Southeastern rally falls short in 13-9 slugfest against Lamar

BEAUMONT, Texas – A late rally by Southeastern Louisiana came up short Saturday, falling 13-9 at Lamar in the middle game of a Southland Conference series at Vincent-Beck Stadium.

Southeastern (26-21, 15-8 Southland) fell behind early as Lamar (16-30, 8-18 Southland) piled up nine runs in the first three innings.

The Lions broke through in the fifth. Trey Harrington singled leading off the inning and Nathan Pilutti worked a walk from Lamar starting pitcher Jason Blanchard (5-3). Brennan Breaud followed with a single to load the bases. The hit was the 201st of his career, tying him for 10th all-time at Southeastern with Joe Labruzzo (1996-99).

Designated hitter Jonathan Parker ripped a double down the left-field line, driving in Harrington and Pilutti. Breaud, who advanced to third base on the double, scored on Connor Manola’s sacrifice fly to center field.

Up 9-3, Lamar extended its lead to double digits with four more runs in the sixth and seventh.

Not content to go away quietly, Southeastern fought back.

Cody Grosse worked a one-out walk off reliever Marcus Olivarez in the eighth and scored on Kyle Schimpf’s two-out double to right-center field.

Pinch-hitter Scottie Sanders led off the ninth with a single to left field, advancing to second base on a wild pitch. Moving over to third on a groundout, Sanders scored on Parker’s single to right. Catcher Evan Pace followed with a single through the right side. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch before Grosse drew a two-out walk to load the bases.

Left fielder Nick Ray greeted reliever AJ Ozorio-Brace by launching his 2-2 pitch over the wall in left for a grand slam. Ray’s sixth home run of the season wrapped up the scoring.

Blanchard earned the win, allowing three runs in seven innings pitched. Mason Knopp (6-2) suffered the loss, allowing nine runs – eight earned – in two-plus innings of work.

The series concludes Sunday at 1 p.m. The finale 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.

A free video stream, provided by Lamar, is available on Facebook Watch. 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
Lamar 13, Southeastern 9
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Southeastern…… 000 030 015 – 9 10 1 (26-21, 15-8)
Lamar……………… 423 003 10X – 13 18 0 (16-30, 8-18)
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Pitchers: Southeastern – Knopp, Mason; Lee, Peyton (3); Simanek, Justin (5); Flesher, Nick (6) and Manola, Connor; Pace, Evan. Lamar – Blanchard, Jason; Olivarez, Marcus (8); Ozorio-Brace, AJ (9) and McCall, Rhett; Gutierrez, Jorge.

Win-Blanchard, Jason (5-3) Loss-Knopp, Mason (6-2) T-4:42 A-612
HR SLU – Ray, Nick (6).
HR LU – Girouard, Cole (2); Correa, JC (8); Adames, Robin (8).
Weather: 82 & Partly Cloudy, 8 MPH NW
Knopp, M. faced 3 batters in the 3rd.