Box Score CONWAY, Ark. – Andrew Godbold doubled off the left-center field wall Wednesday with two outs in the fourth inning, taking advantage of a bases-load situation, to power Southeastern Louisiana to a 5-3 win over Northwestern State in the first round of the 2014 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament.
With the game tied, 1-1, Southeastern (34-23) loaded the bases after two out in the fourth when Northwestern State (31-25) starting pitcher Adam Oller began to struggle with his control. Oller hit
Jacob Williams with a pitch to start the Lion rally.
Jacob Seward and
Jameson Fisher each drew walks to load the bases for Godbold, who had already driven in Southeastern's first run of the game.
"He is the conference RBI leader and had four of them today," head coach
Matt Riser. "He had some big at bats for us and did a fantastic job of continuing to drive guys in and grind some at bats out."
Northwestern State scored a run in the bottom of the fourth, and answered the Lions' ninth-inning run with one of their own off Southeastern closer
Dylan Hills.
Andro Čutura (10-2), who limited the Demons to a pair of runs on six hits in eight innings of work, earned the win. The conference leader in ERA, wins and strikeouts, he fanned five batters.
"It was huge performance from Andro,"
Matt Riser said. "He went out and does exactly what a Friday night guy does. He dominated the zone and kept competing. He got better as the game went on. Hats off to him. He is a true competitor. Second to none."
Hills picked up his fifth save of the season while Oller (6-2), the Southland Conference Freshman of the Year, suffered the loss.
Southeastern, the No. 5 seed, will face top-seeded Sam Houston State (41-15) at 4 p.m. Thursday in a second-round contest at Bear Stadium on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas. The Demons will face Lamar (31-24) at 9 a.m. in the tournament's first elimination game.
All of Southeastern's tournament games can be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU 90.9 FM, online and either the KSLU or TuneIn Radio smartphone apps. Fans can keep up with the tournament through live statistics or by following SLUathletics on Twitter.
Every game of the tournament, which the exception of the title game, will be streamed live on the Southland Conference Digital Network, which includes Southland.org and the league's free mobile and tablet apps. The title game will be available exclusively on on EPSN3.
An all-tournament pass, which allows entry into all 15 possible games of the tournament, is $35 for adults and $25 for children ages 3-12. An adult single-day pass, which will include four games on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday with a possibility of three games on Saturday, is $14 each day, while a single-day pass for children is $10. If Saturday features only one game, then tickets for the championship will be $9 for adults and $7 for children. Students at Southland Conference institutions will also gain free admission with a valid student ID. Tickets are available for purchase in person at the Central Arkansas ticket office, by phone at 501-852-2234, and online at the university's athletics website at www.ucasports.com/tickets.
Southeastern La. 5, Northwestern State 3 (May 21, 2014 at Conway, Ark.)
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Southeastern La........ 100 300 001 - 5 10 1 (34-23)
Northwestern State.... 010 100 001 - 3 9 0 (31-25)
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Pitchers: Southeastern La. - Cutura, Andro; Hills, Dylan (9) and Fisher, Jameson. Northwestern State - Oller, Adam; Tanner, Austin (6); Parrack, Joey (7); Peavy, Reid (7); Smith, Brandon (8) and Logan, Garrett; Webster, C.J..
Win-Cutura, Andro (10-2) Save-Hills, Dylan (5) Loss-Oller, Adam (6-2) T-2:49 A-0
Weather: 72 deg, cloudy, SSW 5-7 mph
Parrack, J. faced 2 batters in the 7th.
