SUGAR LAND, Texas – Corey Gaconi continued his late-season mastery and Southeastern Louisiana held off a late charge by Nicholls, knocking off the No. 7-seeded Colonels, 4-2, Wednesday at Constellation Field in opening-round action at the 2018 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament.
 
Gaconi (7-1) earned the win for the No. 2-seeded Lions (37-20), scattering six hits and a pair of walks in 7.1 shutout innings. The junior right-hander from Metairie, Louisiana struck out three batters. He has allowed just one run in his last 25.2 innings pitched.
 
Nicholls (26-31) left-hander Alex Ernestine (5-6) suffered the loss, allowing four runs in six innings of work. Ernestine gave up four hits and four walks, striking out four.
 
Early in the game, there was some doubt as to how long either pitcher would last. After a scoreless first inning, lightning in the area caused an hour and a half delay. Both pitchers would return despite the lengthy delay.
 
Kyle Schimpf, a junior from Covington, Louisiana, led off the bottom of the second inning with a single to right-center field. After Taylor Schwaner drew a walk, senior catcher Daniel Wasinger sacrificed both runners into scoring position. Schimpf scored on Evan Pace's groundout to shortstop.
 
The Lions added to their 1-0 lead in the fifth.
 
Brennan Breaud, a junior from Norco, Louisiana, drew a one-out walk and then stole second base. He scored on Cody Grosse' two-out single to center field.
 
Gaconi continued to hold the Colonels at bay, stranding runners on the corners in both the fourth and sixth innings.
 
After Gaconi worked out of the second jam, Wasinger provided the game's biggest hit. The senior from El Paso, Texas smacked a two-run home run to left field in the bottom of the sixth. His fifth homer of the season staked Southeastern to a 4-0 lead.
 
Reliever Trey Shaffer inherited a runner at first base with one out in the eighth, retiring the next two batters to end the inning.
 
Shaffer handed over a runner at second base to Jared Biddy with two out in the ninth, but the Colonels strung together three straight hits to break up the shutout.
 
Southeastern now slides into the winner's bracket, facing another in-state opponent, No. 3-seeded Northwestern State (34-22), at 4 p.m. Thursday.
 
All of the Lions games in the tournament can be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU 90.9 FM, and worldwide online, or through either the Radio FX or TuneIn apps. Fans can also keep up with all the action through the new ESPN+ streaming video service, live statistics or by following @SLUathletics on Twitter. Links to audio, video and stats are available on the baseball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.
 
STREAMING VIDEO
Every game of the 2018 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament is scheduled for live coverage on ESPN+, marking the league's first postseason event on the new streaming service.

Viewers can take advantage of a seven-day free trial during the tournament. Once expired, subscription fees are $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year. ESPN+ is available through ESPN.com and the redesigned ESPN app.

ESPN+ is the first multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company Direct-to-Consumer and International group in partnership with ESPN. It offers fans thousands of additional live events, on-demand content and original programming not available on ESPN's linear TV or digital networks.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
All Times Central
  
Wednesday, May 23, 2018
9:00 AM - Game 1 - No. 3 Northwestern State 2 vs. No. 6 McNeese 1
12:00 PM - Game 2 - No. 2 Southeastern 4 vs. No. 7 Nicholls 2
4:00 PM - Game 3 - No. 1 Sam Houston State vs. No. 8 New Orleans
7:00 PM - Game 4 - No. 4 HBU vs. No. 5 Central Arkansas
 
Thursday, May 24, 2018
9:00 AM - Game 5 - McNeese vs. Nicholls
12:00 PM - Game 6 - Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser
4:00 PM - Game 7 – Northwestern State vs. Southeastern
7:00 PM - Game 8 - Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner
 
Friday, May 25, 2018
9:00 AM - Game 9 - Game 7 Loser vs. Game 5 Winner
12:00 PM - Game 10 - Game 8 Loser vs. Game 6 Winner
4:00 PM - Game 11 - Game 7 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner
7:00 PM - Game 12 - Game 8 Winner vs. Game 10 Winner
 
Saturday, May 26, 2018
9:00 AM - Game 13 - Game 11 Loser vs. Game 11 Winner*#
1:00 PM - Game 14 - Game 12 Loser vs. Game 12 Winner^#
6:00 PM - Championship - Game 13 Winner vs. Game 14 Winner+
 
* 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.