Over the weekend, the Lady Lions hosted a part of the 2026 Southland Conference championship tournament in North Oak Park, but fell short of making the SLC championship game after losing their final game to Lamar 2-1.
Southeastern came into the tournament after a historic season with a 44-12 overall record. They lost only three conference games all season and achieved a team record 25-game win streak, which included multiple shutouts against conference opponents.
SLU’s long weekend of games began when nasty storms rolled through and pushed back the game that was originally going to start around 3 p.m. to start near 8 p.m. Thursday night.
However, a little rain didn’t stop the Lady Lions from notching another shutout win against the Islanders in six innings, 8-0.
After the long rain delay on Thursday, Fremin told reporters that they’ve prepared for this over the season and it was nothing new.
“We prepare for this, for moments like this, handling a wet ball, practicing in the rain during the fall, it’s all scripted into our practice plan from August and it’s my job to put them in a position to be successful.”
In the rain, junior first baseman and pinch-hitter Katie Lott hit her first home run of the season in the fifth inning to extend Southeastern’s lead to 7-0, before right fielder Addison Contorno topped it off with a single in the sixth to end the game early.
On the mound against Corpus Christi, sophomore pitcher Hallie Burns collected 10 strikeouts and held just two hits in 17 at-bats.
SLU advanced to the winners’ bracket, where the team would play Lamar on Friday, but the game was postponed and moved to Saturday as more storms rolled through the weekend.
On Saturday, the Lady Lions lost their first game to Lamar 2-1 in eight innings.
The only run scored for Southeastern came from the graduate left fielder Ka’Lyn Watson on an inside-the-park home run.
Later that day, SLU fought to stay alive, defeating Incarnate Word 6-4 to advance to Sunday’s final game against Lamar for the second time in the tournament.
In the win over UIW, Watson helped the Lady Lions make up for the loss with another home run over center field that brought in two runs to secure the win for the Lady Lions.
When they advanced to the final game of the bracket, Watson remained a game-changer to tie the score with a triple to bring home another RBI in the eighth, but it wasn’t enough to secure the win.
Lamar gained their spot in the SLC championship with a walk-off single up the middle in the bottom of the eighth inning.
From the beginning of the season, Coach Fremin has never lost faith in his team; he holds them up on a pedestal for the world to see and has reminded them to be themselves throughout the season and to remain resilient in the tournament.
“We had some long nights before and I just told, be who they are tomorrow, that’s all I need them to do, nothing different. This is a special team, one of the best teams I’ve coached in over 25 years. They understand championship play and I’m very proud of the way they stuck with it through the long nights.”
Southeastern’s chances of making a regional now depend on its resume. Odds are against them, but after the historic season, the team is in a good position for postseason action.
