The Lion’s Roar /Larshell Green
Coach Rick Fremin, alumni and current Lady Lions softball players (above) walked down memory lane during an Alumni game on Saturday, October 17, 2015 at North Oak Park.
The Lions softball team is returning this season with new Head Coach Rick Fremin hoping to have another successful season. Fremin has been working with the team over the fall and is proud of their preparation this off-season.
“I feel the team has been preparing extremely hard,” said Fremin. “We had a good fall, and we focused on two things throughout the fall: our installation of our system, and our evaluation of the players and the team that we were taking over. So, their prep even after the Christmas holidays has been even more focused, and the practices have been very crisp. I do feel that this preparation is going to carry us a long way throughout the season especially in the months of April and May.”
Fremin is a Louisiana native from Belle Chasse. Before coming to Southeastern, Fremin coached Jackson State University and led the team to their first three Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) East Division championships in his five years as coach. Fremin is glad to be coaching school close to home.
“This is a dream job for me,” said Fremin. “I hope it is my last job. I’m from south Louisiana, and this is the closest division one school with a softball program to where I was born and raised. So, this is home, and I hope to raise my family here and built a top 25 softball program that the state can be really proud of.”
The Lady Lions have 13 players returning from last season. Senior outfielder/middle infielder Katie Lacour led the Southland Conference last year with a batting average of .484 and was ranked fifth in the NCAA is expected to have another stellar season. Along with Lacour, other players like sophomore outfielder Kinsey Nichols had a .340 batting average, 4 homeruns and 27 RBI last season. Senior first baseman, Amber Sather, had a batting average of .286, 7 homeruns and 31 RBI. This team batted .299 for the season last year and finished the season with a 22-30 overall record, in fourth place in the Southland Conference standings. Six Lady Lions players made the All-Southland teams and five of those players are returning to play this season.
While there are many veterans on the team this season, there are as many as nine newcomers to the team. Fremin wants to develop the new talent for the future of the program.
“We just kind of told them every position is open,” said Fremin. “They have to prove to the staff and to their teammates that they have earned the right to be in the starting lineup or receive opportunity. We want them all to play, however the reality of that is slim. They all got a shot in the fall and the ones that make the most of their opportunity will just get more opportunities.”
The Lady Lions advanced to the conference tournament last season due to finishing fourth in the conference. However, the Lady Lions lost their elimination match against the top-seed Northwestern State. Fremin believes that this is what the team needs to do to advance further in the tournament.
“I think just to be able to compete for seven-plus innings,” said Fremin. “To make our minds up that we are here to dominant our opponent, and we are here to respect the game and play it at the highest level. To work on our skill set and to enhance our skill set that way when that moment does arrive in that particular game we will have been battle tested and prepared for the moment.”
The Lady Lions first games of the season will be during the Lion Classic on February 12 through 14 at North Oak Park, were seven teams will be competing against each other in a three-day event.
“I feel we are ahead of schedule right now,” said Fremin. “I have been doing this for about fifteen years, and the majority of teams at this time three weeks out is not fully prepared. But I think we are a couple a days ahead of schedule.”
For more information on the Lady Lions softball team, visit lionsports.net.