HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University baseball team fell to Samford, 9-3, Sunday in the series finale at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field, snapping the Lions’ seven-game winning streak.
Seven consecutive wins to begin the season for Southeastern (7-1) tied the 2012 squad for the second-best start in program history, trailing only the 2010 team that won its first 11 games on the way to a national ranking.
The Bulldogs (3-4) set the tone early, pushing across four runs in the first inning. The first three batters produced hits, driving in one. A one-out walk loaded the bases and a two-out double by Samford shortstop Garrett Howe cleared the bases.
SLU cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the inning. Rhett Rosevear drew a leadoff walk and Tyler Finke reached on an infield single. A one-out single by Jake Killingsworth plated both.
Lion starting pitcher Andrew Landry (1-1) settled in after a rough first inning, holding Samford scoreless until exiting after the sixth.
Southeastern pulled within a run in the fifth. Rosevear led off the inning with a single to center field and then stole second base. He scored with two out when the Bulldog third baseman misplayed a ground ball off the bat of Killingsworth.
Samford added an insurance run in the eighth and then touched up the Lion bullpen for four runs in the ninth.
Ben Petschke (1-1) earned the win, picking up the final out of the fifth inning on a strikeout. Carson Hobbs took over in the sixth and went the distance to earn his second save of the season. Landry suffered the loss, allowing four runs in six innings. He surrendered seven hits and one walk, striking out five.
Champ Artigues led the way offensively for the Lions, going 2-for-4 at the plate.
Finke stole a base in the seventh, his 11th of the season. He is now tied for third on Southeastern’s career stolen base chart with Troy Melancon (1989-92) and needs five more steals to break the program’s career record of 71 held by Melvin Meyers (1985-88).
UP NEXT
Southeastern hosts St. John’s in a midweek contest at 6 p.m. Monday at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field. SLU is slated to start redshirt junior Jay Long (0-0, 2.08), a left-hander from Stilwell, Kansas, opposite Red Storm right-hander Xavier Kolhosser who will be making his collegiate debut.
{Courtesy: SLU Athletics}