LAKE CHARLES, La. – The two-time reigning Southland Conference Tournament champion Southeastern Louisiana University softball team completed its first-ever three-game sweep of four-time reigning SLC regular season champion McNeese with a 4-0 shutout win Friday afternoon at Cowgirl Diamond.
Southeastern (33-9, 15-0 SLC) extended its winning streak to 19 games and became the first Southland Conference team to sweep a three-game series over McNeese (23-16, 7-8 SLC) in Lake Charles since 2010.
Bre Clark,
Hallie Burns (12-3) and
Cera Blanchard combined to hold the Cowgirls to five hits, as the Lion pitching staff recorded its Division I-leading 16
th shutout of the season – one off the school record.
Chloe Magee led SLU with two hits and two RBI, while
Cydnee Schneider also had a pair of hits.
Ka'Lyn Watson also homered for the Lions.
SLU took the lead against McNeese starter Maddie Taylor (7-4) in the top of the first inning. Magee beat out an infield single then scored one out later, when Schneider laced her team-high 14
th double off the centerfield fence, giving Southeastern a 1-0 lead.
McNeese chased Clark from the game in the bottom of the second inning, loading the bases with one out. Burns came in and forced Delaney Dunham to hit into an inning-ending double play to keep the Cowgirls off the board.
Southeastern added to its lead in the top of the third inning.
Shelby Morris led off the frame with her team-high sixth triple this spring and scored on an RBI groundout by Magee to put SLU up, 2-0.
The Lions padded the lead further in the top of the fourth inning. Watson hit an inside-the-park home run off the left centerfield fence. The Missouri City, Texas native's fifth home run of the season gave Southeastern a 3-0 cushion.
SLU put up another crooked number in its half of the fifth.
Shenita Tucker led off the frame with a double and scored one out later on an RBI single by Magee to extend the Lion advantage to 4-0.
Rylee Eyster hit a double just inside the left field line out of the reach of a diving
Colleen Kulivan to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning. However, Blanchard shut the door, striking out the final two Cowgirls to complete the sweep.
Southeastern wraps up its regular season nonconference road slate next Wednesday, when it travels to Southern Miss for a 5 p.m. contest in Hattiesburg, Miss. The SLU-USM matchup will be televised on ESPN+.
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.
