Lamar sports information

BEAUMONT — The Lamar softball team heads to the Southland Conference Tournament that starts Tuesday. This is the first time since 2017 that the Cardinals have advanced to the Southland Tournament. LU opens play against Northwestern State.

The Cards and Lady Demons play at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday in the second. The game will take place in Natchitoches, Louisiana, on the Lady Demon Diamond. For more information on the SLC Tournament, click here.

The winner of the Lamar and Northwestern State contests advances to play third seed McNeese in the fourth game of day one. First pitch for the contest against McNeese is set for 6:30 p.m.

ABOUT NORTHWESTERN STATE
Series record: 14-23 (38th meeting)
Last meeting: April 20 (5-0, Lamar)
Northwestern State enters the Southland Tournament as the sixth seed after winning the series over Central Arkansas. NSU dropped the last game of the series, 2-1, to the Bears. This will be the fourth matchup between the Lady Demons and Cardinals this season. LU won the series, 2-1, earlier this season.

At the plate, the Lady Demons are led by Cayla Jones, who leads the team with a .333 batting average. Alexis Perry is second on the team hitting .297. Jones leads the team in homeruns with eight on the season. Jones and Riley Cantrell are tied for the team lead with 31 RBIs on the season.

In the circle, Samantha Guile leads the team with 115.2 innings pitched. Opponents are hitting .237 off her. She is tied for the team lead in wins with nine. E.C. Delafield also has nine wins for the Lady Demons. Guile has a team-high 77 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.72. Mikayla Brown and Delafield have pitched 74 innings on the season, while Delafield has pitched 81 1/3 innings.

As a team, the Lady Demons are hitting .263 with 33 home runs and 59 doubles. They have an on-base percentage of .352 and are 56-for-65 in stolen bases. In the circle, Northwestern State has a team ERA of 2.82. Opponents are hitting .256 against the Lady Demons with 95 extra base hits.

ABOUT McNEESE
Series record: 7-29 (37th meeting)
Last meeting: May 4 (4-3, McNeese)
McNeese enters the Southland Tournament after a three-game sweep of the Cardinals. McNeese earned the third seed in the tournament and will play the winner of Lamar and Northwestern State at 6:30 p.m. at the Lady Demon Diamond.

At the plate, the Cowgirls are led by Justyce McClain, who leads the team with a .405 batting average. Cori McCrary is second on the team hitting .297. Toni Perrin, Brenique Wright and McCrary lead the team with three home runs apiece. McCrary also leads the Cowgirls in RBIs as she has driven in 24 runs this season.

In the circle, Alexsandra Flores leads the team with 133.2 innings pitched. Opponents are hitting .242 off her. She leads the team with 12 wins and has an ERA of 2.83, while striking out 56 batters. Besides Flores, the Cowgirls have Saleene Flores and Amber Coons. Saleene Flores is 5-5 on the season in 100.1 innings pitched. She has a team-best 1.67 ERA. Coons has pitched 66.1 innings this season and has a 2.32 ERA on the season.

As a team, the Cowgirls are hitting .259 with 14 home runs and 67 doubles. They have an on-base percentage of .326 and are 123-for-149 in stolen bases. In the circle, McNeese has a team ERA of 2.55. Opponents are hitting .245 against the Cowgirls with 94 extra base hits.

THE BRACKET
Opening the Southland Tournament this year will be fifth seed Southeastern Louisiana against eighth seed Central Arkansas at 11 a.m. Like the Lamar and Northwestern State contest, the winner of the SLU and UCA contest advances to the double-elimination bracket while the loser is eliminated.

Finishing in third place was McNeese with a 28-28 on the season and 19-8 in the Southland. They will play its first game of the tournament on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. against the winner of LU and NSU.

Fourth seed in the tournament will be Stephen F. Austin, who are 34-19 and 18-9 in Southland play. They play the winner of the SLU and UCA contest at 4 p.m.

Rounding out the teams in the conference tournament are the top two teams in the league. Top seed Sam Houston State won the league with a 22-5 Southland mark and are 31-21 on the season. Second seed Nicholls was 21-6 in Southland play and 32-20 on the season. Sam Houston State and Nicholls each lost one game to Lamar this season.