Southeastern wins second straight weekend doubleheader to sweep SFA

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Southeastern Louisiana swept a Southland Conference doubleheader from Stephen F. Austin, 9-6 in eight innings and 5-3 in seven innings, Sunday at Jaycees Field to maintain its hold on first place in the Southland Conference standings.

The Lions (24-12, 17-7 SLC) sit two games up on both Sam Houston (19-16, 15-9 SLC) as well as upcoming opponent New Orleans (20-16, 15-9 SLC). SFA (12-20, 9-11 SLC) falls into a tie for ninth with Lamar (17-13, 9-11 SLC), six games back.

GAME ONE – Southeastern 9, SFA 6 (8 innings)
Both teams stranded a multitude of runners over the first three innings before Southeastern broke the scoreless tie in the fourth.

Jacob Burke led off the fourth with a double into the left-center field gap. One out later the Lions strung together four consecutive singles by Champ Artigues (RBI), Eli Johnson (RBI), Rhett Rosevear and Evan Keller (RBI) to generate three runs.

Preston Faulkner led off the fifth with a solo home run to left field, pushing the lead to 4-0. It was his team-leading fifth homer of the season.

In the bottom of the inning, the Lumberjacks cut into the lead with three runs of their own.

The Lions responded immediately. Eli Johnson led off the sixth with a solo homer, his second of the season, giving Southeastern a 5-3 lead. The next batter, Rhett Rosevear, was hit by a pitch. Breaking on the pitch, he went first-to-third on a groundout and then scored on Tyler Finke’s sacrifice fly to center.

In a game scheduled to go seven innings, Southeastern entered the bottom of the seventh with a 6-3 lead. The Lumberjacks scored three off a pair of Lion relievers to tie the game and force extra innings.

Southeastern wasted little time in regaining the lead. Rosevear drew a leadoff walk, was sacrificed to second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Finke worked a one-out walk and then stole second base, forcing SFA to intentionally walk Christian Garcia to load the bases. Faulkner followed with a sacrifice fly to right, plating Rosevear with the go-ahead run. Joe Delaney drew a walk and the catcher Gaby Cruz pulled a bases-loaded single through the left side, driving in two.

Kyle Flettrich worked a perfect eighth inning to earn his second save of the season. Trey Harrington (1-0) earned the win in relief, getting the final out of the seventh. SFA reliever Tod Gauthe (1-1) suffered the loss, allowing three runs – all earned – in one inning pitched.

Johnson (2-for-4), Keller (2-for-4) and Rosevear (2-for-2) picked up a pair of hits each with Rosevear reaching base in all four trips to the plate.

GAME TWO – Southeastern 5, SFA 3 (7 innings)
The Lions struck early, picking up three runs in the second inning.

Artigues laced a one-out single to left and Johnson worked a walk. Rosevear pulled an RBI single through the right side and Bryce Grizzaffi followed with an RBI double to left. Finked drove in another run with a two-out infield single.

Grizzaffi singled and came around to score another run in the fourth.

Southeastern extended its lead to 5-0 in the fifth. Burke and Artigues were hit by pitches to open up the inning, chasing SFA starter Joseph Sgambelluri (2-2) from the game. Grizzaffi ripped a two-out single to left, scoring Burke.

The Lumberjacks reached Brennan Stuprich (4-1) for an unearned run in the sixth, snapping his scoreless streak at 14.1 innings. SFA threatened to tie up the game in the seventh, picking up a pair of runs.

Stuprich earned the win, allowing three runs – one earned – in a complete-game effort. He scattered eight hits and three walks, striking out five. Sgambelluri suffered the loss, allowing all five Lion runs in four innings pitched.

RADIO SHOW
The next episode of Inside Southeastern Baseball with Matt Riser, presented by Blackened Brew, will be broadcast Monday at 12 p.m. from the restaurant in downtown Hammond. Fans can listen to every show on KSLU 90.9 FM, online at www.LionSports.net/ListenLive and via either the Lions Gameday Experience or TuneIn Radio apps. The one-hour show airs every Monday during the baseball season.

UP NEXT
Southeastern continues its road trip next weekend traveling to the New Orleans lakefront for a four-game series against UNO at Maestri Field. Games in the Pontchartrain Bowl rivalry series are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday, a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. Saturday and a single game at 1 p.m. Sunday. The first game of Saturday’s doubleheader is slated to be a seven-inning contest. If the first game goes extra innings, the second game would then become a seven-inning affair.

MOBILE TICKETING
Southeastern is implementing mobile ticketing as the primary method for securing tickets during the 2020-21 school year. 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.

GAMEDAY PARKING
Gameday parking during the 2021 season is $5 per day for Southeastern baseball, while football parking is $25 per day for most vehicles and $85 for RVs.

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.

SOCIAL DISTANCING ON GAMEDAYS
Proper social distancing techniques are required at all athletic events. Fans are asked to maintain a minimum distance of six feet from others, wear a face covering over both their nose and mouth, and wash their hands frequently. Hand sanitizing stations are located throughout Southeastern’s athletic facilities.

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 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.