HAMMOND – The Southeastern Louisiana softball team will return to action this week, traveling to Huntsville, Texas for a two-game Southland Conference series with Sam Houston State at the Bearkat Softball Complex.
 
The series between the Lady Lions (10-29, 2-10 Southland) and the host Bearkats (20-17, 12-2 Southland) opens with a 6 p.m. contest on Friday with Saturday's series finale set for 1 p.m. Live stats for the games will be available at www.gobearkats.com and fans can follow the action via Twitter at www.twitter.com/sluathletics.
 
Southeastern has won three of its last four games, including its most impressive non-conference win of the season – a 9-8 victory over South Alabama on Wednesday night. In the win, sophomore first baseman Tori Sheppard, senior catcher Meghan Gomez and junior outfielder Kelsey Nichols each homered to power the Lady Lions to victory.
 
Senior third baseman Lauren Coniglio and junior outfielder Michelle Duhe had two hits apiece for Southeastern in the win, while Nichols and sophomore second baseman Megan McCollum each scored two runs. Senior pitcher Vicki Honeycutt (4-3, 4.79 ERA) earned the win in the circle, allowing just one hit in 3.2 innings of relief.
 
The Lady Lions are hitting at a .237 clip as a team with 21 home runs, 105 RBI, 121 runs scored, 46 doubles and 113 walks as a team. McCollum leads the team with a .308 batting average, followed by junior first baseman Ariell Van Hook (.286) and Duhe (.279). Duhe also leads the team with 38 hits and three triples.
 
Gomez is back in a tie for the Southland Conference lead with nine home runs. Gomez is followed by Van Hook with four, while Sheppard, Nichols and sophomore Kayla Elswick have two apiece for the Lady Lions.
 
Gomez also paces the team with 23 runs batted in. The Alvin, Texas native is one of five Lady Lions with double-digit RBI, along with Nichols (13), McCollum (12), Elswick (11) and Van Hook (10). Duhe has scored a team-high 15 runs, while McCollum and Gomez have each scored 14.
 
Senior outfielder Katie Matthews paces the squad with seven doubles, followed by McCollum, Van Hook and senior third baseman Trish Bliss with six apiece. Van Hook has drawn a team-high 19 walks, while Matthews and senior third baseman Lauren Coniglio have 15 free passes each to their credit.
 
Southeastern heads into the series with a 4.97 team earned run average. Honeycutt, junior Kenna Terry (3-13, 4.46 ERA), senior Kati Morse (2-4, 3.78 ERA) and sophomore Jessie Browne (1-9, 7.45 ERA) have each seen significant action in the circle.
 
Awaiting Southeastern is a Bearkat lineup that is hitting .273 as a team. Junior outfielder Kim Damian (.384), junior outfielder Tori Benavidez (.353) and junior infielder Shelbi Tucker (.306) are the top hitters for average for Sam Houston State.
 
Tucker shares the Southland home run lead with Gomez with her nine home runs. Damian (8 HR), sophomore catcher/infielder Sarah Allison (7 HR) and freshman infielder Hillary Adams (7 HR) are also power threats for a Sam Houston State team that has totaled 41 home runs.
 
Six SHSU pitchers have combined for a 3.62 staff earned run average in 2012. Senior Tomi Garrison (7-8, 3.30 ERA) and sophomore Shelby Lancaster (8-6, 3.05 ERA) have handled the lion's share of the work in the circle, while freshman Meme Quinn (5-2, 4.31 ERA) has also logged significant innings for the Bearkats.
 
Southeastern is 20-36 all-time versus Sam Houston State. The Bearkats took two of three from the Lady Lions last season in Huntsville, Texas.
 
Following this week's series, the Lady Lions will close out its Southland Conference road schedule on Tuesday, facing Northwestern State in a 4 p.m. doubleheader in Natchitoches. Live stats for the games will be available at www.nsudemons.com and fans can follow the action via Twitter at www.twitter.com/sluathletics.