Lion Softball Reaches SLC Tourney for First Time, Faces McNeese Thursday

By Lion Athletics

The East Texas A&M University softball team will play its first postseason game in the Division I era on Thursday, May 1, at top-seeded McNeese to begin the 2025 Southland Conference Tournament.

The Lions, who won over HCU on Saturday to clinch the final spot in the eight-team conference tournament, are grouped with the top-seeded Cowgirls, who clinched their fourth SLC title in a row on Saturday, as well as fourth-seeded UIW and fifth-seeded Lamar in the double-elimination bracket-play portion of the SLC Tournament. 

The bracket-play portion of the tournament runs from Thursday through Sunday. The winner of the Lake Charles bracket will advance to face the winner of the Hammond bracket in the SLC Championship Series next weekend. The Hammond bracket consists of second-seeded Southeastern, third-seeded Nicholls, sixth-seeded SFA, and seventh-seeded HCU. 

East Texas A&M finished 10-40 in the regular season and 6-21 in conference play, tied with A&M-Corpus Christi for eighth place in the standings. However, the Lions swept the season series over the Islanders to earn the tiebreaker for the eighth seed. The Lions’ eighth-place finish is the highest in the Southland era, and their 10 overall wins and six conference wins are the most in the Division I era.

The first pitch for the first-round game between the Lions and the Cowgirls is set for 3 p.m. on Thursday at the Cowgirl Diamond. The winner advances to face the winner of the UIW/Lamar game on Friday at 6 p.m., while the losing teams of the two games will play an elimination game at 3 p.m. on Friday.

The Lions and the Cowgirls are playing in the postseason for the first time, but McNeese has won each of the previous nine contests between the two teams.

All games of the Lake Charles bracket will be broadcast on ESPN+, as well as via audio on the Lion Sports Network. More information on the Southland Conference Tournament can be found here.

Featured photo by Jason Connel, East Texas A&M Office of Marketing and Communications