Southeastern matches Sam Houston’s conference win total atop league with second win at A&M Corpus-Christi

HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana knocked off Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for the second time in as many days, defeating the Islanders, 12-2, in Southland Conference action Saturday at Chapman Field.

The Lions (24-19, 14-6 Southland) matched Sam Houston State’s conference win total (14-7 Southland), giving themselves a chance to take over sole possession of first place in the Southland with a win in Sunday’s series finale.

A&M-Corpus Christi (26-20, 11-12 Southland) jumped out in front with an unearned run in the first inning off Lion starting pitcher Mason Knopp (6-1).

Southeastern answered with three runs in the second inning, taking the lead. Trey Harrington drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third base on Nathan Pilutti’s single through the right side. Pilutti advanced to second on a wild pitch and both runners scored on Brennan Breaud’s triple into the gap in right-center field. Breaud capped off the scoring in the second with a straight steal of home, the first for the Lions since Breaud pulled off the feat April 30, 2016, against Houston Baptist.

In third, Pilutti singled in Kyle Schimpf to push Southeastern’s lead to 4-1 over the Islanders.

The Lions batted around in the fifth, scoring five runs. Pilutti and designated hitter Jonathan Parker provided RBI singles and Cody Grosse drove in a pair with a two-out double to right-center.

Breaud tied the Southeastern single-game record with his second triple of the game in the sixth, driving in Pilutti, and then scored on a wild pitch. The senior infielder from Norco, Louisiana, tied Tom Dawsey and Johnny Castanon (twice) as Lions with two triples in one game.

Parker drove in pinch hitter Eli Johnson with an RBI single in the eighth to finish the Lions’ offensive onslaught.

A&M-Corpus Christi added a run in the ninth off Southeastern reliever Peyton Lee.

Knopp earned the win, allowing one unearned run in seven innings. The senior right-hander scattered four hits and a pair of walks, striking out five. Islander starting pitcher Leo Perez (1-3) was tagged with the loss, allowing four runs in 2.2 innings pitched.

Led by Pilutti’s four-hit effort, Southeastern pounded out 14 hits for the second time this week.

The series wraps up Sunday at 1 p.m. The Lions will counter A&M-Corpus Christi junior right-hander Dustin Lacaze (3-3, 3.73) in the series finale with sophomore righty Will Warren (2-5, 6.80).

A free video stream for each game of the series is available through the Southland Conference Digital Network. In addition to a web broadcast, fans may use the Southland Conference app to watch Wednesday’s game on their favorite mobile, tablet or smart TV device. The Southland’s app is available from both the Apple Store and Android Market, in addition to versions for Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Android TV and Roku.

The game can be heard in the Hammond area on the flagship station of the Southeastern Sports Radio Network, KSLU 90.9 FM, online at www.LionSports.net/ListenLive and via both the Lions Gameday Experience and TuneIn Radio apps.

Fans can also keep up with all the action through live statistics or by following @SLUathletics on Twitter. Web links to audio, video and stats are available on the baseball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.

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 12, A&M-Corpus Christi 2
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Southeastern………… 031 052 010 – 12 14 1 (24-19, 14-6)
A&M-Corpus Christi.. 100 000 001 – 2 7 2 (26-20, 11-12)
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Pitchers: Southeastern – Knopp, Mason; Simanek, Justin (8); Lee, Peyton (9) and Manola, Connor; Pace, Evan. A&M-Corpus Christi – Perez, Leo; Miller, Tyler (3); Duarte, Dylan (5); LeCompte, Cody (6); Glover, Chris (9) and Osborn, Drake; Taylor, Justin.

Win-Knopp, Mason (6-1) Loss-Perez (1-3) T-254 A-319

Weather: Sunny, 80s and mild wind