Lions drop series opener in Thibodaux

THIBODAUX, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University baseball team came up on the short end of a back-and-forth ballgame Friday as Nicholls picked up a 13-7 win over the Lions in Southland Conference play at Ben Meyer Diamond at Ray E. Didier Field.

From the first inning on, the series opener between Southeastern (19-23, 4-12 SLC) and the Colonels (25-18, 10-6 SLC) proved to be full of action.

An unusual double play was the highlight of the first inning as Connor Manola tagged out a pair of Nicholls’ baserunners at the plate on the same play. After freezing on a double to right-center field, Rhett Rosevear’s relay of Tyler Finke’s throw nabbed both runners.

The Lions took a 2-0 lead in the third. Rosevear singled with two out and Finke reached on an error by the Colonels’ third baseman. Shea Thomas followed with a double inside the third-base bag, scoring both Rosevear and Finke.

Nicholls cut into the lead with an RBI single in the bottom of the inning and took the lead with a two-run single up the middle in the fourth.

TJ Salvaggio tied it up with a solo home run leading off the fifth. The blast to left-center was his team-leading seventh homer of the season.

A three-run sixth put the Colonels back on top, 6-3, but SLU responded in the top of the seventh. Right fielder Dane Watts ripped a one-out double, putting him aboard for Rosevear’s first home run of the season. With two outs, Thomas singled through the right and Connor Manola drew a walk. Designated hitter Michael Curry tied the game with an RBI single through the right side, scoring Thomas from second.

Nicholls bounced back, answering the Lions once again with four runs in the bottom of the seventh to regain the lead. Three more runs in the eighth made it a 13-6 Colonel lead.

Nico Saltaformggio () earned the win, allowing one run in 2.1 innings of work. Dalton Aspholm (0-3) was tagged with the loss, surrendering three runs – two earned – in 0.1 innings pitched. He walked two and allowed one hit.

Three Southeastern hitters turned in multi-hit performances. Rosevear (2-for-4), Thomas (2-for-5) and Watts (2-for-4) helped lead the Lion offense. Finke was held hitless, but after drawing a ninth-inning walk he stole his conference-leading 29th bag of the season to establish a new career best.

UP NEXT
The series continues Saturday at 6:30 p.m. and the game is slated for coverage on ESPN+. 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.

Nicholls has not announced a starting pitcher for the middle game of the series. Southeastern will send out Andrew Landry (2-6, 4.29), a junior right-hander from Slidell, Louisiana.

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
Nicholls 13, Southeastern 7 (May 05, 2023 at Thibodaux, La.)
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Southeastern …….. 002 010 301 – 7 8 3 (19-23, 4-12 SLC)
Nicholls …………… 001 203 43X – 13 16 1 (25-18, 10-6 SLC)
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Pitchers: Southeastern – Kinzeler, Will; Polk, Lakin (5); Aspholm, Dalton (7); Rodriguez, Jackson (7); Robb, Hayden (8) and Manola, Connor. Nicholls – Rodriguez, Arturo; Galy, Gavin (5); Gearing, Chase (7); Jordan, Harper (7); Saltaformaggio, Nico (7) and Amundson, Kaden; Collura, Jaden.

Win-Saltaformaggio, Nico (4-1) Loss-Aspholm, Dalton (0-3) T-2:41 A-847
HR SLU – Rosevear, Rhett (1); Salvaggio, TJ (7).
Weather: 82, Partly Cloudy, S 9mph
Rodriguez, A faced 1 batter in the 5th.