Southeastern hosted the 2022 Lion Classic II softball tournament at North Oak Park March 4-6. SLU won three of the five games against two teams hailing from New York – the Buffalo Bulls and Marist Red Foxes. 

The Lions had an impressive at-bat performance with 43 hits with 26 total runs for the weekend. On the defensive end, pitching played a significant role in holding back the opposition from getting any chance to come back against the Lions. 

Game one was played against the Bulls, losing 2-5 after seven innings. However, this game was just the warm-up for the Lady Lions as they prepared to hit harder in their next meet-up in game three. 

Third baseman Elise Jones had a single run and one hit, and third baseman Lindsey Rizzo had two hits and one RBI, leading SLU at-bat. The RBI allowed catcher Bailey Krolczyk to cross home plate for a single run. 

The second game is when the Lions started to heat up, winning 10-2 after the eight-run rule ended early because of the dominating performance leading up to the fifth inning against the Red Foxes. 

Shortstop/second baseman Maddie Watson led the offense with two hits, two runs and an RBI, first baseman Madisen Blackford had two RBIs, a hit and run and centerfielder Cam Goodman had a single hit, run and RBI. 

On the mound, pitcher Heather Zumo allowed one run and two hits, with four innings pitched. She was relieved by Ellie DuBois for a scoreless inning to close the game against Marist. 

SLU had revenge on Buffalo in game three, winning 8-0 after six innings with another eight-run rule closing the game early for the aggressive Lions. This game concluded the matches against the Bulls for the weekend with a record 1-1.

Zumo shut out the Bulls, only allowing a single hit and six strikeouts in six innings, which increased her shut-out game record to five. Furthermore, Zumo retired all 19 batters faced for the game, not allowing a single player on base. 

Designated player Madison Rayner had two hits, one run and two RBIs, and Krolczyk had two hits and one RBI to assist the offensive pressure. In addition, Goodman helped with two hits, a run and RBI; left fielder Aeriyl Mass had two hits, two runs and an RBI, and Rizzo pitched in with two runs and a single hit. These players created many opportunities to score and capitalized on the Bulls’ poor pitching. 

The Lady Lions played game four of the weekend against Marist. They fell 2-3 in a close match with the Red Foxes, with a solid performance by pitcher Alyssa Romano, only allowing one run and four hits in 8.1 innings. 

At-bat, Rizzo and Mass each had a single run for the game, with Rayner bringing them in with her two RBIs which carried the Lions across home plate. 

The shallow offensive performance from game four was altered, which gave the Lady Lions the edge in game five, when SLU won 4-2, closing the Lion Classic with a 2-1 record against Lady Red Foxes.

Zumo continued her shut down pitching on the mound, where she only allowed three hits with four strikeouts in four innings pitched, enabling the Lions to score in the first three innings unanswered. This win brought Zumo’s overall starting record to 8-0 on the season. 

Goodman, Jones and Blackford led at-bat, each getting a single run and hit. Lone RBIs by Rayner and Krolczyk also assisted the Lady Lions with their final game lead. 

SLU softball will get another chance to showcase their pitching and offensive domination in Memphis, Tenn., where the Lions look to increase their 13-6 record and take on four teams in the 2022 Memphis Tournament March 10-12.