HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana exploded for five runs in the fourth inning Saturday, and right-hander
Jake Johnson shut down the Louisiana Tech bats as the Lions cruised to a 6-1 win at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.
Southeastern (2-0) broke open an early pitcher's duel with a five-run explosion in the fourth inning.
Junior catcher
Chris Eades started the surge with a one-out single to left field. The junior from Slidell, Louisiana, knocked a bounding single high over the head of the third baseman and then advanced all the way around to score when Bulldog starter, and loser, Tyler Clancy (0-1) walked the next three batters.
Ryan Byers,
Kennon Menard and
Brooks Morse (RBI) would all eventually score following their walks as
Jacob Seward drove in the first two with a single. Junior right fielder
Julian Service followed with a two-run double into the right-center gap.
Tech (0-2) would pick up an unearned run in the seventh, but the Lions answered with one of their own in the bottom of the inning. Junior designated hitter
Daniel Midyett homered for the second straight game, cranking one out to left field.
Johnson (1-0) set the tone early for his performance, striking out the first four batters he faced. A junior from Salina, Oklahoma, he fanned seven in seven innings of work. The transfer from Neosho County (Ks.) C.C. surrendered the one unearned run on six hits and a pair of walks to earn his first win.
Junior transfers Domenick Carlini and
Pat Cashman both made their Lion debuts by each tossing a scoreless inning in relief.
Sunday's 1 p.m. series finale is Academy Family Sunday in the Park. Roomie's Kid Zone, sponsored by Academy Sports and Outdoors, will be open down the left-field line, featuring a bounce house and other family-friendly activities. Kids are welcome to join the Lions on the field for the national anthem Sunday and to run the bases after the game.
Junior left-hander
Kyle Cedotal (3-3, 2.14) draws the starting nod for Southeastern in the series finale against Bulldog southpaw Phillip Diehl (8-2, 2.27 - JUCO).
Sunday's game 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 contest through live statistics or by following SLUathletics on Twitter. Streaming video is available on LionVision, Southeastern's subscription-based video stream. Links for audio, video, stats and tickets are available on the baseball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.
Individual game tickets are currently on sale and may be purchased online at www.LionSports.net/Tickets or through the baseball box office, which opens one hour before first pitch.
Southeastern La. 6, Louisiana Tech 1 (Feb 14, 2015 at Hammond, La.)
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Louisiana Tech....... 000 000 100 - 1 7 1 (0-2)
Southeastern La..... 000 500 10X - 6 8 2 (2-0)
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Pitchers: Louisiana Tech - Clancy, Tyler; Baughman, Mark (4) and Deceglie, Michael. Southeastern La. - Johnson, Jake; Carlini, Domenick(8); Cashman, Pat(9) and Eades, Chris.
Win-Johnson, Jake (1-0) Loss-Clancy, Tyler (0-1) T-2:26 A-850
HR SLU - Midyett, Daniel.
Weather: 70 Sunny, WNW 9 mph
