Box Score Box Score
HAMMOND – David Kindred went 2-for-4 and drove in four runs, including an inside-the-park-home run, as Alabama used timely two-out hitting to score eight runs and defeat No. 23 Southeastern Louisiana, 10-5, before a season-high crowd of 2,108 on Wednesday at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.
Clay Jones went 1-for-2 with a home run and scored three times as Alabama (22-12) pounded out 13 hits and took advantage of nine walks issued by Southeastern (27-8).
Alabama scored two runs in the first inning when Kindred hit a two-out single up the middle, scoring Josh Rutledge and Jones.
Kindred, a junior who originally signed with Ole Miss before playing at Shelton State Community College, then gave the Crimson Tide a 4-0 lead in the third inning when he hit a ball off the right-center field fence. Southeastern outfielders
Cass Hargis and
Cody Gougler collided at the fence as the ball bounced away and Kindred scored on his first career home run in an Alabama uniform.
Southeastern (No. 23 USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll; No. 29 Collegiate Baseball) got back in the game in the bottom half of the inning as it took advantage of a catcher's interference that put runners at first and second. Hargis fouled off three pitches with two strikes before drawing a walk to load the bases before
Justin Boudreaux drove in
Josh Cryer on a fielder's choice that cut the Alabama lead to 4-1.
Jeff Harkensee followed with an RBI grounder that plated Hargis to cut the deficit to 4-2 before Gougler tied the game five pitches later when he drilled a 2-and-2 pitch from Alabama starter Jonathan Smart over the left field fence for his fourth home run of the season.
Alabama took the lead for good in the fourth inning when Jon Kelton's two-out single up the middle off Southeastern reliever
Stefan Lopez (1-1) scored Andrew Miller and Taylor Dugas for a 6-4 lead.
Tucker Hawley (1-1), the second of five pitchers used by Alabama, earned the win after pitching three scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Nathan Kilcrease pitched the final 2.1 innings with three strikeouts to earn his third save of the year.
Hargis went 2-for-3 for Southeastern and scored two runs to pass former Lion Kenny Langlois for second-place in school history with 151. The junior passed Langlois for fourth-place on the school's all-time hit list (199). Gougler and Cryer each had two hits for the Lions, who finished with seven in the game but stranded eight runners including the bases loaded in the seventh.
Southeastern will return to action on Friday when it opens a three-game series against Southland Conference leader Texas State. First pitch in Friday's opener is scheduled for 6 p.m. with the series resuming Saturday at 2 p.m. and the finale on Sunday at 1.
All three games can be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9) and on the internet at www.LionSports.net. Tickets are available by calling the Southeastern Athletic Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or can be purchased on-line at www.LionSports.net.
Alabama............. 202 200 301 - 10 13 2 (22-12)
Southeastern La..... 004 000 100 - 5 7 0 (27-8)
Smart, Hawley (4), Wolfe (7), Head (7), Kilcrease (7) and Trotter. R. Boudreaux, Lopez (4), Hymel (6), Schneider (7), Lorenz (8), Franklin (9) and Gough-Fortenberry, Cryer. W – Hawley (1-1). Sv. – Kilcrease (3). L – Lopez (1-1). E – Rutledge (9), Trotter (2). LOB - UA 12, SLU 8. 2B - Dugas 2 (10), J. Smith (5), J. Boudreaux (10). HR – Jones (7), Kindred (1), Gougler (4). SH – Kindred (1). SB - Taylor 2 (2), Jones (3). Reached on CI - Gough-Fortenberry. T - 3:19. A – 2,108.
