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Brian McCants

Baseball

Eight-Run Seventh Rallies Lions Into First

Lions notch 14th comeback win with 10-4 win over Lamar

Brian McCants' three-run homer capped an eight-run seventh inning in a comeback win on Sunday.
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HAMMOND - The Southeastern Louisiana University baseball team (17-9, 8-4 Southland Conference) found itself in a familiar situation on Saturday, trailing Lamar (17-10, 6-6 SLC) by two heading into the seventh.  However, for the 14th time this year, the Lions rallied for a victory.  Southeastern crossed the plate eight times in the bottom of the seventh en route to a 10-4 win on Sunday, claiming a series victory over the Cardinals and climbing back into a tie for first place in the SLC with Texas State.

The Cardinals struck first as left fielder Tyler Link led things off with a solo home run to start the game.

However, the Lions regrouped with a pair of runs in the second inning to take the lead.  Sophomore catcher Josh Cryer led off with a base hit to right and a walk to senior right fielder #Brian McCants put runners at first and second with no outs.

Junior third baseman Chris Franklin followed with a sacrifice bunt to move the runners into scoring position, and freshman designated hitter Cody Gougler brought home both runners with a sharp single through the left side, giving the Lions a 2-1 lead after two.

Southeastern head coach Jay Artigues went to his bullpen early, pulling freshman starter Josh Janway after allowing a walk to Lamar's Quentin LuQuette to start the third.

Senior right hander Ryan Collins came on and began breezing through the Cardinal lineup.  The Chalmette native kept Lamar off the board in the third, fourth and fifth and retired eight consecutive batters at one point.

Unfortunately, for Southeastern, Lamar starter Mattison Smith was equally adept, holding the Lions off the board from the third through the sixth, retiring 12 straight batters at one point.

Leading 2-1 in the sixth, the Lions ran into trouble as Lamar got back-to-back home runs on Jeremiah Sammy's two-run shot and Ryan Saldivar's solo homer.  The three-run frame gave the Cardinals a 4-2 lead heading into the seventh.

However, the Lions, who had come from behind to win 13 games this season entering today's rubber match, exploded for eight runs in the bottom of the seventh to take the lead for good.  The Lions sent 11 men to the plate in the inning, taking advantage of five hits and three Lamar errors.  

Southeastern started the inning with McCants getting hit by a pitch and Franklin reaching on an error.  Junior pinch-hitter Philip Freeman followed with a bunt single to load the bases with no outs.

Sophomore first baseman Joe Sparacino followed with a two-run single to tie things up.  McCants and Franklin came home on the play to tie things at 4-4 with no one out.  Two batters later, sophomore center fielder Cass Hargis gave Southeastern a lead it would not relinquish.  Hargis' two-run single gave the Lions a 6-4 lead, but Southeastern wasn't done yet.

Senior second baseman Ty Summerlin added an RBI single of his own, and McCants launched his second home run of the season, a three-run shot, in his second at-bat of the inning for the final 10-4 margin.

Junior left hander Shawn Herring came on in relief and improved to 2-2 with 2.2 innings of scoreless relief.  The Lion southpaw allowed no hits and one walk while striking out three batters to preserve the victory.

The win, combined with Texas State's 7-4 loss to Stephen F. Austin, puts the Lions back in a first-place tie with the Bobcats in the SLC standings.

The Lions will return to action when they visit the Alabama Crimson Tide on Tuesday in Tuscaloosa, Ala.  Live stats and streaming audio play-by-play will be available online at www.LionSports.net, and the game can be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU 90.9 FM.
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