South Alabama’s extra-base hits beat SLU

HAMMOND, La. – South Alabama pounded out seven extra-base hits, including four home runs, on the way to defeating Southeastern Louisiana, 14-4, in nonconference action Tuesday at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.

The Jaguars (26-22) came out swinging. Right fielder Nick Lewis launched the first pitch of the game over the fence in deep left-center field for a solo home run, his first of the season. After Ethan Wilson singled, center fielder Michael Sandle launched the first of his two homers to put South Alabama up 3-0 before the first out of the game was recorded.

Southeastern (27-22) starting pitcher Trey Shaffer (1-3) recovered to strike out five batters over the next two innings, but coughed up another home run in the third inning.

Down 4-0, the Lions picked up a run in the fourth. Kyle Schimpf was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. After advancing to second on a groundout, he scored on Brennan Breaud’s RBI single inside the third-base bag. Schimpf, who reached base on all five trips to the plate Tuesday, has now reached base in each of his last 10 plate appearances.

A leadoff home run in the sixth pushed South Alabama’s lead to 5-1, but the Lions responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning.

Preston Faulkner, a sophomore from Denham Springs, Louisiana, singled down the right-field line leading off the inning, advancing to third on Schimpf’s double into the left-center field gap. Faulkner scored on Pilutti’s one-out single through the left side.

Southeastern pulled within a run in the seventh. Evan Pace, a senior from Zachary, Louisiana, reached on a fielding error by the Jaguar third baseman leading off the inning and scored on Faulkner’s one-out homer to left. The two-run blast was Faulkner’s team-leading, eighth home run of the season.

The Jaguars responded by scoring nine runs over the course of the final two innings, putting the game out of reach.

South Alabama starting pitcher Caleb Yarborough (3-5) earned the win, allowing one run in 3.2 innings pitched. Reliever Nick DeSantis picked up his second save of the season, entering in the seventh with the Jaguars leading by a run. Shaffer suffered the loss, allowing four runs in his three-inning stint.

Schimpf (3-for-3), Faulkner (2-for-5) and Pilutti (2-for-4) led Southeastern at the plate.

The Lions (16-8 Southland) return to Southland Conference action Friday, hosting Sam Houston State (16-8 Southland) in the opener of a three-game series. Southeastern and the Bearkats enter the weekend tied atop the conference standings with two Southland series remaining.

Several promotions are scheduled for Sunday’s series finale, including Senior Day, Mother’s Day, Local Hero Appreciation and a Cane’s Challenge. More information can be found online at www.LionSports.net/BaseballPromos.

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 has instituted a clear bag policy for all ticketed events, effective with the start of the 2018 fall semester. The policy mirrors safety precautions taken upon 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 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

South Alabama 14, Southeastern 4
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South Alabama……. 301 001 045 – 14 16 2 (26-22)
Southeastern………. 000 101 200 – 4 9 3 (27-22)
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Pitchers: South Alabama – Yarborough, Caleb; Lambert, Chase (4); Cheatwood, Joel (6); Michael, Noah (6); Arguelles, Andy (7); DeSantis, Nick (7) and Powers, Reid. Southeastern – Shaffer, Trey; Simanek, Justin (4); Upton, Grant (7); Robinson, Payton (8); Lee, Peyton (8); Flesher, Nick (9) and Pace, Evan.

Win-Yarborough, Caleb (3-5) Save-DeSantis, Nick (2) Loss-Shaffer, Trey (1-3) T-2:57 A-1217
HR USA – Lewis, Nick (1); Sandle, Michael 2 (6); Davis, Wells (10).
HR SLU – Faulkner, Preston (8).
Weather: Partly Cloudy 85, SE 8 MPH
Lambert faced 2 batters in the 6th.
Arguelles faced 2 batters in the 7th.
Robinson, P. faced 3 batters in the 8th.