HAMMOND, La. – The top two teams in the Southland Conference standings will meet this week, when the two-time reigning SLC Tournament champion Southeastern Louisiana University softball team welcomes Lamar for a three-game conference series at North Oak Park.
 
The series between SLU (34-9, 15-0 SLC)) and the visiting Cardinals (25-15, 11-4 SLC) opens with a 4 p.m. doubleheader Friday and concluding with Saturday's noon series finale. Friday's games will be televised on ESPN+. Prior to Saturday's game, Tyler Oubre, Kailey Dixon, Cydnee Schneider, Shenita Tucker, Macie LaRue, Ka'Lyn Watson, Cera Blanchard, Colleen Kulivan and Maria Detillier will be recognized in a Senior Day ceremony.
 
The Lions and visiting Lamar are two of the nation's hottest teams heading into the series, as both are riding school-record winning streaks. Southeastern has won its last 20 games, while LU comes to Hammond having won 14 straight contests. Only Florida State (25 games) has a longer current winning streak than the two teams meeting this week in Hammond.
 
Shelby Morris leads SLU with a .400 batting average, 60 hits, 44 runs scored and six triples to pace a Lion lineup that is hitting .335 as a team. Schneider (.381), who leads the team with 14 doubles, is joined among the team's top five hitters for average by Brilee Ford (.348), Chloe Magee (.344) and Kulivan (.344). Magee and Morris have each stolen a team-high 17 bases.
 
Detillier leads the team with seven home runs and 37 RBI, while Ford and Watson each have five home runs.
 
Southeastern leads Division I with 16 shutouts, as the pitching staff has a 1.69 team earned run average and has held opponents to a .179 batting average. Blanchard (11-1, 1.04 ERA, 2 saves), Hallie Burns (13-3, 1.64 ERA, 1 save), Haley Crawford (4-1, 1.08 ERA, 2 saves), LaRue (3-2, 2.90 ERA, 1 save), Oubre (0-1, 5.12 ERA), Bre Clark (1-0, 0.53 ERA), Katherine Thiessen (2-1, 1.75 ERA) and Celia Lamkin (0-0, 3.50 ERA) have all seen time in the circle for SLU.
 
The Lion pitchers will be facing a Lamar lineup that carries a .305 team batting average. Isabella Flores (.394, 7 HR, 45 RBI) leads the way offensively for the Cardinals. Reagan Smith (10-2, 3.61 ERA, 1 save), Kaylee Cuevas (6-4, 3.78 ERA, 1 save) and Madison Guidry (2-4, 6.26 ERA, 1 save) are the primary arms for a LU pitching staff that boasts a 4.64 team ERA.
 
Following this weekend's series, Southeastern will travel to SFA for a three-game midweek Southland Conference series. The series with the Ladyjacks, which will be televised on ESPN+, opens with a 4 p.m. doubleheader Tuesday and concludes Wednesday at noon.
 
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.