Riser ties Kenelly on Southeastern wins list in series-clinching victory

HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana rapped out a season-high 11 hits Saturday at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field, defeating Jacksonville 5-4 to clinch the series. The win tied Lion head coach Matt Riser with the ballpark’s namesake on the school’s all-time coaching victories list.

Jacob Burke, Preston Faulkner, Christian Garcia and Nick Ray contributed a pair of hits each. Garcia also drove in two and stole a pair of bases, including home plate on a failed suicide-squeeze attempt in the second inning.

Grant Upton (1-0) picked up the win for Southeastern (3-2) and Trey Harrington worked 1.2 scoreless innings to close it out, earning his first save of the season. Jacksonville (1-6) starting pitcher Tyler Santana (0-1) suffered the loss, allowing four runs in 4.1 innings pitched.

After falling behind by a run in the first inning for the second time in as many games, the Lions tied the game in the bottom half of the inning. Evan Keller led off with a single to right field and advanced to second base on Tyler Finke’s bunt single. Second baseman Champ Artigues drove in Keller with a single up the middle.

Southeastern took the lead with a pair of second-inning runs.

Garcia pulled a single through the left side to open up the inning. The freshman from Slidell, Louisiana stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by Dolphins’ catcher Jacob Southern. After Eli Johnson drew a one-out walk, Nick Ray attempted to lay down a suicide squeeze. Santana’s offering was so far outside Ray failed to make contact. Garcia slid home safely on the play when Southern, unaware of the encroaching runner, attempted to pick Johnson off first base.

Ray followed with a single through the left side. After Finke drew a two-out walk to load the bases, Artigues was hit by a pitch to drive in the second run.

Southeastern extended its lead in the fifth. Faulkner picked up his first hit of the game, lining a ball so hard he knocked the shortstop’s glove off his hand. Burke followed with a double into the right-center field gap, putting a pair in scoring position. Faulkner scored on Garcia’s sacrifice fly to left field.

After Jacksonville cut into the lead with a run in the sixth, the Lions picked up an important insurance run in the seventh. Artigues was hit by a pitch once again, leading off the inning. Faulkner followed with a single up the middle, sending Artigues to third. With one out, Garcia pushed a bunt up the first-base line for an RBI single.

Jacksonville scratched across a pair of runs in the eighth before Harrington came on to shut the door, marking career win No. 230 for Riser. He ties the legendary Pat Kenelly for the third-most coaching victories at Southeastern. Greg Marten (348) and Jay Artigues (276) hold the top two spots on the list.

The series concludes Sunday at 1 p.m. with senior right-hander Justin Simanek (1-0, 1.69) drawing the pitching assignment for Southeastern. He will face Dolphin right-hander Austin Temple (0-1, 3.00).

Sunday’s game is a Cane’s Challenge contest. If the Lions score five or more runs on a designated Cane’s Challenge date, everyone in attendance is the winner of a buy-one-get-one-free combo courtesy of Raising Cane’s. Fans must present their game ticket and students must a present student coupon in order to claim the meal deal.

The new Southeastern Sports Network is producing a free video stream of all home baseball games this season. Fans can watch using the Lions’ Gameday Experience app for Android or iOS devices or on Southeastern’s YouTube channel (/SLUathletics) with any mobile, tablet or smart TV device (e.g., Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Android TV and Roku).

Sunday’s game can also be heard in the Hammond area 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 and TuneIn Radio apps.

Other options to follow the action include live statistics or the @LionUpBaseball Twitter account. Links to audio, video, stats, promotion info and tickets are available on the baseball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.

TICKET INFORMATION
Single-game 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 5 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Fridays. The ticket booth at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field opens exactly one hour before first pitch.

General Admission tickets for Lion home games are $9 for adults and $6 for children (ages 3-12). Southeastern students are admitted free with a valid university ID card.

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.

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.

PARKING IMPACT – LHSAA SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIPS (FEB. 27-MARCH 1)

Beginning Thursday, February 27, at 2:00 PM, parking areas around Strawberry Stadium will be impacted by the LHSAA Soccer State Championships. This includes parking in the baseball parking lot, parking garage and Strawberry Stadium lot. All fans are encouraged to show up early for the weekend series against Stony Brook to avoid any inconvenience.

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 5, Jacksonville 4 (Feb 22, 2020 at Hammond, LA)

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Jacksonville……… 100 001 020 – 4 9 2 (1-6)

Southeastern…….. 120 010 10X – 5 11 0 (3-2)

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Pitchers: Jacksonville – Santana, Tyler; McCoy, Jagger (5) and Southern, Jacob. Southeastern – Upton, Grant; Hughes, Noah (7); Harrington, Trey (8) and Keller, Evan; Manola, Connor.

Win-Upton, Grant (1-0) Save-Harrington, Trey (1) Loss-Santana, Tyler (0-1) T-2:46 A-1073

HR JU – Dubrule, Scott (1).

Weather: 61 Sunny, S 4 MPH