HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University baseball team swept a doubleheader Saturday at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field by scores of 20-0 in the first game and 7-5 in the seven-inning nightcap Saturday against Lafayette College.
Following up a 15-4 Opening Day victory, Southeastern (3-0) has taken the first three games in the four-game series against the Leopards (0-3).
The offensive output was spread throughout the lineup as no player has more than three hits combined in the two games. Tyler Finke was a combined 3-for-6 at the plate with six runs scored and two RBIs. Christian was 3-for-7 with four runs scored and four RBIs.
Lion starting pitching turned in a pair of solid outings with Will Kinzeler allowing just an infield hit over six shutout innings of work and Andrew Landry struck out seven batters while scattering a pair of runs in his five-inning stint.
The series wraps up Sunday at 1 p.m. Free general admission tickets are available at each Southeastern Baseball Sunday home game for active military members, as well as veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces, by presenting a valid service ID at the ticket booth.
The game will be televised on ESPN+. Fans can also listen to the game broadcast online at www.LionSports.net/ListenLive and via both the Lions Gameday Experience TuneIn Radio apps. The TuneIn app is compatible with the Apple CarPlay software available in most late-model automobiles. Search for KSLU 90.9 FM in the TuneIn app.
GAME 1 – SLU 20, Lafayette 0
Southeastern struck early and often, scoring five runs in the first inning before adding four more in the second and three in the third to build a 12-0 lead.
Leopard starting pitcher Adam Bogosian hit Rhett Rosevear with a pitch to open up the bottom of the first and then walked Tyler Finke. A wild pitch moved both players into scoring position before Shea Thomas pulled a single through the left side, plating Rosevear and Finke.
Designated hitter Jake Killingsworth then singled to right field and Christian Garcia followed up with the Lions’ first home run of the season, a three-run shot to left-center field.
The game turned sloppy in the second with Lafayette committing three errors, the first of 10 the Leopards committed in the game.
Overall the Lions kept the offensive pressure on throughout the game, sending nine batters to the plate in the first, eight in both the second and third, seven in the fifth and 12 batters in a six-run eighth. SLU had runners on in every inning, leaving a total of 15 runners on base.
Twelve different batters recorded hits with Killingsworth, Garcia, Clay Cook, Champ Artigues and Dane Watts, a freshman from Hammond, each picking up a pair.
Kinzeler (1-0) earned the win, logging six shutout innings despite walking five batters and recording just a single strikeout. Jack Walker, a Barbe H.S. product and transfer from Mississippi State, tossed a pair of scoreless innings in relief. Levi Bennett fanned three batters in the ninth to complete the shutout.
GAME 2 – SLU 7, Lafayette 5 (7 innings)
The Lions struck early again, batting around in the first on their way to pushing across four runs.
Rosevear walked to open up the inning. Following a single by Finke, Thomas reached on a fielder’s choice to load the bases. Garcia plated a run with a one-out single and then Connor Manola was hit by a pitch to force in another run. Artigues singled to center and Pierce Leavengood was hit by a pitch, each producing a run.
A pair of solo home runs off Landry in the second and third cut into the Southeastern lead, but he locked down the Leopard bats over the next two innings before handing the ball over to the bullpen to close it out.
{Courtesy: release from Southeastern Athletics}
