PHOTO GALLERY
LAKE CHARLES—McNeese softball became the third team in Southland Conference history to win three consecutive regular season titles Friday night with a 3-0 win over Southeastern. Northwestern State (1998-2000) and Texas State (2008-2010) are the other teams to win three straight titles.
McNeese (36-18, 20-2 SLC) earned the No. 1 seed in next week's Southland Conference Tournament in Hammond. Southeastern (42-11, 17-5 SLC) will be the No. 2 seed.
The series will conclude with a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday. Seniors
Ashley Vallejo,
Mariana Torres,
Shaelyn Sanders,
Chloe Gomez, and
Emily Phillips will be recognized following the doubleheader.
Sanders and Torres, who are playing their final home games of the season, were two big factors in the game. Torres at the plate and Sanders in the circle.
Torres accounted for all three runs in the game going 1-for-2 at the plate with a sacrifice fly in the second inning that scored fellow senior
Emily Phillips for the first run of the game.
Torres struck again in the fourth inning with a two RBI single to right field that scored
Rylie Bouvier and pinch runner
Jada Muñoz.
Following a Southeastern pitching change,
Bella Perez tripled down the left field line before Munoz came into the game to pinch run. Bouvier followed by reaching base on a fielder's choice then stole second, setting up Torres' single.
Southeastern threatened to score in the seventh with runners on second and third with one out but Sanders got Audrey Greely to go down swinging for the second out and got Colleen Kullivan to ground out to Torres at second to end the game.
Sanders was lights out in the circle as she has been in conference games all season. She allowed six hits, struck out six and didn't allow a walk. Her only extra base hit allowed was to Lexi Johnson, who led off the seventh with a double.
With win, Sanders improves to 19-9 overall and 12-1 in conference games. The shutout is her seventh overall and sixth in conference games.
Allison Brunson (3-1) suffered the loss for the Lady Lions.
