Durant, Okla. - The Missouri Southern Lions Softball program will begin a new era under interim head coach Melissa Chmielewski this weekend as they travel to the Southeastern Regional Invitational hosted by Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant, Okla.

The Lions will be returning eight starters from last season's 15-37 squad with All-MIAA honorable mention selection senior Alana Hester leading the outfield and leading hitter, sophomore Myranda Stewart, moving from third base to second base. "We are very exicted to have both of them back," said Chmielewski. "Both will be at the top of the lineup and we are expecting a lot of offensive out put from the combo of speed [Hester] and power [Stewart]." Hester currently sits in third on the MSSU All-Time list in stolen bases with 68 swipes.

Both starting pitchers, senior Ashley Lutz and sophomore Kali' Hodson, return inside the circle for Southern. The two combined for 10 of the Lions 15 wins last season, with Lutz recording three saves. "We are excited to see their improvements this spring as they worked really hard during the fall season with Coach E [Chelsea Erickson] our new pitching coach," added Chmielewski.

The Lions open up the Southeastern Regional Invitational with a pair of games on Friday morning/afternoon at the Durant Multi-Sports Complex. The first game at 10 a.m. pits Southern against Southwestern Oklahoma State University and the 12:30 p.m. game has the Lions battling Oklahoma Christian. On day two the Lions will face host Southeastern Oklahoma at 10 a.m. followed by a 3 p.m. contest with the Arkansas Tech Golden Suns. The third and final day at the Durant Multi-Sports Complex has the Lions facing Henderson State at 12:30 p.m. before closing out the tournament with another game against Oklahoma Christian at 3 p.m.

Live stat links for all of the games can be found at www.mssulions.com