HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana won the fourth edition of the Pontchartrain Bowl, splitting a doubleheader Saturday with Southland Conference-rival New Orleans to claim the series and trophy at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.
 
The Lions (11-6, 2-1 Southland) won the first game, 3-1, behind the stellar pitching of Carlisle Koestler and UNO (7-9, 1-2 Southland) won the nightcap, 8-1, to avert a series sweep.
 
Combined with Friday's 7-6 win in 10 innings, the Lions claimed the trophy for the third time in four seasons since UNO joined the Southland.
 
Southeastern's chapter of Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity sponsors the Pontchartrain Bowl rivalry hardware. The Lions won the inaugural trophy in 2015, sweeping all three games from New Orleans. In the second edition, UNO took 2-of-3 from Southeastern to claim the Pontchartrain Bowl. After sweeping the Privateers again in 2017, the Lions now hold a 9-3 advantage in the rivalry series.
 
Southeastern returns to action Tuesday, hosting Purdue at 6 p.m. in the annual Pack the Pat game.
 
TICKETS
Single-game tickets for Lion home games can be purchased online at www.LionSports.net/Tickets or by contacting the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466. 
 
General Admission tickets are $9 for adults and $6 for children (ages 3-12). Tax is included in the price of admission. Southeastern students are admitted free with a valid university ID card.

Students and campus organizations can earn points toward their Lion Up Loyalty account at any home game by checking in on the mobile app while in attendance.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans are encouraged to follow @Lions_Baseball on Twitter, @SLU_LionsBaseball on Instagram, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel to keep up with the latest on Southeastern baseball.
 
GAME ONE: Southeastern 3, New Orleans 1
Both teams were locked in a pitchers' duel into the fourth inning before the Lions broke the scoreless tie.
 
A pair of extra-base hits provided the run. Drew Avans doubled to left field leading off the inning and later scored on Bryce Steckler's one-out triple to right-center field.
 
Koestler (3-0), who retired nine straight batters at one point, coughed up a single to the game's first batter and then did not allow another hit until the fifth.
 
The fifth-inning hit, a double to left, eventually led to a Privateer run, tying up the game.
 
Southeastern came right back to take a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the inning as Brennan Breaud, a junior from Norco, Louisiana, led off with a solo home run to right field. It was Breaud's first of the season.
 
The Lions added an insurance run in the sixth. Steckler ripped a one-out double to left and later scored on Kyle Schimpf's RBI single through the left side.
 
Cody Grosse (3-for-4), Avans (2-for-4) and Steckler (2-for-2) led the Lions at the plate.
 
Koestler earned the win, allowing one unearned run in seven innings of work. He scattered four hits and one walk, striking out nine batters. Trey Shaffer, a freshman from Biloxi, Mississippi, closed out the game with a pair of scoreless frames to earn the first save of his collegiate career.
 
GAME TWO: New Orleans 8, Southeastern 1
Southeastern fell behind 3-0 in the nightcap before a pair of two-out hits led to a run in the second inning.
 
Schimpf smacked a double off the left-field wall and the advanced to third base on a wild pitch. Designated hitter Trey Morgan drove Schimpf in with a single through the left side of the infield.
 
That was all the Lions would muster off UNO starting pitcher John Stephens (1-1) as he would not surrender another hit until the sixth.
 
Meanwhile the Privateers piled on three runs in the fifth and single runs in both the sixth and eighth, pulling away from Southeastern to avert a sweep in the series.
 
Stephens earned the win, allowing one run in seven innings. He scattered three hits and three walks, striking out six. Kade Granier (1-2) suffered the loss, allowing three runs in 1.2 innings of work as the starter.