HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana took advantage of McNeese miscues Friday, knocking off the Southland Conference leader, 10-2, at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.
Five McNeese (18-8, 9-1 Southland) errors contributed to eight unearned runs for the Lions (17-9, 6-4 Southland). Southeastern has now manufactured double-digit runs in back-to-back games.
After Lion starting pitcher
Mac Sceroler retired the side in order in the first, Southeastern picked up four unearned runs in the bottom of the inning and never looked back.
Left fielder
Drew Avans drew a leadoff walk.
Jacob Seward, a senior from New Orleans, Louisiana, sacrificed Avans to second, but the throw from McNeese pitcher Austin Sanders (2-2) sailed down the first-base line. Both runners advanced into scoring position.
Avans scored when the shortstop failed to pick
Carson Crites' grounder, putting runners on the corners. Junior third baseman
Taylor Schwaner then drew a walk to load the bases.
Derrick Mount, a senior from Saucier, Mississippi, drove in Seward with a sacrifice fly, and
Ryan Byers plated both Crites and Schwaner with a double to center field.
The Lions picked up a run in the second on an RBI double off the bat of Crites. Designated hitter
Trey Morgan and shortstop
Brennan Breaud scored on a
Daniel Wasinger RBI single-throwing error combo in the third.
McNeese picked up its only runs in the fourth when left fielder Shane Selman knocked a two-run home run to left, his fourth of the season.
Southeastern picked up its final runs in the sixth, the final two coming on
Ryan Byers' fourth home run of the season.
Sceroler earned the win, allowing two runs in his six-inning stint. The junior from Denham Springs, Louisiana, allowed five hits and walked five, striking out four batters.
Evan Hileman fanned three in a pair of shutout innings for the Lions.
Gage Pickett worked a scoreless ninth, fanning the final batter of the game.
Sanders, the first of four pitchers used in the game by McNeese, suffered the loss. The left-hander allowed seven runs, just two earned, on six hits. He walked three and fanned three batters.
Byers, 2-for-4 with four RBIs, and Crites, 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs, led the Lions at the plate.
The series wraps up Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m., capping off the action on Super Lion Saturday.
Sophomore right-hander
Corey Gaconi (2-1, 2.95) gets the starting nod in the first game versus Cowboy sophomore righty Rhett Deaton (3-0, 1.98). McNeese is slated to start sophomore southpaw Bryan King (3-1, 5.48) in the nightcap against Lion sophomore righty
Carlisle Koestler (1-2, 4.81).
Only doubleheader tickets will be sold for Saturday's games, allowing admission to both games with the purchase of one ticket, and the ballpark will not be cleared between games. Doubleheader ticket prices are $13 for adults and $9 for children (ages 3-12). Tax is included in the price of admission. Southeastern students are admitted free with a valid university ID card.
The box office at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field opens one hour prior to the scheduled first pitch.
Season ticket holders, and fans that have already purchased tickets for the weekend series, may use either their Saturday or Sunday ticket for admission to the doubleheader.
Both games 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 will also 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 10, McNeese 2 (Mar 31, 2017 at Hammond, La.)
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McNeese............. 000 200 000 - 2 5 5 (18-8, 9-1)
Southeastern........ 412 003 00X - 10 9 0 (17-9, 6-4)
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Pitchers: McNeese - Sanders, Austin; Wesley, Tyler (4); Mize, Mason (7); Sonnier, Gavin (8) and Duhon, Dustin. Southeastern - Sceroler, Mac; Hileman, Evan (7); Pickett, Gage (9) and Wasinger, Daniel.
Win-Sceroler, Mac(5-0) Loss-Sanders, Austin(2-2) T-2:47 A-1267
HR MCN - Selman, Shane.
HR SLU - Byers, Ryan.
Weather: Sunny, Clear 80, S 6 mph
