Lions walk off on Lumberjacks, 2-1

HAMMOND, La. – With one swing of the bat, Cody Grosse felled Stephen F. Austin’s hopes of both a shutout and a win as Southeastern walked off with a 2-1 Southland Conference victory in its final at-bat Saturday at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.

Down to its final out, and final strike at times, Southeastern (29-17, 16-7 Southland) rallied against the Lumberjacks.

SFA (14-28, 6-14 Southland) carried a 1-0 lead into the ninth, manufacturing the game’s lone run in the fourth.

Reliever Tyler Starks retired the first two batters in the ninth on a pair of flyouts, getting Kyle Schimpf to pop up to second base and Evan Pace to fly out to left.

After falling down 0-2 in the count, pinch-hitter Mike Taylor worked a walk off of Starks. Taylor advanced to third when Brennan Breaud followed up by lacing a full-count offering into the gap in left-center field. Left fielder Trenon Trosclair, a senior from Eunice, Louisiana, worked a walk after having the count run to 2-2, setting up Grosse’s heroics.

The junior from Plainfield, Illinois, already had two of the Lions’ five hits in the game when he stepped up to the plate. On a 1-2 pitch, Starks hung a breaking ball and Grosse drove it back up the middle to bring home both the tying and winning runs.

The comeback wiped out what would have been a hard-luck loss for Lion starting pitcher Carlisle Koestler. Instead, the conference’s leader in wins settled for a no-decision after allowing just one run in seven innings pitched. The redshirt junior from Vicksburg, Mississippi, scattered three hits and two walks, striking out five.

Freshman left-hander Trey Shaffer (2-1) earned the win, retiring all six batters he faced to close out the game.

Starks (2-4) suffered the loss, allowing two runs in one inning of work. He surrendered two hits and walked three.

Southeastern wraps up the series Sunday at 1 p.m.

The Lions are slated to start junior right-hander Corey Gaconi (3-1, 4.62) opposite SFA senior right-hander Trevor Kiminski (2-4, 5.40).

Sunday is Senior Day. Beginning at 12:30 p.m., Lion seniors Drew Avans, Josh Green, Evan Hileman, Gage Pickett, Taylor Schwaner, Trosclair and Daniel Wasinger will be honored in a special pregame ceremony.

The series finale is also the final Local Hero Appreciation Day of the season. Every Sunday home game throughout the 2018 season, the Lions have given thanks to our first responders, service members and military personnel with a discounted ticket available at the ticket booth (must have a valid service ID).

The game can be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU 90.9 FM, and worldwide online or through either the Radio FX or TuneIn apps. Fans can also keep up with all the action through streaming video, live statistics or by following @SLUathletics on Twitter. Links to audio, video, stats, promotions and tickets are available on the baseball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.

TICKETS
Single game tickets for Lion home games can be purchased online at www.LionSports.net/Tickets or by contacting the athletics ticket office at (985) 549-5466.

General Admission tickets are $9 for adults and $6 for children (ages 3-12). Tax is included in the price of admission. Southeastern students are admitted free with a valid university ID card.

Students, campus organizations and fans can earn points toward their Lion Up Loyalty account at any home game by checking in on the mobile app while in attendance.

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. S Club members also gain membership in the Diamond Club.

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.

SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Lions Baseball, follow @Lions_Baseball on Twitter, @SLU_LionsBaseball on Instagram, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.

Southeastern 2, Stephen F. Austin 1
(Apr 28, 2018 at Hammond, La.)
—————————————————————————————
Stephen F. Austin… 000 100 000 – 1 3 1 (14-28, 6-14 SLC)
Southeastern………. 000 000 002 – 2 6 1 (29-17, 16-7 SLC)
—————————————————————————————
Pitchers: Stephen F. Austin – Beasley, Sean; Gamez, Jesus (6); Starks, Tyler (8) and Huber, Jarrod. Southeastern – Koestler, Carlisle; Shaffer, Trey (8) and Wasinger, Daniel; Pace, Evan.

Win-Shaffer, Trey (2-1) Loss-Starks, Tyler (2-4) T-2:25 A-1159
Weather: Partly Cloudy 81, WNW 3 mph
Koestler, C. faced 1 batter in the 8th.