SUGAR LAND, Texas – Senior left-hander
Domenick Carlini carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning Saturday at Constellation Field as No. 2-seeded Southeastern Louisiana defeated No. 6-seeded McNeese State, 4-1, in semi-final round action at the Southland Conference Tournament.
Southeastern (39-18) advances to the tournament championship game for the fourth time in five seasons, eliminating the Cowboys (31-25) from the tournament.
The Lions jumped on McNeese starting pitcher Bryan King immediately.
Center fielder
Jacob Seward, a junior from New Orleans, Louisiana, pulled a pitch inside the first-base bag and into the right-field corner for a triple leading off the bottom of the first inning.
Ryan Byers, a junior from Ponchatoula, Louisiana, followed with an RBI double down the right-field line.
To open the second, King walked designated hitter
Daniel Midyett and catcher
Sam Roberson. After they were both sacrificed into scoring position, shortstop
Brennan Breaud slashed an RBI single through the left side to plate Midyett.
Meanwhile, Carlini cruised through the first six innings, getting pair of double plays turned behind him.
"The young man competed," Southeastern head coach
Matt Riser said. "Every time he saw me coming he said no coach, I got this taken care of. He's an ultimate competitor. The young man competed his tail off."
McNeese broke up Carlini's no-hit bid with two outs in the seventh.
Second baseman Joe Provenzano smashed a triple over the head of Seward. He scored on a wild pitch.
After Carlini walked third baseman Matt Gallier, sophomore right-hander
Josh Green came on to fan left fielder Shane Selman for the final out of the inning and strand the potential tying run.
Southeastern responded immediately.
Roberson, a senior from Dallas, Texas, launched his first home run of the season leading off the bottom of the inning.
"He's done it a lot during the postseason in his career," Riser said. "You go back to the 2014 Regionals, he had a big home run against LSU. We know he's got the power to do it, but it's been sporadic from a power stand point. That young man stepped up for us his whole career. He did what fifth-year seniors are supposed to do. He's supposed to handle the moment and he did it."
The Lions kept the pressure on as third baseman
Derrick Mount, a junior from Saucier, Mississippi, ripped a double down the left-field line. After he was sacrificed to third, Mount scored on an RBI groundout off the bat of Seward.
With the two runs, Southeastern regained the momentum lost in the top half of the inning.
"It was everything," Riser said. "We talked about it when it was 2-0. We knew if we scored again we'd have them on the ropes. They were struggling a little bit offensively and we had a fresh bullpen. We knew we had some weapons that were going to keep them down, mentality wise."
After a leadoff double in the eighth, Green retired the next six batters to close out the game.
Carlini (7-2) earned the win, allowing just the single run and hit in 6.2 innings pitched. He walked three, hit a batter and struck out three. Green earned his third save, working 2.1 innings of scoreless relief.
King (6-4) suffered the loss, allowing all four runs in 6.2 innings of work. He scattered seven hits and three walks, fanning seven.
Carson Crites (2-for-3) picked up a pair of hits, while Breaud, Byers, Roberson and Seward all drove in runs.
Southeastern will face the winner of Saturday's elimination game between No. 1-seeded Sam Houston State and No. 8-seeded Stephen F. Austin. SFA forced the "if necessary" game Saturday, defeating rival Sam Houston, 1-0, in the game that directly followed the Lions' win.
The winner of the Southland tournament receives the league's automatic qualifier for the NCAA tournament, which begins with regional play, June 3-5.
The tournament championship game, which is slated to start at 12 p.m. Sunday, 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.
It will also 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.
Ticket Information
Tickets are available for purchase online, at the Constellation Field box office or by phone at 281-240-4487. Online orders are subject to a $2 service charge per ticket.
Single Day Ticket: $18
Children 5 and Under: Free
Students at Southland Conference Institutions: Free (with valid ID)
Southeastern 4, McNeese State 1 (May 28, 2016 at Sugar Land, Texas)
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McNeese State....... 000 000 100 - 1 2 0 (31-25)
Southeastern.......... 110 000 20X - 4 8 1 (39-18)
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Pitchers: McNeese State - King, Bryan; Fontenot, Trent (7) and Toole, Cameron; Duhon, Dustin. Southeastern - Carlini, Domenick; Green, Josh (7) and Roberson, Sam.
Win-Carlini, Domenick (7-2) Save-Green, Josh (3) Loss-King, Bryan (6-4) T-2:26
HR SLU - Roberson, Sam (1).
Weather: 75 deg, sunny, S 4-6 mph
