HATTIESBURG, Miss. – A late rally by the Southeastern Louisiana University baseball team came up short Tuesday as the Lions fell, 3-2, to No. 11-ranked Southern Miss at Pete Taylor Park.
Southeastern (13-20) trailed the Golden Eagles (24-8) by two entering the ninth inning but came out swinging.
Third baseman Shea Thomas led off the inning with a line-drive single to center field. Champ Artigues followed with an RBI double to left-center, his fourth hit of the game. A one-out single by Christian Garcia put runners on the corners.
SLU ran a double steal in an attempt to score the tying run, but Artigues was called out at the plate. The ESPN+ broadcast showed Artigues scored easily before the tag was applied, but without instant replay available to the umpire crew the call stood. The game ended one pitch later on a strikeout.
The Lions’ Johnny Wholestaff approach helped shut down the Southern Miss offense, keeping the Golden Eagles off the scoreboard until the fourth inning when first baseman Christopher Sargent hit the first of his two solo home runs in the game.
Southern Miss picked up a pair in the fourth on Sargent’s home run and then a bases-loaded sacrifice fly.
An Artigues single in the sixth cut the Lions’ deficit in half, 2-1, but the Golden Eagles extended the lead back to a pair in the bottom half of the inning on Sargent’s second homer.
Southern Miss reliever Aubrey Gillentine (1-0) earned the win, working 1.1 scoreless innings. Garrett Ramsey earned his third save of the season, working a scoreless inning once entering the game with runners on in the ninth. Lance Lauve was tagged with the loss, allowing two runs in three innings pitched.
Artigues tied a career-high with four hits. He is the second Lion with a four-hit game this season, following Tristan Welch’s performance in the series opener at UIW.
Rhett Rosevear, the national leader in HBPs, was hit by a pitch in the third inning. It was the 22nd time this season he has been hit by a pitch, tying the Southeastern single-season record held by Josh Cryer (2009 and 2010).
UP NEXT
Southeastern returns to Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field this weekend for a Southland Conference series with first-place New Orleans. The three games Pontchartrain Bowl rivalry series are scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, 6 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday.
TICKET & PARKING INFORMATION
Single-game tickets are on sale for the remainder of the regular season. Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance to minimize ticket lines on game days. Southeastern students are encouraged to contact the ticket office prior to the game to reserve theirs in advance.
General admission tickets are $9 for adults and $6 for youth (ages 3-12). Southeastern students, with a university ID, and children under age 2 are admitted 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.
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.
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.
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.
LINE SCORE
Southern Miss 3, Southeastern 2 (Apr 12, 2022 at Hattiesburg, Miss.)
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Southeastern …….. 000 001 001 – 2 10 2 (13-20)
Southern Miss ….. 000 201 00X – 3 8 0 (24-8)
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Pitchers: Southeastern – Landry, Andrew; Lauve, Lance (3); Yuratich, Andrew (6); Smith, Noah (8) and Manola, Connor. Southern Miss – Stuart, Tyler; Gillentine, Aubrey (4); Boyd, Drew (5); Rhodes, Isaiah (6); Ethridge, Ben (8); Ramsey, Garrett (9) and Montenegro, Rodrigo.
Win-Gillentine, Aubrey (1-0) Save-Ramsey, Garrett (3) Loss-Lauve, Lance (0-3) T-2:40 A-4567
HR USM – Sargent, Christopher 2 (11).
Weather: 74, cloudy, SSW 12 mph
Ethridge faced 2 batters in the 9th.
{Courtesy: release from Southeastern}
