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Randy Bergeron / Southeastern Louisiana University

Baseball 4/19/2009 5:25:49 PM

Lions Rally Past Islanders for Series Win

Southeastern claims 15th comeback victory

Joe Sparacino drove in three runs in the Lions' comeback win on Sunday.

Box Score

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HAMMOND - The Lions found themselves trailing the Islanders early on, but a pair of runs in the third and five more in the fourth gave the Southeastern Louisiana University baseball team (23-15, 12-9 SLC) a lead it would not relinquish as the Lions claimed a 12-6 win over the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders (14-26, 6-15 SLC) to take the rubber match of a three game set on Sunday.

The six-run win gave the Lions their 15th come-from-behind victory of the season and gave Southeastern its fifth conference series win in seven tries.

Southeastern struck first as sophomore center fielder Cass Hargis led off the bottom of the first with a homer to right center to make it 1-0 after one.

That lead would be short lived as the Islanders plated two runs in the top of the second to claim a 2-1 lead.

However, the Lions didn't wait long to mount their rally, as junior third baseman Chris Ernest and senior designated hitter Jordan D'Arensbourg led off the bottom of the second with consecutive doubles. D'Arensbourg's two-bagger brought home Ernest to knot the score at 2-2 after two.

After freshman right hander Josh Janway retired the side in the Islander third, the Lions reclaimed the lead with a pair of runs. Run-scoring singles from sophomore first baseman Joe Sparacino and freshman shortstop Justin Boudreaux put the Lions out in front 4-2 after three.

The Islanders threatened in the top of the fourth, however, as consecutive singles and a balk put runners at the corners with no outs. Senior right hander Chris Cappo came on in relief of Janway, allowing a walk to load the bases. However, the Chalmette native struck out TAMUCC's Justin Greiner before inducing a 1-2-3 double play to pitch out of a bases-loaded no-out jam.

Cappo held the Islanders off the board in the fifth before allowing a pair of runs in the sixth and one in the seventh. But by then, the Lion lineup had staked Southeastern to a comfortable lead.

Southeastern tallied five runs in the home half of the fourth, as a walk and two hit batsmen loaded the bases with no outs. Sparacino brought home two more with a double down the right field line, and freshman right fielder Cody Gougler followed with a two-run double of his own. Ernest would add his second RBI on a sacrifice fly to make it 9-2.

After the Islanders made it 9-5 heading into the seventh, Southeastern stepped on the gas once more. Hargis drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, and senior left fielder Brandon Street drilled his team-leading fifth home run of the season (a two-run shot) to make it 12-5.

The Islanders scored once more on an unearned run in the ninth, but by then it was too little, too late. Junior right hander Chris Franklin went 2.2 innings and allowed just one hit while walking one and striking out three as the Lions claimed the 12-6 win.

Next up for the Lions will be a rematch with the LSU Tigers. Southeastern will try to split the season series with the Tigers after falling to LSU 16-5 in Hammond on March 10.

First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday night at the New Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge. 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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