HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University softball team will travel to face No. 21 LSU Tuesday at 6 p.m. to open a stretch that will see the Lady Lions play eight games over a six-day stretch.
The Lady Lions (14-7) will open the week in Baton Rouge, facing the host Tigers (19-7) who are coming off a series win over No. 2 Alabama this past weekend. Tuesday’s contest will be televised on SEC Network+.
SLU lost three games of its schedule due to inclement weather at the UofM Tournament this past weekend. As a result, Southeastern will head to Jacksonville, Alabama a day early to face Colgate (8-9) Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. in an added game on the Jacksonville State campus.
On Thursday, the Lady Lions will stay in Jacksonville to take on host JSU (14-8) at 4 p.m. Thursday’s game will be seen on ESPN+.
Southeastern will then travel to Chattanooga, Tennessee to compete in the UT Chattanooga Tournament. The draw sees SLU face Bucknell (3-14) Friday at 12:30 p.m. and Saturday at 10 a.m. and take on the host Mocs (11-12) Friday at 5:30 p.m., Saturday at 12:30 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
SLU leads the Southland with a .322 batting average as a team. Cam Goodman is third in the conference with a team-best .426 average, while teammates Madison Rayner (.407, 4th), Bailey Krolczyk (.345, 8th) and Aeriyl Mass (.343, 10th) all rank in the league’s top 10. Lexi Johnson (15, 5th), Mass (14, 6th) and Lindsey Rizzo (13, 9th) all sit among the Southland leaders in runs scored.
Johnson (4, 5th) and Maddie Watson (3, 8th) are on the conference leaderboard in home runs. Rayner is third in the Southland with 19 RBI and is joined in the top 10 by Johnson (15, 6th) and Watson (13, 8th). Rayner is second in the league with a team-high nine doubles, while Johnson, Krolczyk and Madisen Blackford are tied for fourth in the SLC with six doubles apiece.
Mass and Goodman occupy the top two spots on the Southland stolen base leaderboard with 16 and 14 stolen bases, respectively. SLU, which has led Division I in stolen bases each of the past six seasons, is currently fifth nationally with 55 steals in 21 games for a 2.62 stolen base per game average.
The Lady Lion pitching staff enters the week with a conference-low 2.59 earned run average. The Southland’s leader in wins and earned run average, Heather Zumo (9-1, 1.11 ERA) is the unquestioned ace of the SLU staff, though Mary-Cathryn (MC) Comeaux (4-3, 4.83 ERA, 1 save), KK Ladner (1-1, 4.45 ERA, 1 save), Alyssa Romano (0-1, 0.50 ERA) and Ellie DuBois (0-1, 3.15 ERA, 1 save) have all been effective in their roles.
Danieca Coffey (.458) is the top hitter for average for an LSU squad that is hitting .293 as a team, while Georgia Clark is the Tigers’ top power threat with nine home runs and 34 RBI. Ali Kilponen (9-3, 1.47 ERA, 1 save), Shelbi Sunseri (5-1, 1.59 ERA, 1 save), Shelby Wickersham (2-3, 2.66 ERA) and Raelin Chafin (3-0, 2.66 ERA) each have seen significant time in the circle for an LSU staff that carries a 1.86 team ERA and has held opponents to a .192 batting average.
Following the busy week, Southeastern will take a couple of days off before traveling to ULM for a 6 p.m. contest next Wednesday, March 23 in Monroe.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Softball, follow @LionUpSoftball on Twitter and Instagram, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.
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.
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics instituted a clear bag policy for all ticketed events (softball, baseball, football and basketball), effective with the start of the 2018 football season. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/clear.
