Gaconi’s gem seals Southeastern’s series win at Southland-leading Sam Houston

HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Corey Gaconi tossed a two-hit shutout Sunday at Don Sanders Stadium, 6-0, and Southeastern Louisiana became the first team to win a Southland series against conference-leading Sam Houston State in 2018.

Southeastern (32-18, 19-8 Southland) pulled within 1.5 games of the first-place Bearkats (33-15, 19-5 Southland). The Lions, who have already clinched their spot in the upcoming conference tournament, sit in second place in the Southland standings.

Gaconi had his breaking ball working early, keeping the Sam Houston hitters off-balance. After a two-out single by Bearkat first baseman Blake Chisholm in the first inning, the junior right-hander from Metairie, Louisiana, retired the next nine batters.

The Lions provided Gaconi all the run support he would need in the third.

Nathan Pilutti, a junior from Destrehan, Louisiana, ripped a two-out double into the gap in left-center field and scored on Drew Avans’ single through the right side.

Southeastern threatened to add to its lead in the fourth, but the Bearkats cut down Taylor Schwaner at the plate on a nice defensive play by shortstop Andrew Fregia.

In the bottom half of the inning, Gaconi experienced a momentary lapse in control. He walked cleanup hitter Clayton Harp on four pitches, breaking his string of nine-in-a-row retired, and fell behind 2-0 on right fielder Hunter Hearn. Gaconi battled back and got Hearn to fly out to end the inning, beginning another string of nine-consecutive batters retired.

Knocking Sam Houston starting pitcher Hayden Wesneski out of the game in the seventh, the Lions created some breathing room for Gaconi.

Daniel Wasinger, a senior catcher from El Paso, Texas, pulled a one-out double into the gap in right-center, advancing to third on Brennan Breaud’s single through the right side. With runners on the corners, the Lions swiped a run on a double steal. The pair of stolen bases puts Southeastern’s season total at 122, three shy of the program’s single-season record.

Cody Grosse added to the score, driving a two-out triple into the right-center field gap. He scored on Pilutti’s slow-rolling infield single to short.

Pilutti capped off his day driving home the final two Lion runs in the ninth, smacking a ground-rule double to left-center with two down.

Gaconi continued to roll, allowing just a pair of base runners in the final three innings and retiring the side in order in the ninth. He needed just 93 pitches to go the distance, tossing his second complete game of the season and the first shutout of his career. It also marked the first time this season Sam Houston has been shut out.

En route to the win, Gaconi (5-1) scattered two hits, a hit batter and one walk. He struck out six.

Wesneski (4-3) suffered the loss, allowing four runs in 6.1 innings. He surrendered eight hits and hit a batter, but did not issue a walk. The right-hander also struck out five batters.

Pilutti (3-for-5) and Schwaner (2-for-4) each turned in multiple hits, with Pilutti driving in three.

Southeastern wraps up its road trip and Southland Conference play with a three-game series at Central Arkansas, May 11-13, in Conway, Arkansas. The Lions return home to wrap up the season with games against South Alabama (May 15) and No. 19-ranked Houston (May 17-18) at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.

DIAMOND CLUB / S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the baseball program are encouraged to join the Diamond Club. Lion baseball alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners. S Club members also gain membership in the Diamond Club.

All membership fees and donations to both the Diamond Club and S Club (baseball) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern baseball program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091.

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Southeastern 6, Sam Houston State 0
(May 06, 2018 at Huntsville, Texas)
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Southeastern…………. 001 000 302 – 6 10 0 (32-18, 19-8 SLC)
Sam Houston State… 000 000 000 – 0 2 1 (33-15, 19-5 SLC)
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Pitchers: Southeastern – Gaconi, Corey and Wasinger, Daniel; Pace, Evan. Sam Houston State – Wesneski, Hayden; Sequeira, Gabriel (7) and Cannon, Jordan.

Win-Gaconi, Corey(5-1) Loss-Wesneski, Hayden(4-3) T-2:06 A-1296
Weather: Sunny, 83 deg, NNW 8 mph