HAMMOND – After a week off, the Southeastern Louisiana softball team resumes Southland Conference play this weekend, facing defending league regular season champion Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in a two-game series at Chapman Field.
 
After having its scheduled game at Grambling on Tuesday rained out, the Lady Lions (7-26, 1-7 Southland) have been out of action since last Saturday's 4-0 win over McNeese State. The series with the host Islanders (10-14, 6-4 Southland) opens with a 2 p.m. game on Friday, before concluding with Saturday's 12 p.m. series finale. Live stats for the series will be available at www.goislanders.com.
 
The Lady Lions snapped a seven-game losing streak with the victory over McNeese State. Junior pitcher Kati Morse (2-3, 3.17 ERA) tossed a complete game shutout, scattering six hits against the Cowgirls. Junior outfielder Katie Doyle went 3-for-3 at the plate, as she and sophomore second baseman Megan McCollum each drove in a run for the Lady Lions.
 
Southeastern comes into the series with a .231 batting average, 17 home runs, 79 runs batted in, 95 runs scored and 36 doubles as a team. McCollum continues to lead the team with a .318 batting average. Junior outfielder Michelle Duhe (.277), junior first baseman Ariell Van Hook (.262), junior outfielder Kelsey Nichols (.241) and senior third baseman Trish Bliss (.227) round out the top five hitters for average.
 
Senior catcher Meghan Gomez has been the team's top power threat, accounting for nearly half of the team's long balls with her Southland-high eight home runs. Van Hook (three) and sophomore shortstop Kayla Elswick (two) have also left the yard multiple times, while McCollum, Nichols, senior third baseman Lauren Coniglio and sophomore first baseman Tori Sheppard have one homer apiece.
 
Gomez also leads the team with 19 RBI, followed by Elswick and McCollum with 10 apiece and Nichols with nine RBI. Duhe has scored a team-high 14 runs and is joined in double figures by Gomez (12) and Van Hook (10).
 
Bliss leads Southeastern with six doubles, while a quartet of Lady Lions – McCollum, Van Hook, Nichols and senior outfielder Katie Matthews – have five two-baggers. Van Hook also leads the team with 17 walks, followed by Coniglio (14), Matthews (13) and Gomez (10).
 
In the circle, four Southeastern pitchers have combined for a 5.08 team earned run average. Morse, junior Kenna Terry (2-11, 4.75 ERA), senior Vicki Honeycutt (2-3, 5.33 ERA) and sophomore Jessie Browne (1-9, 7.26 ERA) have handled the work in the circle for the Lady Lions.
 
That Lady Lion staff will face an Islander lineup that sports a .232 team batting average. Sophomore catcher Laura Phillips leads Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and ranks second in the Southland with a .394 batting average. Freshman infielder Cassie Carroll shares the team home run lead with junior infielder Megan McKinney with two bombs, while also pacing the squad with 10 RBI.
 
The Islanders have a 4.77 team earned run average with three seniors handling the majority of the work in the circle. Greta Cecchetti (5-3, 2.92 ERA) has been the team's ace, while evenly splitting time with Vianca Pesina (1-5, 5.17 ERA) and Jordan Trujillo (4-5, 5.62 ERA).
 
Southeastern is 4-11 all-time versus Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, which joined the Southland Conference prior to the 2007 season. The Lady Lions have dropped seven straight overall to the Islanders.
 
Following the weekend's action, Southeastern will head to Baton Rouge on Monday to face Southern in a 4 p.m. contest that is a makeup from a rainout earlier this season. Fans can follow the action via Twitter at www.twitter.com/sluathletics.