Lions down Islanders in slugfest to even series

HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University baseball team held off Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 12-9, Saturday for a Southland Conference victory at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.

Southeastern (12-19, 3-5 SLC) scored early and often but ultimately had to shut down the Islanders (16-16, 3-5 SLC) to pick up the win and force a rubber match in the series finale.

The Lions scored four in the first inning and maintained the lead until the sixth.

Rhett Rosevear, the national leader in HBPs, was hit by a one-out pitch in the first. It marked the 20th time Rosevear has been hit by a pitch this season, pushing the sophomore from Denham Springs, Louisiana into a tie with Andrew Godbold (2014) for third on the SLU single-season charts.

Tyler Finke worked a walk and then a wild pitch put both runners in scoring position. Shea Thomas lined a two-out single to center field, driving in both Rosevear and Finke.

Pierce Leavengood drove in Thomas with a triple to right-center and he later scored on another wild pitch.

The Islanders cut SLU’s lead in half in the second. Three straight hits, a pair of infield singles sandwiched around a double, helped produce the first run. A one-out single brought home the second.

Southeastern extended its lead back to four with single runs in the second and third.

Christian Garcia was hit by a pitch to open up the second. Garcia went first-to-third on Evan Keller’s one-out single and then scored on Rosevear’s squeeze bunt.

Leavengood provided the next run, leading off the third inning with a towering home run down the right-field line. It was the second homer of the season for the junior from Snohomish, Washington.

A&M-Corpus Christi again cut into the Lion lead, picking up a pair of runs in the fourth of SLU starting pitcher Adam Guth.

Southeastern answered one more time, extending its lead to a game-high five runs in the bottom half of the inning.

One-out, back-to-back singles by Rosevear and Finke put both aboard for Preston Faulkner’s conference-best ninth homer of the season. Faulkner’s second homer of the series, and 29th of his career, gave the Lions a 9-4 advantage.

A fifth-year senior from Denham Spring, Louisiana, Faulkner moved past Brent Taylor (1986-89) into sole possession of fifth place on the SLU all-time home run chart.

Five unanswered runs by the Islanders of relievers Daniel Dugas and Andrew Landry in the fifth and sixth tied up the game, 9-9.

Southeastern bounced right back in the bottom of the sixth to regain the lead, 10-9.

Faulkner led off the inning with a single to center, advancing to second on Thomas’ single to center. Tristan Welch drew a one-out walk to load the bases. Faulkner scored on Garcia’s groundout to first.

Hayden Robb worked a scoreless seventh inning in relief, working out of a bases-loaded situation, before handing the ball over to closer Gage Trahan for the eighth and ninth.

The Lions added some insurance runs in the eighth.

A two-out walk to Garcia put him aboard for Bryce Grizzaffi’s double to left-center, allowing him to score from first. Grizzaffi advanced to third on a wild pitch before Keller drew a walk, putting runners on the corners. The pair then executed a double steal with Grizzaffi swiping home for the final run of the game.

Trahan worked around a hit batter in the ninth, closing out the game with a scoreless frame to seal the win.

Landry (2-3) earned the win allowing one run in 1.1 innings of relief work. Trahan earned his fourth save of the season with a pair of scoreless innings, striking out three. Islander reliever Colin Purcell (1-1) suffered the loss, allowing one run in 1.1 innings pitched.

Thomas (3-for-5), Faulkner (2-for-3) and Leavengood (2-for-5) turned in multi-hit performances for Southeastern.

Lion hitters struck out just twice in the game while five SLU pitchers combined to strike out 13.

UP NEXT
The series concludes at 1 p.m. Sunday. Junior right-hander Reid Reynolds (1-1, 7.11) earns his first start of the season and will oppose Islander redshirt-junior southpaw Jaime Ramirez Jr. (1-0, 4.25) on ESPN+.

Fans in the Hammond area can also listen on the flagship station of the Southeastern Sports Radio Network – KSLU 90.9 FM – in addition to online at www.LionSports.net/ListenLive and via both the Lions Gameday Experience, Mixlr and MyTuner Radio apps. The MyTuner app is compatible with the Apple CarPlay software available in most late model automobiles. Fans should search for SLU Athletics (Mixlr) or Southeastern Sports Radio Network (MyTuner).

TICKET & PARKING INFORMATION
Single-game tickets are on sale for the remainder of the regular season. 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 are $9 for adults and $6 for youth (ages 3-12). Southeastern students, with a university ID, and children under age 2 are admitted 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.

PARKING CONSTRUCTION
The university is slated to repave a portion of the baseball parking lot, April 13-29, affecting home games against New Orleans (April 14-16), South Alabama (April 19) and Southern Miss (April 26). Additional parking will be available in the parking garage and in the lot north of the garage.

CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics enforces a clear bag policy for all ticketed events. The policy mirrors 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.

RADIO SHOW
The next episode of Inside Southeastern Baseball with Matt Riser, presented by Pour House Pizza and Beer Garden, is slated for Monday at 12 p.m. from the restaurant in downtown Hammond. Fans can listen to every show online at www.LionSports.net/ListenLive and via the Lions Gameday Experience, MyTuner Radio or Mixlr apps. The MyTuner Radio app is compatible with the Apple CarPlay software available in most newer automobiles.

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.

LINE SCORE
Southeastern 12, A&M-Corpus Christi 9 (Apr 09, 2022 at Hammond, La.)
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A&M-Corpus Christi … 020 241 000 – 9 11 2 (16-16, 3-5 SLC)
Southeastern …………… 411 301 02X – 12 12 0 (12-19, 3-5 SLC)
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Pitchers: A&M-Corpus Christi – Thomas, Hayden; Miller, Tyler (2); Purcell, Colin (5); Shy, Cassius (7); Moeller, J.T. (8) and Taylor, Justin. Southeastern – Guth, Adam; Dugas, Daniel (5); Landry, Andrew (5); Robb, Hayden (7); Trahan, Gage (8) and Grizzaffi, Bryce.

Win-Landry, Andrew (2-3) Save-Trahan, Gage (4) Loss-Purcell, Colin (1-1) T-3:35 A-1022
HR AMCC – Petkoff, Brandon (4); Jones, Tre (5).
HR SLU – Faulkner, Preston (9); Leavengood, Pierce (2).
Weather: 70 Sunny, WNW 10 mph