SLU opens 2023 baseball season Friday at home vs. Lafayette

OPPONENT | LOCATION

Lafayette College (15-35 in 2022) at Southeastern (30-31 in 2022)
Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field (Hammond, Louisiana)

DATES | TIMES | PROBABLE STARTERS

Friday, Feb. 17 – 4 p.m. (CT)

LC – RHP Luke Craytor (0-0, 0.00) vs.

SLU – RHP Brennan Stuprich (6-3, 2.31 in 2021)

Saturday, Feb. 18 – 1 p.m. (CT) Doubleheader

LC – TBA (0-0, 0.00) vs.

SLU – TBA (0-0, 0.00)

Sunday, Feb. 19 – 1 p.m. (CT)

LC – TBA (0-0, 0.00) vs.

SLU – TBA (0-0, 0.00)

RADIO | VIDEO | INTERNET | MOBILE DEVICES

• Radio – Streaming audio only
• TV / Video – ESPN+
• www.LionSports.net – live audio, stats and video
• Lions Gameday Experience app, TuneIn Radio app

HAMMOND, La. – Defending Southland Conference Baseball Tournament Champion Southeastern Louisiana University opens the 2023 regular season this coming weekend with a four-game series at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field against Lafayette College.

Single games between Southeastern (30-31 in 2022) and the Leopards (15-35 in 2022) are scheduled for 4 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Sunday, sandwiched around a 1 p.m. Saturday doubleheader. All four games are slated for ESPN+.

A host of promotions are on tap for the weekend series. All general admission tickets are $5 every Friday game this season. The popular Baseball Bingo game returns on Saturdays. Free general admission tickets are available each Sunday home game for active military members, as well as veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces, by presenting a valid service ID at the ticket booth.

Fans can listen to the game broadcast online at www.LionSports.net/ListenLive and via both the Lions Gameday Experience TuneIn Radio apps. The TuneIn app is compatible with the Apple CarPlay software available in most late-model automobiles. Search for KSLU 90.9 FM in the TuneIn app.

Only the Opening Night pitching matchup has been announced. Former Freshman All-American Brennan Stuprich (6-3, 2.31 in 2021) returns to the mound for the Lions after sitting out all of last season with an injury. Lafayette will counter with freshman Luke Craytor, a 6-foot-4 right-hander from Charlottesville, Virginia.

Stuprich fronts a deep pitching staff as SLU enters year No. 10 of the Matt Riser era. In D1Baseball’s recent conference preview, four of the Top 10 draft prospects in the Southland are Lion pitchers.

“Our starting pitching will compare with anyone in the region,” Riser said. “It looks more like our staffs that pitched in the Top 15 for a few years there in 2015, 2016 and 2017. There’s the front end, some in-between pieces and pieces on the back end.”

Kendall Rogers tabbed junior right-hander Andrew Landry as the top draft prospect in his preview. Landry was joined by Stuprich, Dalton Aspholm and newcomer Connor Spencer in the Top 10.

Offensively, the Lions return six of the nine hitters from a starting lineup that helped produce 70 home runs a season ago. Returning to the fold are Tyler Finke, Shea Thomas, Christian Garcia, Rhett Rosevear, Bryce Grizzaffi and Champ Artigues.

The power bats of Pierce Leavengood, and JUCO All-Americans Jake Killingsworth and Ethan Moore, could all force their way into the lineup at some point this season

“There was a lot of growth and maturing through last year’s struggles to triumph in the end and make another Regional,” Riser said. “But that was last year. This is a group that is extremely hungry. We’ve got a team primed for it. We can pitch it and play defense. We can score runs. We’re smart and mature. There are a lot of things that factor in our favor.”

UP NEXT

Southeastern heads out on the road for the first time in 2023, traveling up I-55 to Jackson, Mississippi for a non-conference contest on Mardi Gras day. The Lions face Jackson State at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Robert “Bob” Braddy Field. It will be the first matchup of the two programs on the diamond since the 2018 season.

TICKET & PARKING INFORMATION
Single-game tickets are now on sale. Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance to minimize ticket lines on game days. Southeastern students are encouraged to contact the ticket office prior to the game to reserve theirs in advance.

General admission tickets for most games are $9 for adults and $6 for youth (ages 3-12). Southeastern students, with a university ID, and children under age 2 are admitted for free. Gameday parking is $5 per day for standard vehicles and $25 for RVs.

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 4 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Fridays. The ticket booth at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field opens exactly one hour prior to the scheduled first pitch.

Southeastern uses mobile ticketing as the primary method for distributing tickets purchased online. Tickets will be available via text message or email in a PDF format for fans to download on their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded to Apple Wallet.

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.

RADIO SHOW

The next episode of Inside Southeastern Baseball with Matt Riser, presented by Cate Street Seafood Station, is slated for Monday at 12 p.m. from the restaurant in downtown Hammond. Fans can listen to every show online at www.LionSports.net/ListenLive and via both the Lions Gameday Experience or TuneIn apps. The TuneIn app is compatible with the Apple CarPlay software available in most newer automobiles.

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.