CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Southeastern Louisiana rallied for five runs in the sixth inning, twice, Friday on its way to sweeping a doubleheader from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in Southland Conference play at Chapman Field.
Southeastern (18-7, 6-2 Southland) did not score until the sixth in either game, but chased the A&M-Corpus Christi (10-9, 2-3 Southland) starting pitcher in both cases.
With the wins, the Lions jumped into a four-way tie for first place with Central Arkansas, Northwestern State and Sam Houston State atop the conference standings.
Southeastern and the Islanders wrap up the series Saturday at 3 p.m., although expected bad weather overnight could impact the start time.
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 will be provided by A&M-Corpus Christi. Links for audio, video and stats are available on the baseball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.
Southpaw
Kyle Cedotal (2-1, 1.11), a junior from Denham Springs, Louisiana, draws the starting nod for Southeastern in Saturday's series finale against Islander right-hander Devin Skapura (1-2, 4.29).
Game One - Southeastern La. 6, A&M-Corpus Christi 4The Islanders scored single runs in the first, third and fifth innings on their way to building a 3-0 lead. Right-hander Matt Danton (2-3) scattered just two hits through the first five, allowing leadoff singles to
Kevin Carr and
Ryan Byers in the second and third, respectively.
Kennon Menard led off the sixth with a single up the middle and as the Lions turned the lineup over for a third time against Danton, their luck started to change.
Jacob Seward chopped an infield single and
Jacob Williams reached to load the bases when Danton mishandled his sacrifice bunt.
Daniel Midyett drove in Menard with Southeastern's first run of the game on a single.
Carr then singled up the middle, driving in Seward and Williams to tie the game, and chasing Danton.
Brett Hoffman reached on a fielder's choice that sent Midyett to third, erasing Carr at second. With runners on the corners,
Chris Eades ground out to the first baseman plated Midyett for a 4-3 lead.
Byers followed with a single up the middle, driving in Hoffman with the final run of the inning.
A&M-Corpus Christi picked up a run in the seventh, pulling within a run on Tyler Ware's solo home run, but the Lions padded their lead with an unearned run in the ninth.
Mac Sceroler retired 8-of-9 batters after entering the game following Ware's home run, picking up his second save of the season.
Tate Scioneaux (4-1) earned the win, keeping Southeastern in the game long enough for the offense to take over. Danton was tagged with the loss.
Byers led the Lions at the plate, going 3-for-4 with an RBI. Carr and Seward each turned in two-hit performances.
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Southeastern La............ 000 005 001 - 6 10 1 (17-7, 5-2)
A&M-Corpus Christi.... 101 010 100 - 4 11 4 (10-8, 2-2)
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Pitchers: Southeastern La. - Scioneaux, Tate; Sceroler, Mac (7) and Eades, Chris. A&M-Corpus Christi - Danton,Matt; Holland,Nolan (6); Landgrebe,Kevin (9); Dorris,Jacob (9) and Hermanson,Lukas; Metzger,Zach.
Win-Scioneaux, Tate (4-1) Save-Sceroler, Mac (2) Loss-Danton,Matt (2-3) T-2:46 A-0
HR AMCC - Ware,Tyler (2).
Weather: 73; Cloudy, SE at 12
Danton,M faced 5 batters in the 6th.
Landgrebe,K faced 1 batter in the 9th.
Game Two - Southeastern La. 7, A&M-Corpus Christi 4A&M-Corpus Christi strung together five hits in the second inning, pushing across four runs for an early lead. Lion right-hander
Jake Johnson (4-0) settled in and surrendered just one hit over the next four innings.
Holding the Islanders at bay, Johnson gave his offense a chance to solve A&M-Corpus Christi left-hander Trevor Belicek (2-2).
Southeastern rallied with two outs in the sixth for five runs and the lead once again.
Midyett ripped a one-out double into the left-field corner to jump-start the Lions. Carr drew a walk, putting runners at first and second. With two outs, Eades worked a walk to load the bases and Byers followed with a two-run single to center field.
After
Julian Service was hit by a pitch to load the bases once again, Menard dropped a two-run single of his own into right field to tie the game. Seward singled up the middle to drive in Service with the go-ahead run.
The Islanders threatened in the seventh. Left fielder Jordan Lee doubled to right, leading off the inning, and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Reliever Domenick Carlini buckled down and retired the next three hitters on a ground out to third, a strikeout and a pop up to shortstop to work out of the jam without allowing a run.
Southeastern padded its lead with a pair of runs in the eighth.
Carlini tossed 3.1 scoreless innings in relief to earn his first save of the season. Johnson earned the win, striking out nine batters in 5.2 innings of work. Belicek suffered the loss.
Menard and Seward each turned in two-hit performances.
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Southeastern La............ 000 005 020 - 7 8 2 (18-7, 6-2)
A&M-Corpus Christi.... 040 000 000 - 4 7 3 (10-9, 2-3)
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Pitchers: Southeastern La. - Johnson, Jake; Carlini, Domenick (6) and Eades, Chris. A&M-Corpus Christi - Belicek,Trevor; Keith,Kaleb (6); Landgrebe,Kevin (8); Dorris,Jacob (9) and Hermanson,Lukas.
Win-Johnson, Jake (4-0) Save-Carlini, Domenick (1) Loss-Belicek,Trevor (2-2) T-3:16 A-219
Weather: 69; Partly Cloudy, SE at 9
Landgrebe,K faced 1 batter in the 9th.
