HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University baseball team used a full-squad effort to claim the Southland Conference series from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi with a 7-3 win Sunday at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.
Five Southeastern (13-19, 4-5 SLC) pitchers combined to shut down the Islander (16-17, 3-6 SLC) bats while the Lions created foot traffic on the bases in every inning except the eighth.
SLU starting pitcher Reid Reynolds worked an efficient 2.2 innings before exiting with an injury, turning the ball over to Hayden Robb.
The Lions responded with three runs in the bottom of the third.
After retiring the first two batters, A&M-Corpus Christi starting pitcher Jaime Ramirez Jr. issued a two-out walk to Rhett Rosevear before hitting Tyler Finke with a pitch. Preston Faulkner pulled a single into left field, driving home Rosevear with the game’s first run. Shea Thomas followed with a double to left-center, plating both Finke and Faulkner.
The Islanders picked up an unearned run in the fifth but Southeastern answered with a run in the bottom of the inning.
Finke led off the fifth with a single to center and then stole second base. Advancing to third on Faulkner’s flyout to center, Finke scored ahead of a throw to the plate on Thomas’ fielder’s choice grounder to shortstop.
Rosevear, the national leader in HBPs, was hit by a one-out pitch in the sixth. It was the 21st time this season Rosevear has been hit by a pitch, putting him one shy of tying the SLU single-season record held by Josh Cryer (2009, 2010).
Finke followed with his third home run of the season, putting the Lions up, 6-1.
The Lions’ final run came in the seventh. Christian Garcia pulled a one-out single to left, advancing to second when the right fielder lost a fly ball off the bat of Bryce Grizzaffi in the sun. After Evan Keller drew a walk, Garcia scored on Rosevear’s fielder’s choice groundout.
A&M-Corpus Christi picked up single runs in the eighth and ninth, but it was too little too late as Gage Trahan finished off the game with a pair of strikeouts.
Robb (2-3) earned the win, allowing one unearned run in 2.1 innings of relief work. Ramirez (1-1) suffered the loss, allowing three runs – all earned – in the 3.1 innings pitched.
Finke (2-for-3) and Keller (2-for-4) turned in multi-hit performances for SLU. Thomas drove in a game-high three runs.
UP NEXT
Southeastern returns to the road Tuesday for a 6 p.m. non-conference contest at No. 18-ranked Southern Miss in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The game is slated for broadcast on ESPN+.
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.
PARKING CONSTRUCTION
The university is slated to repave a portion of the baseball parking lot, April 13-29, affecting home games against New Orleans (April 14-16), South Alabama (April 19) and Southern Miss (April 26). Additional parking will be available in the parking garage and in the lot north of the garage.
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.
LINE SCORE
Southeastern 7, A&M-Corpus Christi 3 (Apr 10, 2022 at Hammond, La.)
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A&M-Corpus Christi … 000 010 011 – 3 9 2 (16-17, 3-6 SLC)
Southeastern …………… 003 012 10X – 7 8 1 (13-19, 4-5 SLC)
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Pitchers: A&M-Corpus Christi – Ramirez Jr., Jaime; Perez, Leo (4); Moeller, J.T. (6); Bird, Henry (8) and Taylor, Justin. Southeastern – Reynolds, Reid; Robb, Hayden (3); Dugas, Daniel (6); Aspholm, Dalton (7); Trahan, Gage (9) and Grizzaffi, Bryce.
Win-Robb, Hayden (2-3) Loss-Ramirez Jr., Jaime (1-1) T-3:13 A-1007
HR AMCC – Jones, Tre (6).
HR SLU – Finke, Tyler (3).
Weather: 77 Sunny, SSE 18 mph
{Courtesy: release from Southeastern}
