SLU completes weekend sweep of Abilene Christian

HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana used aggressive bats and baserunning to its advantage Sunday, knocking off Abilene Christian, 8-4, at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field to sweep the Southland Conference series.

The Lions (11-12, 4-2 Southland) generated double-digit hits for the fourth consecutive game, pounding out 13 hits off Abilene Christian (10-13, 3-6 Southland) pitching.

Coming out aggressive, Southeastern poured it on over the first four innings.

Preston Faulkner ripped a one-out double in the first inning, scoring on Trey Harrington’s two-out single to right field. Brennan Breaud followed with a single to center field. Harrington went first-to-third on the hit, and when the throw followed him, Breaud also took an extra base. Nick Ray, who was swinging a hot bat all weekend, dropped a single down the right-field line to bring them both home.

Bryce Steckler lined a solo home run to left field, his first of the season, with one out in the second.

Southeastern added a pair of runs over each of the next two innings.

Harrington led off the third with a hard-hit single to center field and scored on Ray’s one-out triple into the gap in right-center. Ray scored on a throwing error by the Wildcat shortstop, who attempted to nab Ray at the plate on a ground ball.

Steckler jumped on the first pitch of the fourth, welcoming Abilene Christian reliever Brennan Lewis to the contest with a double to right-center. Cody Grosse singled before Lewis walked Faulkner to load the bases. All three runners advanced on a passed ball, with Steckler scoring from third. Grosse scored on Kyle Schimpf’s sacrifice fly to right.

After surrendering a one-out single in the first, Lion starting pitcher Will Warren cruised through the next several innings. The sophomore right-hander from Brandon, Mississippi, retired 11 consecutive batters until a leadoff single in the fifth snapped the string.

A three-batter sequence produced the Wildcat runs in the sixth. Dalon Farkas knocked a one-out double to right-center. After Warren issued the only walk by Southeastern pitching in the game, Abilene Christian designated hitter Luis Trevino deposited a pitch over the wall in left-center for a three-run home run.

Both bullpens shut down the offense for the remainder of the game. After coughing up a leadoff single in the seventh, Kade Granier retired the next six batters he faced and Bryce Tassin struck out the side in the ninth to close it out.

Warren (2-2) picked up the win, allowing three runs in six innings of work. He scattered four hits and one walk, striking out a pair. Wildcat starter Jonathan Nicholson (2-2) suffered the loss, allowing six runs in three innings pitched.

Harrington (3-for-4), Ray (3-for-4), Grosse (2-for-5) and Steckler (2-for-4) each enjoyed a multihit game.

Ray hit .727 during the series (8-for-11) with a triple, three home runs and 10 RBI. The redshirt freshman from Jefferson, Louisiana, also drew a pair of walks, scored five runs and stole two bases.

Southeastern extended its winning streak to five games, picking up its first sweep of the season and first since accomplishing the feat last season against Stephen F. Austin (April 27-29, 2018).

The Lions kick off a five-game road trip this coming week, traveling to South Alabama for a nonconference game Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in Mobile, Alabama. Following Tuesday’s game against the Jaguars, Southeastern travels to Nacogdoches, Texas, for a conference series at Stephen F. Austin.

INSIDE SOUTHEASTERN BASEBALL WITH MATT RISER
A weekly 60-minute radio show, Inside Southeastern Baseball with Matt Riser airs Mondays at noon, during the season, from Blackened Brew in downtown Hammond.

Riser joins host Allen Waddell at lunchtime to discuss the latest in Southeastern baseball and will be joined each week by select Lion players. Blackened Brew is located at 112 W. Thomas St.

The show airs on the flagship station of the Southeastern Sports Radio Network, KSLU 90.9 FM, online at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the Lions Gameday Experience, Radio FX and TuneIn Radio apps. A live video stream of the show is also available via Facebook Live at www.facebook.com/sluathletics.

LIONS GAMEDAY EXPERIENCE APP
The new 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.

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 8, Abilene Christian 3
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Abilene Christian… 000 003 000 – 3 5 2 (10-13, 3-6 SLC)
Southeastern……… 312 200 00X – 8 13 0 (11-12, 4-2 SLC)
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Pitchers: Abilene Christian – Nicholson, Jonathan; Lewis, Brennan (4); Smith, Zach (8); Otero, Kenny (8) and Bourland, Lane. Southeastern – Warren, Will; Granier, Kade (7); Tassin, Bryce (9) and Manola, Connor.

Win-Warren (2-2) Loss-Nicholson (2-2) T-2:15 A-1236
HR ACU – Trevino, Luis (6).
HR SLU – Steckler, Bryce (1).
Weather: Sunny 72, S 7 MPH