HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana hosts McNeese State, with tournament seeding on the line, in the final Southland Conference series of the regular season.

First pitch for the series opener is schedule for 6 p.m. Thursday at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field. It is Little League Night, with all children wearing a jersey admitted free. There will also be free hot dogs for the first 200 fans.

The series continues Friday, at 6 p.m., and concludes Saturday, at 2 p.m. Friday is Heroes Night, with all military members in uniform admitted free. All current and former military, firefighters, police officers and medical personnel will receive $4 admission. Saturday is Senior Day as the Lions will honor their 2012 senior class.

All three games can be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9) and live statistics will be available at www.LionSports.net. Fans can also keep up with the game on Twitter by following @SLUathletics.

The Lions lead McNeese State (23-26, 16-14 Southland) by two games, with three remaining, and the Cowboys have yet to clinch a tournament berth.

Southeastern (34-18, 18-12 Southland) needs any combination of two, Lion wins or Texas State losses, to wrap up the second seed in the conference tournament scheduled for May 23-26 in San Marcos, Texas. The Southland standings are so tight, the Lions can finish anywhere between second and sixth.

Last weekend, Southeastern dropped the final two games of a three-game conference series at Sam Houston State.

Brock Hebert (.389), Jonathan Pace (.348) and Harry Slade (.305) lead the Lions in hitting. Cody Gougler leads the team with three home runs and 40 RBIs. Gougler is also tied for the national lead with nine sacrifice flies. Hebert has a team-best 35 stolen bases and needs two to tie the school career record. Southeastern is hitting .271 as a team.

Freshman right-hander Andro Cutura (6-1, 2.79) will start the series opener for the Lions. He will be opposed by McNeese State right-hander Blake Ware (7-5, 2.58). Ware is sixth in the conference in ERA while Cutura is ninth.

Junior left-hander Jordan Hymel (5-3, 2.96) heads to the mound Saturday for the Lions and matches up against right-hander Tyler McDonald (4-3, 3.07).

Southeastern has not announced a starter for the regular-season finale, but the Cowboys are slated to start right-hander Trey Brown (1-5, 4.75). The Lions defeated Brown and the Cowboys, 9-1, in a non-conference matchup March 2 in Lake Charles, La.

Preseason All-Conference outfielder Seth Granger (.344), Taylor Drake (.275) and Renny Weber (.259) lead McNeese State in hitting. Granger leads the team with four home runs while Michael Sullivan has a team-best 21 RBIs. Andrew Guillotte has a team-high 21 stolen bases. The Cowboys are hitting .239 as a team.

Last weekend, McNeese State swept a three-game conference series from Texas-Arlington in Lake Charles. The Cowboys are tied for fourth in the Southland standings with UTA.


McNeese State Cowboys (23-26, 16-14 SLC) at Southeastern Louisiana Lions (34-18, 18-12 SLC)

DATES / TIMES
Thursday, May 17 – 6 p.m. CT
Friday, May 18 – 6 p.m. CT
Saturday, May 19 – 2 p.m. CT

STADIUM
Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field in Hammond, La.

RADIO
• KSLU, 90.9 FM
• Pregame show starts 15 minutes prior to first pitch

INTERNET
www.LionSports.net – live audio and stats

SERIES RECORD
• McNeese State leads 47-43 since 1981
• In Hammond, Southeastern leads 24-18 since 1981
• In the last meeting, Southeastern won 8-4 (March 20, 2011)

PITCHING MATCHUPS
Game 1
MCN – Junior RHP Blake Ware (7-5, 2.58) vs.
SLU – Freshman RHP Andro Cutura (6-1, 2.79)

Game 2
MCN – Sophomore RHP Tyler McDonald (4-3, 3.07) vs.
SLU – Junior LHP Jordan Hymel (5-3, 2.96)

Game 3
MCN – Senior RHP Trey Brown (1-5, 4.75) vs.
SLU – TBA (0-0, 0.00)