HAMMOND, La. – Senior right-handers Carlisle Koestler and Mason Knopp combined on a four-hit shutout Sunday as Southeastern Louisiana claimed the series finale with an 8-0 win over Stony Brook in nonconference action at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.
 
Southeastern (2-5) bounced back from Saturday's loss to the Seawolves (3-3) to take the series, two games to one.
 
Koestler (1-0) came out firing. The redshirt senior from Vicksburg, Mississippi, struck out the side in the first. After he worked around a two-out double in the second inning, the Lion bats came alive.
 
Sending nine batters to the plate, Southeastern plated four runs.
 
Nathan Pilutti led off the inning with a double to center field. Eli Johnson followed with a high fly ball to center. The ball dropped untouched as Stony Brook's Michael Wilson lost the ball in the sun.
 
After Trey Shaffer was hit by a one-out pitch, catcher Connor Manola beat out an infield single to drive home what proved to be the game-winning run.
 
Cody Grosse singled to left field, driving home Johnson with the second run. Brennan Breaud chased Seawolf starting pitcher Jared Milch (0-2) from the game with a two-run double over the head of the right fielder.
 
The second time through the order, Koestler continued to roll. He struck out the top three hitters in the order again, picking up multiple strikeouts in both the third and fourth.
 
Southeastern added a pair of runs in both the fourth and sixth.
 
Manola, a redshirt freshman from Port Allen, Louisiana, ripped a double to left leading off the fourth. Cody Grosse followed with a walk and Preston Faulkner's one-out single to right loaded the bases.
 
Stony Brook reliever Nick DeGennaro hit Kyle Schimpf in the back with a fastball, forcing in the first run of the inning, and Grosse scored when Pilutti followed with a sacrifice fly to center.
 
Breaud started the rally in the sixth, leading off the inning with a single to center. A Brandon Bonanno pitch hit Faulkner, a sophomore from Denham Springs, Louisiana, putting a pair on. Pilutti drove in Breaud with a one-out single to left and Faulkner scored on a two-out double to left-center off the bat of Nick Ray.
 
Koestler, who earned the win, handed to ball over to Knopp after seven shutout innings. He scattered four hits and did not walk a batter, fanning nine.
 
Knopp, a senior from Fort Scott, Kansas, made quick work of the Seawolves. He retired all six batters he faced, closing out the final two innings of the game.
 
Milch suffered the loss, surrendering four runs in five innings of work. The left-hander allowed five hits, issued a pair of walks and hit a batter.
 
Breaud (3-for-5) picked up his third multihit game of the series. Manola (2-for-3) and Pilutti (2-for-4) also contributed multihit performances at the plate for Southeastern.
 
The shutout was the Lions' first since Corey Gaconi tossed a two-hitter last season at Southland Conference regular-season champion Sam Houston State (May 6, 2018).
 
Southeastern returns to action Tuesday, hosting UL Lafayette (1-6) at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. The game is the first Cane's Challenge of the season and the Southeastern Student Government Association will sponsor a student tailgate before the game atop the parking garage attached to Strawberry Stadium.
 
INSIDE SOUTHEASTERN BASEBALL WITH MATT RISER
A weekly 60-minute radio show, Inside Southeastern Baseball with Matt Riser airs Mondays at noon, during the season, from Blackened Brew in downtown Hammond.
 
Riser joins host Allen Waddell at lunchtime to discuss the latest in Southeastern baseball and will be joined each week by select Lion players. Blackened Brew is located at 112 W. Thomas St.
 
The show airs on the flagship station of the Southeastern Sports Radio Network, KSLU 90.9 FM, online at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the Lions Gameday Experience, Radio FX and TuneIn Radio apps. A live video stream of the show is also available via Facebook Live at www.facebook.com/sluathletics.
 
TICKET INFORMATION
Single-game tickets can be purchased online at www.LionSports.net/Tickets or by contacting the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466. Office hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Fridays.

General Admission tickets for Lion home games are $9 for adults and $6 for children (ages 3-12). Southeastern students are admitted free with a valid university ID card.
 
The ticket booth at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field opens exactly one hour before first pitch.

CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics has instituted a clear bag policy for all ticketed events, effective with the start of the 2018 fall semester. The policy mirrors safety precautions taken upon entrance to professional and collegiate sporting venues throughout the country. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/Clear.
 
LIONS GAMEDAY EXPERIENCE APP
The new Lions Gameday Experience app puts audio, stats, video, social media and more in the hands of fans. Those in attendance can also check in to earn reward points redeemable for Southeastern-related prizes. Available for both Android and iOS devices, it can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play.
 
DIAMOND CLUB / S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the baseball program are encouraged to join the Diamond Club. Lion baseball alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.
 
All membership fees and donations to both the Diamond Club and S Club (baseball) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern baseball program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Lions Baseball, follow @LionUpBaseball or @MattRiser17 on Twitter,  @LionUpBaseball on Instagram and Facebook, and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.