Southeastern misses out on weekend sweep at A&M Corpus Christi

Lions Tied for First Despite Dropping Series Finale

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Southeastern Louisiana dropped the series finale Sunday at Chapman Field, 5-3, to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Despite the loss, Southeastern (24-20, 14-7 Southland) remains in first place in the Southland Conference standings. The Lions are tied with Sam Houston State (24-17, 14-7 Southland), who comes to Hammond, Louisiana, May 10-12, for a three-game conference series.

Both starting pitchers dominated early Sunday. Will Warren (2-6) retired the first 10 batters he faced, striking out four. After a one-out single in the fourth, the Lions turned a double play behind Warren to end the inning.

Southeastern finally got to Islander starting pitcher Mason Hopkins (4-1) in the fifth inning. After designated hitter Jonathan Parker knocked a one-out single to right-center field, he was erased on a fielder’s choice grounder off the bat of Bryce Steckler. Advancing to second base on a wild pitch, Steckler scored on Connor Manola’s two-out double to left-center field.

The Lions’ 1-0 lead did not last long. A&M-Corpus Christi’s first seven batters hit safely in the bottom of the inning, pushing across five runs in the process.

Relievers Payton Robinson and Bryce Tassin held down the Islanders the rest of the way as Southeastern tried to claw back even.

Brennan Breaud lined a leadoff double to left field in the seventh. Advancing on a groundout, he scored on Steckler’s sacrifice fly to right field.

Leading off the eighth, Cody Grosse was hit by a pitch. Grosse advanced to third base on Kyle Schimpf’s one-out single and scored on Nathan Pilutti’s two-out single to right.

With the Islanders up by a pair entering the ninth, reliever David Worrell fanned the side to earn his fifth save of the season.

Hopkins earned the win, allowing two runs on five hits in seven innings pitched. Warren suffered the loss, giving up four runs in four innings of work.

Helping turn three double plays during the weekend series, Breaud has now participated in a program-record 116 double plays in his career.

Southeastern returns home Wednesday to host McNeese in another nonconference matchup. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.

Southeastern faculty and staff are eligible to receive two (2) complimentary tickets for the May 1 game against McNeese. University employees are encouraged to pick up their tickets (University ID card required) from the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office during the week to avoid long lines on game day.

The game is also a Cane’s Challenge contest. If the Lions score five or more runs versus the Cowboys, fans will be able to redeem their game ticket or student coupon at their local participating Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers to receive a free combo with the purchase of another of equal or greater value.

INSIDE SOUTHEASTERN BASEBALL WITH MATT RISER
A weekly 60-minute radio show, Inside Southeastern Baseball with Matt Riser airs Mondays at noon, during the season, from Blackened Brew in downtown Hammond. Riser joins host Allen Waddell at lunchtime to discuss the latest in Southeastern baseball and will be joined each week by select Lion players. Blackened Brew is located at 112 W. Thomas St.

The show airs on the flagship station of the Southeastern Sports Radio Network, KSLU 90.9 FM, online at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the Lions Gameday Experience, Radio FX and TuneIn Radio apps. A live video stream of the show is also available via Facebook Live at www.facebook.com/sluathletics.

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
A&M-Corpus Christi 5, Southeastern 3
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Southeastern………… 000 010 110 – 3 7 0 (24-20, 14-7)
A&M-Corpus Christi.. 000 050 00X – 5 10 0 (27-20, 12-12)
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Pitchers: Southeastern – Warren, Will; Upton, Grant (5); Robinson, Payton (5); Tassin, Bryce (7) and Manola, Connor. A&M-Corpus Christi – Hopkins, Mason; Vejil, Steven (8); Rumfield, Zach (8); Ayala, A.G. (8); Worrell, David (8) and Osborn, Drake.

Win-Hopkins, Mason (4-1) Save-Worrell, David (5) Loss-Warren, Will (2-6) T-2:10 A-267
HR AMCC – Anderson (2).
Weather: Sunny, 80s, wind to left
Warren, W. faced 4 batters in the 5th.
Vejil faced 1 batter in the 8th.