Southeastern clawed out a 6-3 victory over Southern Miss on Wednesday evening, pulling away from the Golden Eagles down the stretch with impeccable plate discipline and clutch hitting. The win improved their record to 16-5 on the season and extended their win streak to four games.
The Lady Lions have rounded into form over the last two weeks. Since their loss to No. 17 Texas A&M on Thursday, Feb. 22, they’ve gone 7-2, scoring 5.33 runs per game while holding their opponents to three runs per game. They opened March in Oxford, Mississippi for the 2024 Ole Miss Classic and went 3-2, including swiping a win off of the titular SEC institution.
Although they left Mississippi after their 6-5 win against Kent State on Sunday, March 3, their dealings with the Magnolia State wouldn’t end just yet; Southern Miss followed the Green and Gold back to Hammond, America, to set up a Wednesday evening date between the dueling southern institutions at North Oak Park.
SLU began the contest on its back foot after surrendering a deflating two-run shot to catcher Hannah Borden, sinking the home team into an early hole, 2-0. From the fourth inning on, though, they dominated every facet of the game, pouring in six unanswered runs across the final 3.5 innings.
Their offensive resurgence began in the bottom of the fourth when sophomore outfielder Colleen Kullivan smacked a two-run RBI single to left field, tying the game and lifting the Hammond faithful to their feet.
“Our resilience is strong in the dugout and on the field. Nothing really puts us down,” Kullivan said.
The bottom of the fifth perfectly encapsulated the Green and Gold’s grit and unflinching resolve. First, freshman infielder Chloe Magee kept the frame alive with a two-out single to right. Then, sophomore infielder Maria Detillier, Krolczyk and junior infielder Maddie Watson drew three consecutive walks, squeezing out a run just before the inning’s conclusion, taking the lead 3-2.
Kullivan, Detillier, Krolyczyk and Watson each stepped to the batter’s box in a two-out situation with a tied game hanging in the balance, and none of them wavered. Instead, they each made the most of the waning opportunity, displaying immense poise, patience and plate discipline. In total, they drew 12 balls to two strikes across a 14-pitch span.
“I’m proud of the execution throughout the lineup tonight,” Head Coach Rick Fremin said.
They kept the home crowd roaring in the bottom of the sixth, lighting up the scoreboard with a sudden three-run barrage fueled by Southern Miss’ triplet of errors. The Golden Eagles’ poor fielding opened the base paths for the Green and Gold and they capitalized with excellent baserunning and field awareness, tallying three late unearned runs to pad the lead heading into the seventh.
On the opposite end, the SLU defense, led by excellent pitching from senior pitcher Cera Blanchard and junior pitcher Chloe Bennett, held Southern Miss scoreless for the rest of the game. They faced a combined ten batters and allowed just one to reach base.
“I knew how to throw strikes, rely on defense and rely on [senior catcher Bailey Krolczyk] behind the plate,” Blanchard said.
In the top of the seventh, Bennett calmly sat down Southern Miss’ first three batters to secure SLU’s fourth straight victory, 6-2.
Fremin said his squad played a “great game defensively” and commended their error-free fielding and excellent pitching.
“For four arms to go out there and hold [Southern Miss] to three hits and give four different looks was great,” Fremin said.
His team will continue their brief homestand this weekend against conference rival UIW. They’ll play a doubleheader today at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. and close the three-game series with a contest at noon on Sunday, March 10.
Fans can watch the Lady Lions take on the Cardinals at North Oak Park or watch the series on ESPN+. As always, stay tuned to The Lion’s Roar for more coverage on SLU Softball.
