On May 3, the Lady Lions defeated Nicholls in the Hammond SLC tournament to secure their spot in the SLC championship.

Southeastern went undefeated through the Hammond bracket. They won their first game against HCU 4-3 on Thursday, then dominated SFA 7-3 on Friday and clinched their spot on Saturday against Nicholls, 4-3.

In the beginning, the Colonels took the first lead by two runs in the second inning from a single by their shortstop and a walk-in run after a hit by pitch.

SLU remained scoreless until they rallied in the third and clawed their way up the scoreboard. Junior left fielder Colleen Kulivan launched the ball toward right center field for a triple and was sent home after junior right fielder Kailey hit a single toward left field.

Southeastern scored another two runs after Nicholls struggled with a fielder’s choice at second base with a ball hit by junior third baseman Maria Detillier. 

SLU would score their last run in the fifth after Detillier sent a ball toward left field to make way for Chloe Magee to slide home.

In the final inning, Southeastern fans became anxious after the Colonels were one run away from tying the game when their first baseman hit a double toward left field.

Maci LaRue struck out five batters to prevent them from grabbing the lead, while senior center fielder Shenita Tucker made the final catch from Nicholls to lead the team to the SLC championship.

After the win, the team gathered by home plate to punch their ticket to the SLC championship and celebrated with head coach Rick Fremin.

“We executed our game plan perfectly in most of the tournament. This will be the fourth time the team will be in the championship. It was nice sleeping in our own beds, and the fan atmosphere helped us get here. We’re really excited to go further,” Coach Fremin said.

Southeastern will travel to Lake Charles to face McNeese in the SLC championship. The first game will start tonight at 6 p.m. and be streamed live on ESPN+.