Box Score
HAMMOND – A three-run first inning was all the support the Southeastern Louisiana pitching staff needed Friday to shut down Eastern Illinois, 10-1.
The Lions batted around in the third inning to push across four more runs and chipped in single runs in the second, fourth and eighth innings en route to their fifth-consecutive win to open the 2012 season.
Joseph Koon (2-0) tossed six shutout innings to pick up the win and hard-throwing freshmen
Tanner Rainey and
Andro Cutura turned in memorable collegiate pitching debuts.
In two innings of relief work, Rainey fanned six batters. He fanned the first batter he faced, but Panther catcher Jacob Reese reached on a wild pitch. After a double, Rainey proceeded to fan the side, making it four strikeouts in his debut inning, and the first batter in the eighth for four in a row overall.
Cutura retired the side in order in the ninth, including his first strikeout.
Leading off the bottom of the first inning for Southeastern (5-0),
Brock Hebert reached on an infield single. Junior
Ben Hernandez followed up with a walk and center fielder
Harry Slade singled to load the bases for the Lions.
Jonathan Pace delivered a sacrifice fly to right field to plate Hebert for a 1-0 lead. Senior
Cody Gougler followed with a double into the left-center field gap, plating two, but was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a triple.
EIU (1-2) pitching hit six Lion batters, including freshman
Brett Hoffman leading off the second inning. Hoffman, just like every Southeastern leadoff hitter that reached base in the game, came around to score.
Southeastern sent nine men to the plate in the third inning and forced Panther starting pitcher Christian Slazinik (1-1) from the ballgame.
Three Lions, Hebert, Gougler and left fielder
Ladd Rhodes, had two hits apiece while Hernandez, Gougler and Hoffman each picked up a pair of RBI. Redshirt freshman outfielder
Adam Michel singled in his first collegiate plate appearance.
The second game of the three-game series is slated for 2 p.m. Saturday and baseball bingo cards will be available for purchase. Southeastern will send junior left-hander
Jordan Hymel (1-0) to the mound against right-hander Mike Hoekstra for the Panthers. Live statistics will be available at www.LionSports.net.
Southeastern La 10, Eastern Illinois 1 (Feb 24, 2012 at Hammond, La.)
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Eastern Illinois....... 000 000 010 - 1 5 3 (1-2)
Southeastern La..... 314 100 01X - 10 10 1 (5-0)
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Pitchers: Eastern Illinois - SLAZINIK, Christian; BUSHUR, Luke(3); HOUDEK, Scott(5) and REESE, Jacob; DEVITO, John. Southeastern La - Koon, Joseph; Rainey, Tanner(7); Cutura, Andro(9) and Fisher, Jacob; Roberson, Sam.
Win-Koon, Joseph(2-0) Loss-SLAZINIK, Christian(1-1) T-2:51 A-698
Weather: 57 degrees, N 10 MPH
