Knopp’s career day, late offense boost Southeastern past Northwestern State

HAMMOND, La. – Mason Knopp fanned a career-high 13 batters and Southeastern Louisiana busted up a Super Lion Saturday pitchers’ duel, defeating Northwestern State, 8-1, in Southland Conference action at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.

Southeastern (18-17, 10-4 Southland), sitting in second place in the conference standings, inches a half-game closer to first-place Sam Houston State (21-10, 13-3 Southland) with the win over the Demons (19-14, 9-8 Southland). Rain in Nacogdoches, Texas, forced the postponement of the Bearkats game at Stephen F. Austin (15-20, 8-5 Southland), necessitating a Sunday doubleheader for the Piney Woods rivals.

Knopp and the Lions battled through strange environs, taking the middle game of the series. Blustery winds in excess of 20 mph blew out to left and center field throughout the contest, and a power outage, affecting the entire campus and parts of Hammond, struck following the completion of the first inning and lasted until well after the final out was recorded.

Striking first, the Demons got to Knopp as he was still settling in. Following a one-out single by center fielder Tyler Smith in the second inning, second baseman Sam Taylor drove in Smith with a wind-aided double to center.

A senior from Fort Scott, Kansas, Knopp fanned four in the first two innings, but also issued a pair of walks. After a two-out free pass in the second, the right-hander found his groove and retired 16 of the final 18 batters he faced.

Still down 1-0 in the sixth, a leadoff double broke up Knopp’s string of 10 consecutive batters retired but he responded by striking out the next three hitters to strand the runner at second.

The Lions had managed just a pair of singles off Northwestern State starting pitcher Nathan Jones entering the bottom half of the inning, but the right-hander began to falter. After retiring the first two batters in the sixth, Jones issued back-to-back walks to Cody Grosse and Preston Faulkner. First baseman Kyle Schimpf made him pay for the freebies, doubling down the right-field line to drive in both runners for a 2-1 lead.

Southeastern padded its lead in the seventh. Jones was pulled after issuing a leadoff walk to Brennan Breaud. Nathan Pilutti lofted a one-out fly ball to right off reliever David Hodo, but Demon outfielder Lenni Kunert lost the ball in the sun and Breaud scored on the play. Pilutti took second on the throw to the plate and then scored on Connor Manola’s single to left-center field.

Hodo coughed up a single to Bryce Steckler before walking Grosse to load the bases. Faulkner then cleared the bases with his sixth home run of the season, tying Schimpf for the team lead. The blast was the Lions’ second grand slam of the season following Schimpf’s shot March 30 at SFA.

Sophomore left-hander Trey Shaffer worked the final two innings on the mound for the Lions, retiring six of the seven batters he faced and striking out a pair.

Knopp (4-1) earned the win for his seven-inning effort, allowing one run on four hits and a pair of walks. Jones (4-2) was tagged with the loss, allowing three runs in six innings pitched.

Pilutti, who enjoyed a three-hit night in the series opener, picked up two more hits Saturday.

Thanks in part to 15 strikeouts by Lion pitching and plenty of fly balls, Schimpf did not record a putout or an assist in the game.

The series concludes Sunday at 1 p.m. with the Lions countering Northwestern State senior right-hander Cullen McDonald (3-0, 2.27) on the mound with sophomore righty Will Warren (2-4, 7.04).

The game can be heard in the Hammond area on the flagship station of the Southeastern Sports Radio Network, KSLU 90.9 FM, online at www.LionSports.net/ListenLive and via both the Lions Gameday Experience and TuneIn Radio apps.

Fans can also keep up with all the action through streaming video ($), live statistics or by following @SLUathletics on Twitter. Web links to audio and video broadcasts, stats, promotions and tickets are available on the baseball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.

Sunday’s series finale is another Local Hero Appreciation Day. Every Sunday home game throughout the 2019 season, the Lions give thanks to first responders, military personnel and service members with a discounted ticket available at the ticket booth (must have a valid service ID).

In conjunction with National Pet Day earlier this week, Hammond Veterinary Services is also sponsoring a Pet Adoption Day at the ballpark during Sunday’s game.

TICKET INFORMATION
Single-game tickets can be purchased online at www.LionSports.net/Tickets or by contacting the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466. Office hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Fridays. The ticket booth at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field opens exactly one hour before first pitch.

General Admission tickets for Lion home games are $9 for adults and $6 for children (ages 3-12). Southeastern students are admitted free with a valid university ID card.

CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics has instituted a clear bag policy for all ticketed events, effective with the start of the 2018 fall semester. The policy mirrors safety precautions taken upon entrance to professional and collegiate sporting venues throughout the country. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/Clear.

LIONS GAMEDAY EXPERIENCE APP
The new Lions Gameday Experience app puts audio, stats, video, social media and more in the hands of fans. Those in attendance can also check in to earn reward points redeemable for Southeastern-related prizes. Available for both Android and iOS devices, it can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play.

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.

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 or visiting www.LionUp.com.

SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Lions Baseball, follow @LionUpBaseball or @MattRiser17 on Twitter, @LionUpBaseball on Instagram and Facebook, and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.

LINESCORE
Southeastern 8, Northwestern State 1
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Northwestern State… 010 000 000 – 1 5 2 (19-14, 9-8 SLC)
Southeastern………… 000 002 60X – 8 8 0 (18-17, 10-4 SLC)
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Pitchers: Northwestern State – Jones, Nathan; Hodo, David (7); Daigle, Evan (8) and Nunez, Jakob. Southeastern – Knopp, Mason; Shaffer, Trey (8) and Manola, Connor.

Win-Knopp, Mason(4-1) Loss-Jones, Nathan(4-2) T-2:24 A-1172
HR SLU – Faulkner, Preston (6).
Weather: 83 Cloudy & Windy, SSE 22 mph
Jones, N. faced 1 batter in the 7th.