Box Score
HAMMOND, La. – Trailing 5-1 at the seventh-inning stretch Saturday, Southeastern Louisiana exploded for seven runs in the seventh inning and held on to defeat McNeese State, 9-5.
Southeastern (36-19, 20-13 Southland) strung together five consecutive hits and forced the Cowboys to use six different pitchers to complete the inning.
The win propels the Lions into a first-round matchup with Central Arkansas in the Southland Conference Tournament May 23 in San Marcos, Texas. The game is tentatively scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be the final of four opening-round games.
McNeese State (24-28, 17-16 Southland) scored in the first inning for the third-sonsecutive game against the Lions, but SLU answered in the bottom of the first.
Harry Slade led off the inning with a solo home run to right field, tying the game. It was Slade's first homer as a Lion.
The Cowboys took the lead back with a run in the third, added a pair in the fourth and tacked on an unearned run in the top of the seventh.
With one out in the bottom of the seventh,
Ladd Rhodes homered to right for Southeastern. It was Rhodes first home run of the season, making it the first multi-homer game of the season for the Lions.
Jacob Fisher followed with a single to left, chasing Cowboys' starter Tyler McDonald.
McNeese State brought in left-hander Trey McGee to face
Brett Hoffman, but Lion head coach
Jay Artigues pinch hit with
Michael Rutland. The right-handed hitting senior doubled down the right-field line, putting a pair of runners in scoring position. The Cowboys again countered with a pitching change.
Ryan Downing pinch hit for
Alex Marse and chopped a two-run single over the third-baseman's head, bringing the Lions with in a run.
Harry Slade singled again forcing a McNeese State pitching change.
Right-hander Tyler Parke walked
Ben Hernandez, hit
Brock Hebert with a pitch and surrendered a single to
Jonathan Pace before being pulled. Hebert drove in the tying run and Pace put the Lions on top for the first time in the game.
Coby Miller relieved Parke, and got
Cody Gougler to pop out with the bases loaded, but then hit Rhodes with a pitch before walking Fisher.
Southeastern added a run in the eighth on a two-out single by Hernandez.
Matt Pittari (2-0) picked up the win in relief for the Lions. He tossed 3.1 innings, allowing one unearned run.
Dylan Hills and
Stefan Lopez each pitched a scoreless inning to close out the game. Trey Brown (1-6), the third of six Cowboy pitchers, suffered the loss.
Line Score
Southeastern La 9, McNeese State 5 (May 19, 2012 at Hammond, La.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
McNeese State....... 101 200 100 - 5 10 0 (24-28, 17-16 SLC)
Southeastern La..... 100 000 71X - 9 16 1 (36-19, 20-13 SLC)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pitchers: McNeese State - McDonald; McGee (7); Brown (7); Parke (7); Miller (7); Sampere (7) and Henry. Southeastern La - Janway; Greenleaf (4); Pittari (4); Hills (8); Lopez (9) and Fisher.
Win-Pittari (2-0) Loss-Brown (1-6) T-2:52 A-878
E – Rhodes (1). DP - Cowboys 2. LOB - Cowboys 6; Lions 7. 2B – Granger (13); Hebert (21); Rutland (1). HR – Slade (1); Rhodes (1). HBP – Granger; Hebert; Rhodes. SH – Lloyd (6); Hoffman (5); Downing (1). SB – Slade (14). Weather: Partly cloudy, warm McGee,T. faced 1 batter in the 7th. Brown,T. faced 2 batters in the 7th. Parke,T. faced 3 batters in the 7th.
