HAMMOND, La. – Abilene Christian exploded for seven runs in the ninth inning Saturday, propelling the Wildcats to a 9-2 Southland Conference win over Southeastern at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.

Southeastern (14-6, 3-2 Southland) now heads into Sunday's 1 p.m. series finale with Abilene Christian (2-12, 2-3 Southland) needing a win to take the series.

A tight game through the first eight innings, the Wildcats broke through late against the Southeastern bullpen.

Lion starting pitcher Jake Johnson had allowed two runs through 6.2 innings of work and left the game trailing, 2-1, but Southeastern scratched across a run in the seventh to tie the game.

With two outs, Kennon Menard reached on an error by the Abilene Christian shortstop. Jacob Seward followed with a single up the middle. Wildcat reliever Nate Cole then walked Julian Service and Daniel Midyett, back-to-back, forcing in Menard with the tying run.

Abilene Christian, which had scored five runs total in the series up until the ninth, touched up a pair of Lion relievers. The Wildcats picked up their seven runs on five hits, two walks, a pair of fielding errors, a hit batter, a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly.

Ladgie Zotyka (1-1), the fourth of five Abilene Christian pitchers, earned the win after tossing 1.1 scoreless innings in relief. Kade Granier (2-1), a freshman from Destrehan, Louisiana, suffered the loss.

Chris Eades led the Lions at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Seward, who drove in Eades for the first run of the game, was 2-for-5. Ryan Byers, who was 0-for-4, saw his 12-game hitting streak snapped.

Southpaw Kyle Cedotal (1-1, 1.42), a junior from Denham Springs, Louisiana, draws the starting nod for Southeastern in the series finale, matching up against Wildcat right-hander Thomas Altimont (0-3, 5.14) Sunday at 1 p.m.

The game can be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU 90.9 FM, online and through either the KSLU or TuneIn Radio smartphone apps. Fans can also keep up with the action 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, tickets and promotions are available on the baseball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.

Sunday is Academy Family Day and Lion Baseball's annual Take a Kid to the Game Day. All children in attendance will be invited to stand on the field for the national anthem and high-five the players. Kids also will have the chance to run the bases after the game and have the players autograph their schedule posters. A bounce house inflatable will be set up outside of left field for all of the smaller Southeastern fans, along with family-friendly promotions going on during the game.

General admission tickets for Sunday's game are $8 for adults and $5 for youth (ages 3-12). Children younger than three are admitted free with a paying adult. Southeastern students are also admitted free with their university ID card.

The box office at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field opens one hour before first pitch. Individual game tickets also may be purchased online at www.LionSports.net/Tickets.


Abilene Christian 9, Southeastern La. 2 (Mar 14, 2015 at Hammond, La.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Abilene Christian... 000 010 107 - 9 11 1 (2-12, 2-3 SLC)
Southeastern La..... 001 000 100 - 2 7 2 (14-6, 3-2 SLC)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pitchers: Abilene Christian - Mason, Aaron; Palacios, Nick (6); Cole, Nate (7); Zotyka, Ladgie (7); Sheets, Kevin (9) and Copeland, Alex. Southeastern La. - Johnson, Jake; Granier, Kade (7); Klotz, Mason (9); Pickett, Gage (9) and Eades, Chris.

Win-Ladgie Zotyka (1-1) Loss-Granier, Kade (2-1) T-3:00 A-896
HR ACU - Marcelle Carter.
Weather: 72 Mostly Cloudy, W 6 mph