Lions complete sweep of Mississippi Valley State

HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana defeated Mississippi Valley State, 17-0, Sunday at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field, completing a sweep of the three-game series.

The Lions (3-0) received 5.1 no-hit innings from starting pitcher Grant Upton (1-0). The sophomore right-hander combined with five relievers to finish off a third-consecutive shutout of the Delta Devils (0-3), marking the first time in program history Southeastern has tossed a trio of shutouts to open the regular season.

Noah Hughes finished out the sixth inning for the Lions and freshman Kyle Bartley recorded the first out of the seventh inning before Valley catcher Jonathan Yandrich dropped a single into right field, breaking up the no-hit bid. Upton earned the win, scattering four walks.

Southeastern started its offensive onslaught early. Champ Artigues laced a one-out single in the first inning. Preston Faulkner followed with a double to right-center field. Artigues scored on a Nick Ray sacrifice fly and Faulkner scored on a Jacob Burke infield single. Burke then promptly stole second base and third, eventually scoring on a double steal.

Burke capped a five-run second with an RBI double and then blasted a three-run home run in the fourth.

Six Lions turned in multi-hit performances at the plate, including Burke (3-for-4), Gaby Cruz (3-for-5), Artigues (2-for-3), Preston Faulkner (2-for-3), Christian Garcia (2-for-3) and Brandon Hale (2-for-2). Burke drove in five runs and Cruz provided three RBIs.

UP NEXT
Southeastern returns to action Thursday, opening a four-game series at Preseason No. 10-ranked Arizona. Games are scheduled for 7 p.m. (CST) Thursday and Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday. The Lions then return home to host Preseason No. 43-ranked Tulane in a midweek contest, March 3, for the annual Fireworks at the Pat promotion.

RADIO SHOW
Debuting at lunchtime Monday is the 2021 edition of Inside Southeastern Baseball with Matt Riser, presented by Blackened Brew. Airing every Monday during the baseball season at 12 p.m. on KSLU 90.9 FM, the one-hour show airs live from Blackened Brew in downtown Hammond. Fans can also listen to every show online at www.LionSports.net/ListenLive and via the Lions Gameday Experience or TuneIn Radio apps.

LIONS GAMEDAY EXPERIENCE APP
The 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 or by following the link www.LionSports.net/App.

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 17, Mississippi Valley 0 (Feb 21, 2021 at Hammond, La.)
———————————————————————-
Mississippi Valley … 000 000 000 – 0 3 3 (0-3)
Southeastern ……….. 350 402 03X – 17 20 2 (3-0)
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Pitchers: Mississippi Valley – Charles, Ethan; Valenzuela, Isaiah (5) and Yandrich, Johnathan. Southeastern – Upton, Grant; Hughes, Noah (6); Bartley, Kyle (7); Smith, Noah (8); Hoskins, Cole (8); Trahan, Gage (9) and Cruz, Gaby.

Win-Upton, Grant (1-0) Loss-Charles, Ethan (0-1) T-3:05 A-844
HR SLU – Burke, Jacob (1).
Weather: 67 Cloudy, SE 14 mph