SAN ANTONIO (May 4, 2024) - The No. 1-ranked Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) softball squad will battle LSU-Alexandria (LSUA) in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) Championship Tournament Semifinals tomorrow. The Generals are the No. 2 seed while the Saints are the No. 1 seed. The winner of the 5 p.m. matchup will advance to the championship on Monday. The losing team remains in the tournament to play in an elimination game. 

The Saints opened play in the tournament today by beating No. 8 seed Xavier University of Louisiana. Ava Hernandez started the scoring for the Saints in the second inning with a two-run home run. The Saints added four more runs in the third frame. The RBIs included a single by Alyssa Flores, triple from Grace Ross, sacrifice fly from Hernandez and three-run home run by Cassandra Valdez. The Gold Nuggets scored their lone run in the fourth inning on a ground out RBI. Hernandez started in the circle and grabbed the win after going three innings with two strikeouts. Valeria Vielma pitched two innings in relief. The Saints won 9-1 in five innings to advance in the winner's bracket.

OLLU faced No. 5 seed Texas A&M University-Texarkana after defeating the Gold Nuggets. The Eagles opened the scoring in the first inning with a solo home run. Pitching dominated the scoreless second and third innings, with one player reaching between both teams. OLLU tied the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. Flores grounded out to shortstop that scored Madison Garza from third base. Kristee Salas singled in the following inning to score Kayla Dreese and give the Saints a permanent lead. OLLU ended the game in a run rule by scoring seven runs in the sixth inning. The frame was highlighted by an inside-the-park home run by Dreese. The Saints won 9-1 backed by seven hits. Valdez pitched a complete game with six strikeouts to move to 22-0 on the season.

LSUA also won both of their games today. They blanked No. 7 seed Texas College 6-0 with 11 hits. Four different LSU-Alexandria players recorded an RBI and Haley Primrose struck out 11 batters. They didn't allow a run again in the second game against No. 3 seed the University of Houston-Victoria (UHV). They won 3-0 with all three runs coming in the fourth inning. Both teams totaled three hits apiece and UHV stranded five runners on the bases. Taylor Spencer pitched a complete game with three strikeouts. Madi Baker batted 1-for-2 with three RBIs. 

The Saints won both matchups against the Generals in the regular season. They outscored LSUA 9-1 and haven't lost in the series since 2021.