SUGAR LAND, Texas – Southeastern Louisiana exploded for 10 runs in the final two innings Thursday at Constellation Field, advancing in the Southland Conference Tournament winner's bracket with a 10-0 win over rival McNeese.

The No. 2-seeded Lions (38-18) gave sophomore pitcher Mac Sceroler some breathing room as the right-hander from Denham Springs, Louisiana, was locked in a pitcher's duel through seven.

Sceroler and McNeese (30-24) starter Ethan Stremmel matched each other with seven shutout innings.

"Right now the field is playing like a pitcher's ball park," Southeastern head coach Matt Riser said. "They hit some balls well early in the ball game. We hit some balls well early in the game that hung up and got caught. We talked about staying with it. Don't just go up there and chop at it to put into play. Mac [Sceroler] knew to pound the zone so that the only way they could really score would be off of free passes. If he made some mistakes in the zone, they hung it up in the air and our outfielders would go run them down. He did a great job of doing that."

With one out in the eight, Southeastern finally broke through against Stremmel.

Designated hitter Daniel Midyett smacked a single up the middle and Jameson Fisher followed with a single to center field. During a visit to the mound by McNeese, Ryan Byers pinch ran for Midyett.

Second baseman Carson Crites jumped on the next pitch, knocking an RBI single to center. Byers scored with the game's first run.

With the wind howling in from right field, up to 14 mph over the course of the game, right fielder Webb Bobo turned on a pitch and cranked a three-run home run into the teeth of the wind.

"He's a strong young man and we know that," Riser said. "If you watch how he hit that ball, that ball got out of here in a hurry. It was on a line that cut right through the wind. He's one of the few who can do it."

Southeastern tacked on two more on Derrick Mount's double down the third-base line, plating Jacob Seward and Sam Roberson.

The Lions added four more in the ninth on a sacrifice fly by Fisher, tying for the conference lead with his eighth of the season, a two-run double by Bobo and an RBI single by Seward.

The Cowboys reached Sceroler for pair of singles in the first, but he worked around them. He walked the leadoff hitter in the second, but then retired the next 14 batters in a row. McNeese first baseman Connor Crane reached on a wild pitch after striking out, but Sceroler retired the next four batters.

Working around three Cowboy hits in the eighth, Sceroler turned the ball over to Gabe Von Rosenberg in the ninth. The right-hander from Zachary, Louisiana, retired the side in order to close out the game.

Sceroler (10-3) earned the win, tying for the third-most victories by a Lion hurler in a single season. He scattered five hits and one walk, fanning nine batters. Stremmel (4-2) was the hard-luck loser, allowing five runs in his 7.2 innings of work. He allowed eight hits and two walks, striking out three.

Eight members of the Lion starting lineup picked up hits, while Bobo, Crites, Mount, Roberson and Seward all enjoyed multi-hit performances. Bobo drove in a game-high five runs.

Southeastern advances to a winner's bracket rematch Friday at 4 p.m. against the winner of Friday's 9 a.m. elimination game between the No. 6-seeded Cowboys and No. 7-seeded New Orleans (31-25).

Earlier in the day, the Privateers eliminated No. 3-seeded Northwestern State (33-24) with a 6-5 win and No. 8-seeded Stephen F. Austin (28-29) sent No. 4-seeded Lamar (35-19) home in a 5-2 upset.

All of Southeastern's tournament games can be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU 90.9 FM, online and through the TuneIn Radio app (search for KSLU). Fans can also keep up with the game through live statistics or by following SLUathletics on Twitter.

For the second consecutive season, every game of the Southland Conference Baseball Tournament will be carried live on ESPN3, ESPN's live multi-screen sports network. It is accessible online at www.WatchESPN.com, plus on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN and ESPN apps. Games can also be streamed via Amazon Fire TV and the Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

Links for audio, video, stats, a tournament central page and tickets are available on the baseball schedule page at www.LionSports.net. 


Southeastern 10, McNeese State 0 (May 26, 2016 at Sugar Land, Texas)
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Southeastern.......... 000 000 064 - 10 14 0 (38-18)
McNeese State....... 000 000 000 - 0 5 2 (30-24)
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Pitchers: Southeastern - Sceroler, Mac; Von Rosenberg, Gabe (9) and Roberson, Sam. McNeese State - Stremmel, Ethan; Anderson, Grant (8); Anderson, Aidan (9) and Toole, Cameron.

Win-Sceroler, Mac (10-3) Loss-Stremmel, Ethan (4-2) T-2:45 A-0
HR SLU - Bobo, Webb (7).
Weather: 81 deg, cloudy, SSE 12-14 mph


No. 2 seed Southeastern Louisiana Lions (38-18) vs. No. 6 seed McNeese Cowboys (30-24) or No. 7 seed New Orleans Privateers (31-25)

DATES / TIMES / PITCHING MATCHUP
Friday, May 27 – 4 p.m. (CT)
SLU – TBA vs.
MCN / UNO – TBA

STADIUM
Constellation Field (Sugar Land, Texas)

RADIO
• KSLU, 90.9 FM
• Pregame show starts 15 minutes prior to first pitch

TELEVISION
• ESPN3
• www.WatchESPN.com, Amazon Fire TV, Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 and Xbox One

INTERNET / MOBILE DEVICE
• www.LionSports.net – live audio, stats and video
• TuneIn Radio app