Lions down Demons, extend win streak to five

HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University baseball team extended its winning streak to five consecutive games Friday, rallying for a 7-5 victory over Northwestern State in Southland Conference action at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.

Southeastern (24-25, 8-14 SLC) rallied twice to wipe out Demon leads and take the series from Northwestern State (27-24, 12-11 SLC).

Trailing, 2-0, with the bases loaded and no outs in the fifth, designated hitter Jake Killingsworth blasted a grand slam. It was the first home run of the season for the junior from Headland, Alabama.

Northwestern State wiped out the Lions’ 4-2 lead with three runs in the top of the sixth, but SLU bounced back with three runs of its own in the bottom of the inning.

Reliever Dalton Flowers issued a two-out walk to Dane Watts. He stole second, his 16th steal of the season, before advancing to third on Rhett Rosevear’s infield single. Tyler Finke drove in Watts with an RBI single to left field. After hitting Killingsworth with a pitch to load the bases, Flowers uncorked a wild pitch. Rosevear scored from third and an errant throw back to Flowers from catcher Bailyn Sorenson allowed Finke to score from second.

Adam Guth, Dalton Aspholm and Connor Spencer combined to close out the game with 3.1 innings of scoreless relief work. Guth (1-1) earned the win. He allowed two hits and one walk, striking out two batters in 2.0 innings pitched. Spencer earned his third save, retiring the side in order in the ninth.

Flowers (1-3) suffered the loss, allowing three runs – two earned – in 2.1 innings of work.

Finke, Rosevear and Watts all scored two runs each while Rosevear (2-for-5) picked up multiple hits for the Lions.

UP NEXT
Senior Day ceremonies are set for approximately 1:30 p.m. Saturday and first pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field. Barn Hill Preserve will be back at the ballpark with several of their family-friendly exotic animals.

Fans can also play Baseball Bingo at Saturday’s game by picking up a card at the marketing table. The first three completed bingo cards go home as winners.

The game is slated for coverage on ESPN+. Fans in Hammond can also listen to all the action on KSLU 90.9 FM. There is no streaming audio. Live stats will be available online at www.LionSports.net and in the Lions Gameday Experience app. Fans can also receive in-game updates on Twitter by following the @LionUpBaseball account.

SLU will send right-hander Brennan Stuprich (4-5, 6.60) to the mound in the series opener. He will match up against Demon right-hander Drayton Brown (5-6, 5.93).

TICKET & PARKING INFORMATION
Single-game tickets are now on sale. Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance to minimize ticket lines on game days. Southeastern students are encouraged to contact the ticket office prior to the game to reserve theirs in advance.

General admission tickets for most games are $9 for adults and $6 for youth (ages 3-12). Southeastern students, with a university ID, and children under age 2 are admitted for free. Gameday parking is $5 per day for standard vehicles and $25 for RVs.

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 4 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Fridays. The ticket booth at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field opens exactly one hour prior to the scheduled first pitch.

Southeastern uses mobile ticketing as the primary method for distributing tickets purchased online. Tickets will be available via text message or email in a PDF format for fans to download on their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded to Apple Wallet.

CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics enforces a clear bag policy for all ticketed events. The policy mirrors the safety precautions required for 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 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 by 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.

LINE SCORE
Southeastern 7, Northwestern State 5 (May 19, 2023 at Hammond, La.)
————————————————————————————-
Northwestern State … 000 113 000 – 5 7 3 (27-24, 12-11 SLC)
Southeastern ……….. 000 043 00X – 7 6 2 (24-25, 8-14 SLC)
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Pitchers: Northwestern State – Makarewich, Alex; Flowers, Dawson (6); Bryan, Tyler (8) and Sorensen, Bailyn. Southeastern – Kinzeler, Will; O’Toole, Hunter (6); Guth, Adam (6); Aspholm, Dalton (8); Spencer, Connor (9) and Curry, Michael.

Win-Guth, Adam (1-1) Save-Spencer, Connor (3) Loss-Flowers, Dawson (1-3) T-2:59 A-1313
HR SLU – Killingsworth, Jake (1).
Weather: 87 Partly Cloudy, SE 7 mph