SLU’s Kinzeler earns Southland Pitcher of the Week honors

HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana right-hander Will Kinzeler was named the Southland Conference Pitcher of the Week, the league office announced Tuesday.

The freshman from Covington struck out a career-high 13 batters this past Wednesday as the Lions defeated Tulane, 6-1, in front of a sold-out crowd at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.

What started out as a pitchers’ duel ended up as domination by Kinzeler (1-1).

He worked around a pair of hits in the second, stranding a pair of runners on base while picking up strikeouts two and three of his outing. Fanning the final batter of the second, he kicked off a string of six-straight strikeouts and 14 consecutive batters retired.

Kinzeler scattered three hits and one walk in 6 2/3 innings, allowing one unearned run to earn his first collegiate victory.

Fellow Lion Christian Garcia was an honorable mention for the conference’s hitter of the week award.

Southland weekly award winners are nominated and voted upon by each school’s sports information director. Voting for one’s own athlete is not permitted. To earn honorable mention, a student-athlete must appear on 25 percent of ballots.

Southeastern opens Southland Conference play this coming weekend, hosting Sam Houston in a four-game series. Games are scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday, a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.

The first game of Saturday’s doubleheader is slated to be a seven-inning contest. If the first game goes extra innings, the second game would then become a seven-inning affair.