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LAKE CHARLES – McNeese softball, the 2022 Southland Conference champions, will look to defend its league tournament title here Wednesday when the No. 1 overall seeded Cowgirls open the double-elimination tournament against 4^th-seed Northwestern State at 11 a.m. at North Oak Park in Hammond. The Lady Demons held on to defeat the Cardinals earlier on Tuesday by a 4-3 score to advance to play the Cowgirls, who had a first round bye.
 
All games will broadcast on ESPN+ with the championship game set for 12 p.m. Friday. The tournament champion will receive the league's automatic bid to the 2022 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament. Regional competition will be held May 20-22 at sites to be determined.
 
McNeese (35-19), who recently wrapped up its Southland Conference record seventh regular season title and fifth out of the last six years, is making its 32^nd overall SLC Tournament appearance, having won it a conference-record seven times including four out of the last five years the tournament was played. The tournament was canceled in 2020 when the season was halted midway through due to the Covid pandemic.
 
Pitcher of the Year Ashley Vallejo and Newcomer of the Year Kendall Talley will lead the Cowgirls into their opening game following an outstanding regular season.
 
Vallejo carries a 16-7 overall record into the tournament with a 1.97 ERA and 117 strikeouts while Talley has a .333 batting average with 49 hits, nine doubles and three home runs.
 
Jil Poullard leads the Cowgirls with a .353 batting average along with 47 hits, 11 doubles and seven home run. Freshman Crislyne Moreno is batting .339 with 41 hits while Alayis Seneca enters the week with a .316 average and leads the team with 50 hits and is tied for a team high with 20 stolen bases.
 
McNeese has compiled a 52-48 all-time record in the league tournament including a remarkable 16-2 record in the last five tourneys.
 
The Cowgirls won two out of three games against the Lady Demons to win the season series a month ago.
 
TOURNAMENT SEEDS
No. 1 – McNeese (35-19, 15-3 SLC)
No. 2 – Southeastern (37-14, 14-4 SLC)
No. 3 – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (23-25, 11-7 SLC)
No. 4 – Northwestern State (28-20, 10-8 SLC)
No. 5 – UIW (15-34, 5-13 SLC)
No. 6 – Houston Baptist (14-27, 4-14 SLC)
No. 7 – Nicholls (12-36, 4-14 SLC)


TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Opening Round – Tuesday, May 10, 2022
Noon - Game 1 - No. 4 Northwestern State 4, vs. No. 5 UIW 3 (ESPN+)
2:30 p.m. - Game 2 - No. 3 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi vs. No. 6 HBU (ESPN+)
5 p.m. – Game 3 – No. 2 Southeastern vs. No. 7 Nicholls (ESPN+)
 
Second Round – Wednesday, May 11, 2022
11 a.m. - Game 4 - No. 1 McNeese vs. No. 4 Northwestern State (ESPN+)
1:30 p.m. - Game 5 – Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3 (ESPN+)
4 p.m. – Game 6 - Loser Game 2 vs. Loser Game 3 (ESPN+)
6:30 p.m. – Game 7 - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 5 (ESPN+)
 
Third Round – Thursday, May 12, 2022
11 a.m. - Game 8 – Loser Game 4 vs. Winner Game 6 (ESPN+)
1:30 p.m. - Game 9 - Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5 (ESPN+)
4 p.m. – Game 10 – Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 (ESPN+)
6:30 p.m. – Game 11 - Loser Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10 (ESPN+)
 
Championship – Friday, May 13, 2022
Noon - Championship - Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 11 (ESPN+)
TBD – If Necessary Game