LAKE CHARLES – Lightning struck at Joe Miller Field on Saturday afternoon, but it wasn't the kind that has plagued the 2023 Southland Conference Softball Tournament with delays all week.
 
McNeese's Reese Reyna's second home run of the tournament with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning walked it off for the Cowgirls for a thrilling 1-0 win over Southeastern Louisiana to clinch their third straight tournament championship and automatic bid to next week's NCAA Tournament.
 
Reyna was named tournament MVP for her play. She was joined on the All-Tournament team by Mariana Torres, Alayis Seneca, Whitney Tate and Ashley Vallejo.
 
The win improved the Cowgirls' record to 44-14 overall, setting a school record for victories, while becoming the only program in conference history to repeat a three-peat. It's the conference record ninth tournament championship in program history.
 
Southeastern fell to 47-14 with both losses in the tournament coming against McNeese.
 
Great defense by both teams enabled the first title game in league history to go into extra innings with strong pitching on both sides.
 
The tandem of Cowgirl pitchers Whitney Tate and Ashley Vallejo combined to throw eight scoreless innings, allowing seven hits, one walk and three strikeouts. Tate threw the first 6.1 innings, giving up six hits and striking out two. Vallejo, who earned the win to improve her record to 18-8, entered the game with one out in the seventh inning and a runner on second and got the next two Lions batters to ground out and strike out to the scoring threat.
 
The Cowgirls managed its only hit in regulation in the fifth inning when Rylie Bouvier had a one-out single then advanced to second on a stolen base then to third on a throwing error by SLU's catcher on the throw down attempt. The Lions would the next Cowgirl to fly out to left field to end the frame.
 
Brooke Otto made one of those great defensive plays in the top of the seventh when Southeastern's Audrey Greely's liner into the gap in left centerfield is nabbed to take away at least a double.
 
The Lions came up with a possible game-saving play in the bottom of the inning when Otto's liner down the left field line was robbed by a diving Ka'Lyn Watson saving what could have been a triple.
 
Southeastern had a runner on second with two outs in the top of the eighth before a grounder to Reyna at shortstop ended the half inning.
 
In the bottom of the frame, Kaylee Lopez and Alayis Seneca failed to reach, setting up Reyna's game-winning homer on a 1-0 count.
 
The Cowgirls will learn their destination on Sunday at 6 p.m. when the 2023 NCAA Softball Tournament field is revealed.