HAMMOND, La. – With the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the fifth inning,
Jacob Seward dropped down a squeeze bunt to plate both
Carson Crites and
Taylor Schwaner, bringing home the eventual winning run in Southeastern Louisiana's 6-5 Southland Conference victory Friday over Lamar at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.
The Lions (13-4, 4-0 Southland) extended their winning streak to nine straight overall and nine consecutive over the Cardinals (10-9, 0-4 Southland).
Lamar grabbed a first-inning lead, but failed to hold on.
Right fielder Cutter McDowell doubled to center field opening up the game and scored on a two-out single to left-center field off the bat of designated hitter Robin Adames.
Southeastern tied it up in the bottom of the first.
Right fielder
Ryan Byers smacked a home run to left opening up the Lion half of the inning. It was the second home run of the season for the senior from Ponchatoula, Louisiana.
Catcher
Evan Pace drove in a pair with a single up the middle in the second, putting Southeastern up, 3-1.
The Lions expanded their lead in the fifth.
Left fielder
Drew Avans led off the inning with a single to left. After Crites drew a walk, Schwaner singled through the left side to drive in Avans. Cardinals reliever Ryan Cawthon hit first baseman
Derrick Mount with a pitch to load the bases for Seward.
Lamar cut into the Lions' lead with a run in the sixth and three more in the seventh.
Mac Sceroler (4-0) earned the win, allowing one run on four hits. The junior from Denham Springs, Louisiana, walked three and struck three batters in his five innings of work.
Josh Green, a junior from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, earned his second save of the season after working a scoreless ninth inning, stranding the potential tying and go-ahead runs on base.
Lamar starting pitcher Tanner Driskill (1-3) was tagged with the loss, allowing three runs on four hits in 3.2 innings pitched. He walked three and struck out a pair.
In addition to his two-run squeeze bunt, Seward (2-for-3) also had a pair of hits to lead the Lions at the plate.
Sophomore right-hander
Corey Gaconi (1-0, 3.37) is slated to get the starting nod Saturday at 2 p.m. versus Cardinal junior righty Carson Lance (3-1, 2.66) in game two of the series.
The game can be heard in the Hammond, Louisiana, area on KSLU 90.9 FM, and worldwide online or through the TuneIn Radio app (search for KSLU). Fans can keep up with the game through live statistics or by following @SLUathletics on Twitter. Streaming video of the game will be available on LionVision, Southeastern's subscription-based video stream.
Links for audio, video, stats, tickets and game day promotions can be found on the baseball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.
Southeastern 6, Lamar 5 (Mar 17, 2017 at Hammond, La.)
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Lamar.................. 100 001 300 - 5 11 0 (10-9, 0-4 SLC)
Southeastern........ 120 030 00X - 6 6 1 (13-4, 4-0 SLC)
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Pitchers: Lamar - Driskill, Tanner; Johnson, Ryan (4); Cawthon, Ryan (4); Brown, Brett (5); Gabryszwski, Nathan (6) and Arredondo, Bryndan. Southeastern - Sceroler, Mac; Koestler, Carlisle (6); Tassin, Bryce (7); Green, Josh (9) and Pace, Evan.
Win-Sceroler, Mac (4-0) Save-Green, Josh (2) Loss-Driskill, Tanner (1-3) T-3:00 A-1210
HR LU - Adames, Robin.
HR SLU - Byers, Ryan.
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, 71 sse 10 mph
Johnson, R. faced 1 batter in the 4th.
Cawthon, R. faced 4 batters in the 5th.
