Southeastern Louisiana holds off HBU, 6-5

HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University baseball team held off Houston Baptist, 6-5, Friday in Southland Conference action at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field, moving within one game of first place.

A tight Southland race got even tighter Friday. First-place teams McNeese (26-20, 11-8 SLC), Nicholls (24-18, 11-8 SLC) and the Huskies all lost (18-29, 11-8 SLC). Wins by Southeastern (20-25, 10-9 SLC), Northwestern State (22-23, 10-9 SLC) and New Orleans (24-19, 10-9 SLC) means all six teams are separated by a single game with five remaining on the conference slate.

The Lions took an early lead, picking up three runs in the first inning. Rhett Rosevear was hit by a one-out pitch and advanced to second base on a groundout. He scored on Preston Faulkner’s RBI single to right field. Shea Thomas followed with a two-run home run to right. It was the second of the season for the junior third baseman from Olympia, Washington.

SLU added a run in the fourth. Evan Keller beat out a bunt for a base hit to start the inning. Rosevear was hit by another pitch, extending his nation-leading HBP total to 28 this season. After a sacrifice bunt pushed both runners into scoring position, Keller scored on Faulkner’s sacrifice fly to left field.

A one-out double and two-out single produced a run for HBU in the fourth off Lion starting pitcher Adam Guth.

The Huskies sent eight batters to the plate in the fifth, scoring three runs to tie the game.

Southeastern answered in the bottom of the fifth with a pair of runs to regain the lead, 6-4. HBU reliever Will Ripoll hit Bryce Grizzaffi with a pitch to lead off the inning. Keller followed with a single, sending Grizzaffi to third. Rosevear then dropped a double in down the right-field line, plating Grizzaffi and chasing Ripoll from the game.

Faulkner greeted reliever Chad Ricker with a sacrifice fly to center, allowing Keller to score from third.

Dalton Aspholm, who entered the game with two on and no outs in the sixth, tossed three innings in relief. The junior right-hander from Baton Rouge, Louisiana stranded the runners and allowed just an eighth-inning run before handing the ball over to Gage Trahan in the ninth.

Trahan left the bases loaded in the ninth, getting a strikeout and a pop-up to end the game and earn his eighth save of the season. He now sits tied for second in the conference in saves. Trahan also moved into a tie for sixth on the SLU single-season save chart with Mike Kimbrell (1996) and Chris Province (2007) and a tie for 10th on the program’s career saves chart with Scott Kupper (1989-91), Kimbrell (1995-96) and Bryce Tassin (2017-19).

Guth (3-1) earned the win, allowing four runs in five innings pitched. He surrendered seven hits and three walks, striking out four batters. Ripoll (1-6) suffered the loss, allowing a pair of runs in 1.1 innings pitched.

Keller (2-for-3) picked up a pair of hits while both Faulkner and Thomas drove in two runs each. With the two RBIs, Faulkner now has 150 in his career. The total is good for sole possession of fourth place in program history, six behind Ty Summerlin who currently sits in third place.

UP NEXT
The series continues Saturday at 2 p.m. SLU has not announced a starting pitcher while the Huskies plan to start senior right-hander Jared Burch (1-3, 4.32).

Fans in the Hammond area can listen to game broadcasts on the flagship station of the Southeastern Sports Radio Network – KSLU 90.9 FM – in addition to online at www.LionSports.net/ListenLive and via the Lions Gameday Experience, Mixlr and MyTuner Radio apps. The MyTuner app is compatible with the Apple CarPlay software available in most late model automobiles. Fans should search for SLU Athletics (Mixlr) or Southeastern Sports Radio Network (MyTuner).

The game will also air on ESPN+.

TICKET & PARKING INFORMATION
Single-game tickets are on sale for the remainder of the regular season. 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 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 Pour House Pizza and Beer Garden, 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 the Lions Gameday Experience, MyTuner Radio or Mixlr apps. The MyTuner Radio 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.

LINE SCORE
Southeastern 6, Houston Baptist 5 (May 06, 2022 at Hammond, La.)
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Houston Baptist ….. 000 130 010 – 5 10 0 (18-29, 11-8 SLC)
Southeastern ………. 301 020 00X – 6 5 0 (20-25, 10-9 SLC)
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Pitchers: Houston Baptist – Spinney, Austin; Ripoll, Will (3); Ricker, Chad (5); Smitherman, Javan (8) and Ortiz, Kevin. Southeastern – Guth, Adam; Aspholm, Dalton (6); Trahan, Gage (9) and Grizzaffi, Bryce.

Win-Guth, Adam (3-1) Save-Trahan, Gage (8) Loss-Ripoll, Will (1-6) T-3:06 A-1096
HR SLU – Thomas, Shea (2).
Weather: 85 Clear, WNW 13 mph
W. Ripoll faced 3 batters in the 5th.
Guth, A. faced 2 batters in the 6th.
C. Ricker faced 1 batter in the 8th.