HAMMOND, La. – The 2026 Southland Conference regular season champion and two-time reigning SLC Tournament champion Southeastern Louisiana University softball team will host the Hammond Bracket of the 2026 Southland Softball Championships this week at North Oak Park.
 
Top-seeded Southeastern (44-12) will welcome No. 4 seed UIW (32-19), No. 5 seed Lamar (30-22) and No. 8 seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (14-37) for the double-elimination portion of the bracket. The tournament runs through Sunday with games scheduled to start at 1 p.m. each day.
 
Southeastern will open play Thursday with a 4 p.m. game versus TAMU-CC. All tournament games will be televised on ESPN+.
 
Southland Conference Coach of the Year Rick Fremin's squad enters the postseason with a team batting average of .347. All-Southland Conference performers Shelby Morris (.406, 59 runs, 78 hits, six triples, 22 steals), Cydnee Schneider (.403, 20 2B, 64 hits, 37 RBI), Brilee Ford (.382, 5 HR, 39 RBI), Ka'Lyn Watson (.358, 39 runs, 6 3B, 7 HR, 31 RBI), Chloe Magee (.354, 41 runs, 58 hits, 25 walks, 22 steals) and Maria Detillier (.322, 41 runs, 13 2B, 9 HR, 56 RBI) lead SLU at the plate.
 
SLC Pitcher of the Year Hallie Burns (18-4, 1.67 ERA, 2 saves) and fellow All-Southland pitcher Cera Blanchard (13-1, 1.06 ERA, 3 saves) lead a SLU pitching staff that is third in Division I with a 1.68 ERA and leads the nation with a single-season school record 21 shutouts.
 
Macie LaRue (6-2, 2.12 ERA, 1 save), Haley Crawford (4-2, 1.43 ERA, 2 saves), Tyler Oubre (0-1, 4.57 ERA), Bre Clark (1-1, 1.95 ERA), Katherine Thiessen (2-1, 1.70 ERA) and Celia Lamkin (0-0, 3.00 ERA) are the other contributors in the circle.   
 
Morris has already set a single-season school record for runs and at-bats and needs seven total bases to top the single-season school standard in that category. Watson, who is already the program's career leader in triples, and Morris are both two triples shy of matching the school's season mark in that category. Already the SLC career leader in runs, RBI, total bases, extra-base hits and sacrifice flies, Detillier is three RBI shy of matching the single-season RBI mark. Schneider is the single-season record holder in doubles, while Blanchard's nine career saves are also a program best.
 
The Islanders come to town with a .225 team batting average led by Skylar Heger (.286, 10 2B, 2 HR, 25 RBI). Kendra Winfrey (9-13, 6.82 ERA) and Josie Whitehead (3-13, 7.02 ERA) are the primary arms for an Islander squad that carries a 7.22 staff ERA. SLU swept TAMU-CC in Corpus Christi in late-March.
 
SLC Player and Hitter of the Year Victoria Altamirano (.446, 21 HR, 62 RBI), along with fellow All-Southland teammates Bryanna Fuentes (.400, 12 2B, 37 RBI) and Ayla Gonzales (.353) lead a UIW lineup that is hitting .327 as a team. Bella Mitchell (10-6, 4.25 ERA, 3 saves), Jenny Robledo (5-4, 3.81 ERA, 2 saves) and Sam Portillo (5-4, 3.85 ERA, 1 save) are the top arms for a Cardinal staff that has a 3.94 ERA. Southeastern took two of three this past weekend from UIW.
 
Lamar comes to Hammond with a .293 team batting average behind SLC Freshman of the Year Isabella Flores (.372, 16 2B, 8 HR, 49 RBI). Reagan Smith (12-5, 3.55 ERA, 1 save) is the ace of the LU pitching staff, which enters the postseason with a 4.43 team ERA. SLU swept the Cardinals April 10-11 in Hammond.
 
The winners of the Hammond Bracket and the Lake Charles Bracket, hosted this week by second-seeded McNeese, will meet in the best-of-three SLC Championship Series May 7-9 at the highest remaining seed.
 
Southland Conference Softball Championships – Hammond Bracket – North Oak Park – April 30-May 3, 2026 (All games on ESPN+)
 
Thursday, April 30
Game 1 – No. 4 UIW vs. No. 5 Lamar, 1 p.m.
Game 2 – No. 1 Southeastern vs. No. 8 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 4 p.m.
 
Friday, May 1
Game 3 – Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser, 1 p.m. (Elimination game)
Game 4 – Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner, 4 p.m.
 
Saturday, May 2
Game 5 – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser, 1 p.m. (Elimination Game)
Game 6 – Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, 4 p.m.
 
Sunday, May 3
Game 7 – Game 4 Winner, vs. Game 5 Winner, 1 p.m.
Game 7 is only necessary if Game 5 winner also wins Game 6
 
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.