Shaffer, Warren dominate as Lions hold off No. 24-ranked UL Lafayette

LAFAYETTE, La. – Southeastern Louisiana junior pitchers Trey Shaffer and Will Warren combined to strike out 16 batters Friday night as the Lions picked up a 3-2 win over No. 24-ranked UL Lafayette at Russo Park at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field to open the 2020 season.

Shaffer (1-0) fanned two batters in each of the first, second, fourth and fifth innings on his way to career-high in strikeouts. Warren fanned six in his 3.2 innings of relief, earning the save.

The Lions (1-0) struck first on a three-run, sixth-inning home run by right fielder Brandon Hale. After second baseman Champ Artigues worked a walk from UL Lafayette (0-1) starting pitcher Conor Angel (0-1), reliever Jeff Wilson followed with another free pass to Preston Faulkner. Hale, who had grounded into a pair of double plays in his previous two trips to the plate, turned on a 1-1 pitch from Wilson and lined it over the left-field wall.

UL Lafayette reached Shaffer for a run in the bottom half of the inning and scratched across an unearned run in the seventh off Warren. The right-hander from Brandon, Mississippi surrendered a leadoff single in the ninth, putting the potential tying run on base, but fanned the next three batters to wrap up the game.

Southeastern faces Louisiana Tech (34-24 in 2019) at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in the second half of a doubleheader for the Bulldogs at Russo Park at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field. The Lions will send sophomore right-hander Grant Upton (1-0, 5.09 in 2019) to the bump to oppose Bulldog righty Tyler Follis (2-2, 3.94 in 2019).

The game can be heard in the Hammond, Louisiana area on the flagship station of the Southeastern Sports Radio Network, KSLU 90.9 FM, online at www.LionSports.net/ListenLive, and via both the Lions Gameday Experience and TuneIn Radio apps.

Fans can also keep up with all the action through live statistics or by following @LionUpBaseball on Twitter. Web links to audio and stats are available on the baseball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.

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.

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 3, Louisiana 2 (Feb 14, 2020 at Lafayette, La.)
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Southeastern…….. 000 003 000 – 3 5 1 (1-0)
Louisiana………….. 000 001 100 – 2 5 0 (0-1)
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Pitchers: Southeastern – Shaffer, Trey; Warren, Will (6) and Manola, Connor. Louisiana – Angel, Conor; Wilson, Jeff (6); Schultz, Jacob (8) and Toro, Sebastian.

Win-Shaffer, Trey (1-0) Save-Warren, Will (1) Loss-Angel, Conor (0-1) T-2:59 A-5472
HR SLU – Hale, Brandon.
Weather: 70, clear, sunny