HAMMOND – The Southeastern Louisiana softball team will open its 2010 season this week, competing in the ULM Mardi Gras Tournament, which opens on Friday at the ULM Softball Complex.
The Lady Lions will open the tournament on Friday, facing Missouri-Kansas City at 10 a.m. and Southeast Missouri at 2 p.m. Southeastern will face host Louisiana-Monroe at 2 p.m. and Jackson State at 6 p.m. on Saturday. Sunday will see the Lady Lions face Southeast Missouri at 10 a.m. Live stats will be available for all tournament games at www.ulmathletics.com.
Southeastern returns five position starters from last season’s team. Lady Lion junior
Katie Duhe, a preseason All-Southland selection, hit .303 last season with 14 doubles, four home runs, 19 RBI and 10 stolen bases. Duhe, sophomore
Jordan Logan (.264 in 2009) and senior
Chelsea Takacs (.263) are the other top returning hitters for average.
Sophomore
Meghan Gomez is the team’s top returning power threat, hitting eight home runs and driving in 24 runs on the way to earning All-Southland Conference honors as a freshman. Gomez, Duhe, Takacs and sophomore
Lauren Coniglio are the team’s top returning long ball threats. Newcomers
Kelsey Nichols,
Casey Simpson and
Michelle Duhe are also expected to bolster the Lady Lion offense.
Defensively, Duhe and senior
Amber Freeman give Southeastern a solid middle infield. Junior
Tamra Ladnier is expected to continue to provide the Lady Lions with the Southland’s premier defensive first baseman. Junior
Heather Grivas has a steady glove behind the plate that could earn her some time at catcher.
Senior
Catherine Gunther (9-15, 3.78 ERA) and sophomore
Katelyn Thomason (7-11, 3.81 ERA) are the top returning pitchers for what should be the deepest Lady Lion pitching staff in recent memory. Returners
Jenna Yoder and
Bailey Zievert, as well as four newcomers – Simpson, sophomore
Vicki Honeycutt, redshirt freshman
Elise Kittrell and freshman
Kati Morse – are all expected to see action in the circle.
Southeastern will open the tournament facing UMKC, a member of the Summit League that is coming off a 20-34 season a year ago. Sophomore Betsy Hanley hit .342 a season ago, while sophomore Chelsea Hartwig led the Kangaroos with eight home runs and 25 RBI a season ago. Taya Upkes (4-2, 2.37 ERA) is the top returning pitcher for UMKC. UMKC and Southeastern will be meeting for the first time in their program’s respective histories.
Southeast Missouri and the Lady Lions will play twice during the tournament and will also be meeting for the first time ever. The Redhawks were 29-21 overall and 16-8 in Ohio Valley Conference play last season. Junior Nicole Tronocoso (.341 in 2009) and senior Alex Ramirez (.333, 6 HR, 27 RBI) are the top returning hitters, while junior Giana Zimmerman (19-9, 2.42 ERA) returns as the ace of the Redhawk staff.
The Lady Lions will face former Southland Conference rival Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday. Junior outfielder Brianna Love (.378, 8 HR, 26 RBI) is back to lead the Warhawks at the plate. ULM returns its entire pitching staff, led by senior Kandace Causey (11-19, 3.49 ERA). Southeastern is 36-27 all-time versus ULM. Last season, Southeastern earned a 3-1 win in Hammond behind a complete game, five-hitter from Gunther.
Jackson State rounds out Southeastern’s tournament opponents and the Lady Tigers are coming off a 20-24 season in 2009. Senior Brittanie Talley (.353), senior Amanda Boggan (.351) and sophomore Wendi Reed (5 HR, 32 RBI) were the team’s top performers at the plate a season ago. Talley (9-10, 4.00 ERA) and senior Jessica Villegas (5-6, 4.67 ERA) are JSU’s most veteran returners in the circle. Southeastern is 5-4 all-time versus the Lady Tigers. Last season, Southeastern defeated JSU, 8-5, in Hammond and 5-3 in Jackson, Miss.
The Lady Lions will play their first eight games of the season on the road. Following this weekend’s tournament, Southeastern will head to Ruston for a 2 p.m. doubleheader at Louisiana Tech on Tuesday