Box Score and Play-by-Play in .html Format

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SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The Southeastern Louisiana University baseball team (6-5, 0-2 Southland Conference) twice held the lead against Texas-San Antonio (8-3, 2-0 SLC), but the Roadrunners rallied to reclaim the lead each time as the Lions fell in a 13-12 slugfest on Saturday.

“The bottom line is, we haven't pitched or played defense the way we are capable in either of the last two games and it shows,” head coach Jay Artigues said.  “Obviously, I like what we're doing offensively because our hitters are doing a great job coming back and keeping us in games.  But, when our pitchers make a good pitch, our defense needs to make the play behind them.  If we can do that, we'll be in good shape.”

Both Lion sophomore right handed starter Brandon Efferson and UTSA southpaw starter Kris Ruepke pitched out of jams early on as neither offense could break through in the first two frame.

Efferson stranded a pair of runners and struck out two batters in each of the first two innings.  Meanwhile, Ruepke set the Lions down in order in the first and overcame a UTSA error and a Lion hit to keep the game scoreless in the second.

Southeastern finally managed to break through in a big way in the third, sending ten men to the plate.  Senior first baseman Jordan D'Arensbourg led off with a double to right.  After freshman center fielder Cass Hargis walked and senior shortstop Ty Summerlin was hit by a pitch to load the bases, senior left fielder Brandon Street opened the scoring with a 4-3 RBI groundout to make it 1-0.

Sophomore catcher Josh Cryer then brought home three more with his second home run of the season.  The three-run shot put the Lions up 4-0.

After senior right fielder Brian McCants reached on an error, an RBI double by junior third baseman Chris Franklin and a run-scoring single from freshman designated hitter Cody Gougler put Southeastern up 6-0 after three.

Unfortunately, for the Lions, UTSA answered with a big inning of their own in the fourth.  Roadrunner catcher Ryan Rummel led off with a single and second baseman Matthew James followed with a double.  After an RBI sacrifice fly from shortstop Marshal Davis, right fielder Tyler Carpenter singled home a run to cut into the Lion lead 6-2.

Carpenter advanced to third thanks to a passed ball and a wild pitch and a one-out walk to Brett Aguilar put runners at the corners for center fielder Michael Rockett, who notched his first home run of the season.  Efferson recovered to retire left fielder Jose Hernandez on a ground out and strike out designated hitter Aaron Powell to keep Southeastern in front 6-5 after four.

After the Lions threatened, but could not score, in the top of the fifth; UTSA came back to take the lead in the bottom half.  Three Roadrunner hits, including a double and a triple, along with a pair of Lion errors led to four runs in the fifth as UTSA took a 9-6 lead and chased Efferson from the game after 4.1 innings. 

Senior right hander Chris Cappo came on in relief, and the Roadrunners would add another run in on an RBI double by Hernandez to make it 10-6 after five.

After Cappo retired the Roadrunners in order in the sixth, Southeastern struck back in the seventh. 

Hargis extended his hitting streak to ten games (tying a career high) with a lead-off single.  Summerlin followed with a double to the gap in left center field.  A walk to Street loaded the bases and a wild pitch brought home Hargis to make it 10-7. 

A sacrifice fly from McCants and a two-run single from Gougler tied things up at 10-10.  Sophomore first baseman Joe Sparacino put runners at the corners and another wild pitch brought home Gougler to put the Lions out in front 11-10.

Unfortunately, the Roadrunners battled back to reclaim the lead in the bottom half of the inning.  A double and a single put runners at the corners with no outs to chase Cappo from the game.  Junior right handed reliever/third baseman Chris Franklin came on in relief.

Franklin induced a groundout to first base for out number one.  However, after an intentional walk to Rockett loaded the bases, a sacrifice fly from Hernandez coupled with an error on a relay throw led to a pair of UTSA runs, and Southeastern headed to eighth down 12-11.

The Lions rallied in their next turn at bat.  Hargis led off with an infield hit, but was retired as Summerlin reached on a fielder's choice.  After UTSA's Hernandez ran down a long fly ball off the bat of Street for the second out, Cryer reached on an error that sent Summerlin to third.  A passed ball by Rummel plated Summerlin to tie things up at twelve.

The tie would not last long, however, as the Roadrunners claimed a 13-12 lead in the bottom of the eighth.  Rummel reached on a one-out single and came around to score on an RBI triple by Davis. 

This time, however, the Lions could not wrestle the lead back from UTSA as Roadrunner reliever Zach Calhoon set Southeastern down in order in the ninth.

The Lions will try to rebound on Sunday in the finale of the weekend's three-game series.  First pitch from Roadrunner Field in San Antonio is set for 1 p.m.  Freshman right hander Josh Janway (2-0, 2.19 ERA) will make the first start of his career as Southeastern looks to leave San Antonio with a win.

“Josh has done a super job early on for us,” Artigues said.  “He dominates the strike zone, works fast and limits free passes.  With the wind blowing out again tomorrow, that's going to be important.  We need to keep them off the bases as much as possible and play solid defense behind him.”