00 ERA) have also contributed in the circle.
 
UIW comes to Hammond boasting a .333 batting average, behind the Southland leader in nearly every offensive category in Victoria Altamirano (.444, 66 runs, 20 HR, 60 RBI). Bella Mitchell (10-6, 4.23 ERA, 2 saves), Jenny Robledo (5-3, 3.26 ERA, 2 saves) and Samantha Portillo (5-3, 3.34 ERA, 1 save) are the top pitchers for a Cardinal staff that has a 3.74 team ERA.
 
Southeastern will be the No. 1 seed in the Southland Conference Tournament and will host the No. 4, 5 and 8 seeds in bracket play April 30-May 3. The winner of the two rounds of bracket play will meet in the SLC Championship series May 7-9 with the highest remaining seed hosting.
 
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.