HAMMOND, La. – The No. 2-seeded Southeastern Louisiana University baseball team dropped its opening-round game Thursday in the Southland Conference Tournament, 6-5, to No. 7-seeded Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.
A three-run first inning staked the Islanders (27-26) to a lead they never relinquished.
Southeastern (24-28) picked up a run in the bottom of the third. Tristan Welch led off the inning with an infield single. He advanced to third on Evan Keller’s ground-rule double and later came home to score on Rhett Rosevear’s sacrifice fly.
A&M-Corpus Christi extended its lead with a pair of runs in the fifth, one of them unearned.
The Lions pulled a run closer, 5-2, in the bottom of the inning on Keller’s one-out solo home run. The homer was his eighth of the season.
A leadoff home run by Welch in the seventh, his 10th of the season, brought SLU within a pair, but a leadoff homer by the Islanders in the ninth pushed the Southeastern deficit back to three, 6-3.
Champ Artigues kept the Lion hopes alive in the ninth, dropping a one-out double inside the left-field line. He scored on Rosevear’s two-out home run, but that was all the offense SLU could muster.
Zach Garcia (6-3), the Southland Conference Freshman of the Year, earned the win. He allowed three runs on five hits, two walks and a hit batter in 6.1 innings pitched. The left-hander struck out four batters. Sebastian Mejia picked up his first save of the season, tossing the final 2.2 innings and allowing two runs.
Will Kinzeler (4-2) suffered the loss, allowing five runs – four earned – in 4.1 innings of work.
Keller (2-for-5), Rosevear (2-for-3) and Welch (2-for-4) each turned in a multi-hit performance at the plate for Southeastern.
UP NEXT
The Lions face No. 6-seeded Houston Baptist (18-35) at 1 p.m. Friday in an elimination game at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field. Southeastern will be the visiting team and must win to advance.
Fans in the Hammond area can listen to SLU game broadcasts on the flagship station of the Southeastern Sports Radio Network – KSLU 90.9 FM – in addition to online at www.LionSports.net/ListenLive and via the Lions Gameday Experience, Mixlr and MyTuner Radio apps. The MyTuner app is compatible with the Apple CarPlay software available in most late model automobiles. Fans should search for SLU Athletics (Mixlr) or Southeastern Sports Radio Network (MyTuner).
All tournament games will air on ESPN+.
TOURNAMENT TICKET & PARKING INFORMATION
All-Tournament booklets are $75 for adults and $40 for youth (ages 3-12) while general admission tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for youth (ages 3-12). Students from participating Southland Conference institutions, with a valid university ID, and children under age 2 are admitted for free. Gameday parking is $5 per day for standard vehicles and $25 for RVs.
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 4 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Fridays. The ticket booth at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field opens exactly one hour prior to the scheduled first pitch.
Southeastern uses mobile ticketing as the primary method for distributing tickets purchased online. 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.
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.
RADIO SHOW
The next episode of Inside Southeastern Baseball with Matt Riser, presented by Pour House Pizza and Beer Garden, is slated for Monday at 12 p.m. from the restaurant in downtown Hammond. Fans can listen to every show online at www.LionSports.net/ListenLive and via the Lions Gameday Experience, MyTuner Radio or Mixlr apps. The MyTuner Radio app is compatible with the Apple CarPlay software available in most newer automobiles.
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 by 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.
HAMMOND BRACKET SCHEDULE
Thursday, May 19, 2022
Game 1 (1 p.m.) – No. 3 New Orleans 10, No. 6 HBU 3
Game 2 (6 p.m.) – No. 7 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 6, No. 2 Southeastern 5
Friday, May 20, 2022
Game 3 (1 p.m.) – Southeastern vs. HBU (ESPN+)
Game 4 (6 p.m.) – New Orleans vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (ESPN+)
Saturday, May 21, 2022
Game 5 (1 p.m.) – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser (ESPN+)
Game 6 (6 p.m.) – Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner (ESPN+)
Sunday, May 22, 2022
Game 7* (1 p.m.) – Game 6 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser (ESPN+)
* IF NECESSARY
LINE SCORE
A&M-Corpus Christi 6, Southeastern 5 (May 18, 2022 at Hammond, La.)
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A&M-Corpus Christi … 300 020 001 – 6 9 0 (27-26)
Southeastern …………… 001 010 102 – 5 9 1 (24-28)
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Pitchers: A&M-Corpus Christi – Garcia, Zach; Mejia, Sebastian (7) and Caraway, Josh. Southeastern – Kinzeler, Will; Robb, Hayden (5) and Grizzaffi, Bryce.
Win-Garcia, Zach (6-3) Save-Mejia, Sebastian (2) Loss-Kinzeler, Will (4-2) T-2:53 A-680
HR AMCC – Jones, Tre (11).
HR SLU – Keller, Evan (8); Rosevear, Rhett (4); Welch, Tristan (10).
{Courtesy: release from Southeastern}
