SUGAR LAND, Texas – Southeastern Louisiana jumped out to a 4-0 first-inning lead, but the Sam Houston State trio of Robie Rojas, Blake Chisolm and Hunter Hearn helped the Bearkats rally for an 8-4 victory over the Lions on day two of the Southland Conference Baseball Tournament Thursday afternoon at Constellation Field.
 
No. 2 seed Southeastern (36-19) will face seventh-seeded New Orleans in an elimination game on Friday at 9 a.m. No. 3 seed Sam Houston State (38-20) will await the winner of Friday's opening contest at 4 p.m. The SLU-UNO winner will have to defeat the defending Southland Conference Tournament champion Bearkats twice to advance to Saturday's championship game.
 
A three-run home run by senior Carson Crites gave SLU the early lead, but the Lions' bats went silent over the final eight innings. Bearkat reliever Kyle Backhus (4-4) was particularly dominant, throwing 4.0 innings of shutout relief to earn the win.
 
"Yesterday, we took an early punch in the mouth and we were able to bounce back," Southeastern head coach Matt Riser said. "Today, Sam Houston State turned the tables on us. They are a very good team and we knew it was coming, but we weren't able to punch back after that first inning."
 
SLU sophomore Corey Gaconi (6-5) took the loss for the Lions. The Metairie, Louisiana native scattered eight hits in 6.1 innings of work, striking out four.
 
"We felt Corey pitched fairly well, but we didn't play well defensively behind him," Riser said. "We gave up way too many extra bases today to beat a good team."
 
The majority of the Bearkats' damage at the plate was done by Rojas (3-for-4, 2 runs), Chisolm (3-for-3, 2 runs, 1 RBI) and Hearn (3-for-4, 3 runs, 3 RBI), who occupied spots 5-7 in the SHSU order.
 
Southeastern batted around in the first inning against SHSU starter and Southland Freshman of the Year Hayden Wesneski. Crites followed a walk to sophomore Brennan Breaud and a single by junior Taylor Schwaner with a towering three-run home run – his team-high 14^th of the season – over the left field fence. Later in the frame, senior Webb Bobo singled and eventually scored on an error by Bearkat second baseman Riley McKnight to give SLU an early 4-0 lead.
 
After Gaconi threw a perfect first, SHSU got to the Lion ERA leader in the bottom of the second inning. RBI by Chisolm and Hearn, followed by a throwing error on SLU junior Daniel Wasinger allowed the Bearkats to cut the SLU advantage to 4-3.
 
SLU had the chance to get runs back in the top of the third, as senior Derrick Mount singled, junior Drew Avans walked and Wasinger reached on an error to load the bases with two outs. However, Wesneski bore down to force senior Jacob Seward to ground out to end the threat and keep the deficit at 4-3.
 
The same part of the lineup that got the Bearkats on the board gave SHSU the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. Chisolm singled then scored when Hearn roped a double into the right centerfield gap. Hearn would later come home on an RBI groundout by Jaxxon Grisham to give Sam Houston State a 5-4 lead.
 
The third time was not the charm for Gaconi as the 5-6-7 portion of the Bearkat order padded the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning. Consecutive singles by Rojas, Chisolm and Hearn resulted in a run and a 6-4 Bearkat advantage. SHSU looked to add further to their lead, but senior Ryan Byers made a diving catch on a Taylor Beene to keep the deficit at two.
 
The Bearkats added a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, as Rojas and Chisolm started the rally with consecutive one-out singles. After SLU freshman reliever Bryce Tassin retired Hearn for the first time in the game, Grisham laced an RBI single to give SHSU a three-run cushion. Later in the frame, Tassin issued a bases loaded walk to McKnight to force in another run to give the Bearkats an 8-4 advantage.
 
SHSU reliever Nick Mikolajchak made the lead stand up. Seward managed a one-out single, but the Bearkat closer retired Byers and Breaud to close out the victory.  
 
For the third consecutive season, every game of the Southland Tournament will be carried live by ESPN3, ESPN's live multi-screen sports network.

It is accessible online at WatchESPN.com, plus on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN and ESPN apps. Games can also be streamed via Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Sling TV, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
 
All of Southeastern's games in the tournament can be heard in the Hammond 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.
 
Links for audio, video, stats and tickets can be found on the baseball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.

The victor of the Southland tournament is the league's automatic qualifier for the NCAA tournament. The selection show airs Monday, May 29 at 11 a.m., CT, on ESPNU.

Tickets are available for purchase at the Constellation Field box office, by phone at 281-240-4487 and online at www.SugarLandSkeeters.com. Online orders are subject to a $2 service charge per ticket.
 
SLU – 400 000 000 – 4 6 2 (36-19)
SHSU – 030 201 02x – 8 11 2 (38-20)
Corey Gaconi, Bryce Tassin (7) and Daniel Wasinger. Hayden Wesneski, Kyle Backhus (5), Nick Mikolajchak (9) and Robie Rojas. W – Backhus (4-4). L – Gaconi (6-5). HR – SLU: Carson Crites (14). 2B – SHSU: Hunter Hearn 2 (11). T – 2:32. A – n/a.

Tournament Ticket Options:
All-Session Ticket: $60
Single Day Ticket: $19
Children 5 and Under: Free
Students at Southland Conference Institutions: Free (with valid ID)


2017 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament Schedule
Wednesday, May 24
Game One: No. 3 Sam Houston State 13, No. 6 Stephen F. Austin 1 (7 Innings)
Game Two: No. 2 Southeastern Louisiana 12, No. 7 New Orleans 7
Game Three: No. 1 McNeese 7, No. 8 Lamar 5
Game Four: No. 5 Central Arkansas 15, No. 4 Houston Baptist 4 (7 Innings)

Thursday, May 25
Game Five: New Orleans 4, Stephen F. Austin 3 (10 Innings) (SFA eliminated)
Game Six: Houston Baptist 8, Lamar 5 (Lamar eliminated)
Game Seven: Sam Houston State 8, Southeastern Louisiana 4
Game Eight: McNeese vs. Central Arkansas, 7 p.m.

Friday, May 26
Game Nine: Southeastern Louisiana vs. New Orleans, 9 a.m.
Game 10: Loser Game 8 vs. Houston Baptist, 12 p.m.
Game 11: Sam Houston State vs. Winner Game 9, 4 p.m.
Game 12: Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 10, 7 p.m.

Saturday, May 27
Game 13: Loser Game 11 vs. Winner Game 11, 9 a.m. *#
Game 14: Loser Game 12 vs. Winner Game 12, 1 p.m. ^#
Championship: Winner Game 13 vs. Winner Game 14, 6 p.m. +

* Game 13 will be necessary if the winner of Game 9 also wins Game 11.
^ Game 14 will be necessary if the winner of Game 10 also wins Game 12.
# If only one of the two early games is necessary on Saturday, it will be played at 1 p.m., with the Championship Game starting at 6 p.m.
+ If both bracket winners are undefeated, the championship game will be played on Saturday at 6 p.m.

NOTE: There will be a minimum of 45 minutes between games on Wednesday and 30 minutes the remainder of the week with no game starting prior to its scheduled start time.