Northwestern State Takes Down Southeastern Louisiana 9-2
Southland Conference
BOX SCORE |
PHOTO GALLERY |
BRACKET |
TOURNAMENT PAGE
FRISCO, Texas – Top-seeded Northwestern State defeated fourth-seed Southeastern Louisiana 9-2 in the Southland Conference Softball Tournament back draw Thursday night at the Lady Demon Diamond in Natchitoches, La. With the victory, the Lady Demons advance to the tournament back-draw semifinals in hopes of reaching their third-straight championship game.
Southeastern Louisiana got on the board first, scoring two runs in the first inning behind four hits. Singles from all-conference freshman shortstop Sydney Booker and sophomore right fielder Mychal Truxillo drew in scores for the Lady Lions. However, that would be last runs Southeastern would score in the game.
Northwestern State posted one run in the first and one in the second to even the score at two. Kellye Kincannon scored to get the first run off a double by Brittney Jones. In the second inning, senior third baseman Brittany Virgoe hit a double which allowed Hailee Rhodes to reach home for the tying run.
The Lady Demons then scored four runs in the bottom of the third, including a three-run home run into deep left field by sophomore second baseman Micayla Sorosiak. The fourth run of the inning came on a Virgoe line out down the third-base line, allowing Rhodes to score again.
Northwestern State kept the bats hitting hot in the fourth inning as the Lady Demons increased their lead to 9-2 after scoring three runs. It was senior designated player Cassandra Barefield who hit a deep solo home run over the center field wall before junior left fielder Natalie Landry reached home plate on an error by the Lady Lions’ centerfielder Katie Lacour. The final score of the night came as freshman centerfielder Sidney Salmans hit a single to the shortstop for an RBI as Sorosiak scored from third base.
The Lady Demons tallied a total of 14 hits on the night and Sorosiak led the offensive charge with two hits, one run and 3 RBI. Barefield was also impressive with a hit, three runs and a RBI.
Northwestern State’s Micaela Bouvier took the win, improving her record to 14-5 on the season, while striking out two in four innings pitched. Southland pitcher of the year Mikayla Brown started for the Lady Demons and tossed for three innings before retiring for the night.
The Lady Lions used three pitchers on the night as junior Taylor Bishop started and pitched for 3-2/3 innings, receiving the loss as she gave up five runs. Senior right-hander Spencer Adkinson was brought in next and allowed four runs in 1-1/3 innings before senior righty Tori Stamper was called upon to finish out the game.
Top-seed and tournament host Northwestern State (35-17, 22-3 Southland) will play in tomorrow morning’s back-draw semifinal game against No. 5 seed Lamar (26-27, 14-10 Southland) with a tournament championship game berth on the line. First pitch is slated for 10:30 a.m. from the Lady Demon Diamond. NSU lost to the Lady Cardinals in the first round of the Southland tournament, 6-1. In late March, the Lady Demons earned a 2-1 regular-season conference series win in Beaumont.
Southeastern Louisiana’s season comes to an end as the Lady Lions finish with an overall record of 22-30.
The Southland title game is slated for a 2 p.m. start tomorrow with a possibility of a second game for the tournament championship. The 11th game would be played in the event an undefeated team lost in the title game forcing a second game for the tournament championship, upholding the double elimination format. Game 11 start time is to be determined.
The winner of the Southland softball tournament receives the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
For more information on the tournament, including a link to
live stats, please visit
Southland.org. For updates and the most current information throughout the tournament please follow the Southland Conference on twitter at SouthlandSports and use the hashtag “SLCSoftball”.
Tomorrow morning’s back draw semifinal will be streamed live for free on the Southland Conference Digital Network, including
Southland.org/watch and the league’s mobile and tablet apps. The championship round will be an exclusive presentation of ESPN3, available via
WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app. Chris Mycoskie, Assistant Commissioner of Television and Electronic Media for the Southland Conference, will handle play-by play for all games. Three-time Southland softball coach of the year and National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame member Yvette Girouard will join him for the championship as the color analyst.
Quotes
Northwestern State Head Coach Donald Pickett
On the key to winning…
“I thought we brought the fight to them tonight and I think that will be the key to us winning the tournament. There is a lot on the line tomorrow. We were patient and we hit the ball really well.”
On Micayla Sorosiak’s three-run home run…
“It was huge. That lifted the pressure off our back I felt like. Our kids started playing loose and playing like they can play. I was glad to see Bear get that big home run too. Hopefully all those kids get the confidence from tonight and we just continue to grow and get stronger as the tournament goes.”
On Micaela Bouvier…
“She did great. She came in; she was ready to go; she was throwing strikes and she was attacking the zone. She got us a lot of popups and easy outs. I think the kids are confidence with those two out there.”
On Kellye Kincannon’s diving grab…
“That was an all-conference catch right there. That was big time. With two outs, they dropped in a couple early to get those runs on the board. I think the momentum changed then. You could see the confidence growing with our team. Kellye was huge with that play on defense.”
Northwestern State Designated Player Cassandra Barefield
On fourth-inning home run…
“Coach Pickett the whole night was telling us to adjust to the pitcher and stay in the middle of the field. That’s what we did that inning. We just hit the ball how we knew how to hit it and it worked out for us.”
On building confidence with pair of wins…
“We had a really big confidence level. Last weekend, we did lose to them a third game. We came out here and just kicked it.”
On facing Lamar who downed NSU 6-1 in first game…
“We just have to play our game. We have to believe in ourselves and our teammates.”
On Micayla Sorosiak’s three-run home run…
“She was great today. She knows how to hit the ball and she was a big help today.”