Southeastern outlasts Abilene Christian, 12-9

HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana outlasted Abilene Christian in a wild affair Saturday, defeating the Wildcats, 12-9, at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field to claim the series.

The Lions (10-12, 3-2 Southland) clawed back from an early 4-0 deficit and held off a late charge by Abilene Christian (10-12, 3-5 Southland) to extend its winning streak to a season-high four games.

Chasing Southeastern starting pitcher Nick Flesher in the first inning, the Wildcats pushed across three runs. They tacked on another in the second on a solo home run.

Reliever Mason Knopp stabilized things on the mound while the Lions started to claw back.

Abilene Christian starting pitcher Brock Barger hit Nathan Pilutti and Connor Manola with pitches to open up the third inning. They both scored on a Cody Grosse’s one-out triple into the right-center field gap.

Trey Harrington led off the fourth with a line-drive single to right field and scored on Brennan Breaud’s double inside the left-field line. Breaud advanced to third on a wild pitch, while Nick Ray worked a walk. The pair then pulled off a double steal with Breaud scoring on the play to tie the game.

Southeastern took a 6-4 lead in the fifth, scoring a pair off Wildcat reliever Hunter Spaeth. Grosse led off the inning with a single to right-center. After stealing second base, he scored on Harrington’s two-out single to center. After Breaud worked a walk, Harrington scored on Nick Ray’s single to left-center field.

The game tightened up, for a short time, in the seventh. Abilene Christian scratched across a run on a pair of hits, pulling within one, but the Lions took advantage of three hit batters in the bottom of the inning to break the game open.

Despite Southeastern taking an 11-5 lead with a big seventh inning, the Wildcats refused to go down without a fight. Answering with four runs in the eighth off reliever Grant Upton, Abilene Christian pulled back within a pair.

The Lions added an insurance run in the eighth thanks to a balk.

Jared Biddy retired the side in order in the ninth, earning the save, and preserving the win for Knopp (1-1).

Working in long relief, Knopp allowed one run in 5.1 innings of work. The save was the second of the season for Biddy. Spaeth (1-3) was tagged with the loss, surrendering seven runs in three innings pitched.

Grosse (3-for-5), Harrington (2-for-3), Ray (2-for-3) and Schimpf (2-for-5) all enjoyed multihit performances as the Lions produced double-digit hits for the third straight game.

Southeastern, looking to sweep the series, will counter Wildcat senior right-hander Jonathan Nicholson (2-1, 3.90) in the finale Sunday at 1 p.m. with sophomore righty Will Warren (1-2, 7.61).

A couple of promotions are slated for the game, including Sundae Funday. The first 100 people through the gates for Sunday’s game will receive free ice cream in a souvenir baseball helmet.

The series finale is also another Local Hero Appreciation Day. Every Sunday home game throughout the 2019 season, the Lions give thanks to first responders, military personnel and service members with a discounted ticket available at the ticket booth (must have a valid service ID).

Sunday’s 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 streaming video ($), live statistics or by following @SLUathletics on Twitter. Web links to audio and video broadcast, stats, promotions and tickets are available on the baseball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.

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
Southeastern 12, Abilene Christian 9
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Abilene Christian… 310 000 140 – 9 12 0 (10-12, 3-5 SLC)
Southeastern……….. 002 220 51X – 12 11 0 (10-12, 3-2 SLC)
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Pitchers: Abilene Christian – Barger, Brock; Spaeth, Hunter (4); McKay, Cole (7) and Bourland, Lane. Southeastern – Flesher, Nick; Knopp, Mason (1); Upton, Grant (7); Biddy, Jared (8) and Manola, Connor.

Win-Knopp (1-1) Save-Biddy (2) Loss-Spaeth (1-3) T-3:05 A-1208
HR ACU – Trevino, Luis (5).
Weather: Mostly Cloudy 74, SSE 7 MPH