SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Defending Southland Conference Tournament champion Southeastern Louisiana begins conference play at 6:30 p.m. Friday with the opener of a three-game series against Incarnate Word.

Southeastern (10-4) and UIW (6-7) will wrap up the series with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m. All three games will be played at Dickson Stadium on the campus of St. Mary's University. The former home to professional baseball in San Antonio, the old V.J. Keefe Field was renovated prior to the 2014 season.

Friday'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 entire series through live statistics or by following SLUathletics on Twitter. Links for audio and stats are available on the baseball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.

The Lions swept through a five-game homestand this last week with wins over Northwestern University (three), Alcorn State and Southern. Heading into the opening weekend of Southland play, Southeastern owns the most overall wins in the conference.

Jacob Williams (.429), Kevin Carr (.415), Brett Hoffman (.405), Carson Crites (.359) and Ryan Byers (.340) lead Southeastern at the plate. Daniel Midyett has homered twice. Byers owns a team-high 15 RBIs and six stolen bases. Julian Service and Jacob Seward lead the team with 12 runs scored each.

The Lions are hitting .300 as a team and have been successful on 21-of-30 stolen base attempts. Southeastern is among the national leaders in walks received (third), runs scored (sixth) and hits (eighth). The pitching staff has compiled a 4.10 ERA, fanning 100 batters in 123 innings pitched.

Tate Scioneaux (1-1, 6.63), a junior right-hander from Reserve, Louisiana, draws the series opening nod for the Lions. He matches up with southpaw Garret Cooper (3-0, 1.80) for the Cardinals.

To open Saturday's doubleheader, the Lions will send junior right-hander Jake Johnson (2-0, 1.35) to the mound against UIW righty Brandon Anderson (1-0, 4.24). Left-hander Kyle Cedotal (1-1, 1.96), a junior from Denham Springs, Louisiana, draws the starting nod for Southeastern in the series finale against Cardinal left-hander Kris Looper (0-1, 13.50).

UIW took 2-of-3 games at New Mexico State this past weekend.

Matt Morris (.340), William Triebes (.321) and Jesse Hoover (.302) lead the Cardinals at the plate. Colton Besett has hit a team-high three home runs and Austin Hoffman owns a team-best 14 RBIs. Mark Whitehead's four stolen bases lead the squad.

The Cardinals are hitting .268 as a team and have been successful on 10-of-17 stolen base attempts. The pitching staff has compiled a 5.93 ERA, fanning 78 batters in 115.1 innings pitched.

Last season in Hammond, Louisiana, Southeastern won 2-of-3 games in the inaugural series between the two schools.

Following the weekend series at UIW, Southeastern travels to South Alabama for a 6 p.m. non-conference game Tuesday at Stanky Field in Mobile, Alabama.


Southeastern Louisiana Lions (10-4) at Incarnate Word Cardinals (6-7)

DATES / TIMES
Friday, March 6 – 6:30 p.m. (CT)
Saturday, March 7 – 1 p.m. (CT) doubleheader

STADIUM
Dickson Stadium (St. Mary's University - San Antonio, Texas)

RADIO
• KSLU, 90.9 FM (Friday only)
• Pregame show starts 15 minutes prior to first pitch

INTERNET / SMARTPHONE
• www.LionSports.net – live audio and stats
• KSLU iPhone app, TuneIn Radio app

PITCHING MATCHUPS
Game 1
SLU – Junior RHP Tate Scioneaux (1-1, 6.63) vs.
UTA – Junior LHP Garret Cooper (3-0, 1.80)

Game 2
SLU – Junior RHP Jake Johnson (2-0, 1.35) vs.
HBU – Junior RHP Brandon Anderson (1-0, 4.24)

Game 3
SLU – Junior LHP Kyle Cedotal (1-1, 1.96) vs.
MSU – Senior RHP Kris Looper (0-1, 13.50)