Lions Head to Arlington With First Place at Stake

Southeastern, UTA jockey for position atop Southland Conference

Senior infielder Ty Summerlin will look to tie the school career runs record on Friday night in Arlington.

HAMMOND - Two-thirds of the Southland Conference's three-way tie for first will square off in Arlington, Texas in a three-game set beginning on Friday when the Southeastern Louisiana University baseball team (17-9, 8-4 SLC) and the Texas-Arlington Mavericks (15-12, 8-4 SLC) face off in a battle of red-hot teams.

The Lions and Mavericks, who along with Texas State (17-9, 8-4 SLC) make up a three-way tie for first, boast an impressive streak of play coming into Friday night's series opener. Southeastern enters game one of the series having won each of their last three SLC series. The Lions swept McNeese State in a three-game series March 13-15 before taking two-of-three from Central Arkansas (March 20-22) and Lamar (March 27-29).

Meanwhile, Southeastern will look to snap the Mavericks' seven-game conference win streak when the two teams face off on Friday. UT Arlington took two-of-three from defending regular season champion Texas-San Antonio (March 14-15) before consecutive three-game sweeps of Northwestern State (March 20-22) and Nicholls State (March 27-29).

The Mavericks boast one of the league's top pitching staffs, entering the contest with a 3.95 staff ERA, the second best mark in the conference.

However, the Lions will rely on a potent lineup that recorded run totals of 11 and ten in wins over Lamar (the SLC staff ERA leader) when they return to action tomorrow. Southeastern enters the contest with a team batting average of .315, and the Lions are second in runs scored (223) and are tied for third in RBI (192).

Senior infielder Ty Summerlin will try to continue to pace the Southeastern attack. The four-year starter, who broke the school career hits record on March 13, now has his sights set on the school career runs record. The Vancleave, Miss. native has crossed the plate 148 times, one shy of the school record of 149 set by Kenny Langlois from 1993-96.

Junior right hander Ryan Boudreaux will take the hill for the Lions in Friday's opener. The Gonzales native leads the team with a 4-1 record and an ERA of 3.46. The transfer from LSU-Eunice also enters his seventh start of the season holding opposing batters to a .203 batting average, the best mark in the SLC.

First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. from Clay Gould Ballpark on the campus of UT Arlington. 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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