HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana returns to Southland Conference play this weekend, hosting Abilene Christian in a three-game series at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field. Games are scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
 
A couple of promotions are slated for the series finale, including Sundae Funday. The first 100 people through the gates for Sunday's game will receive free ice cream in a souvenir baseball helmet.
 
The series finale is also another Local Hero Appreciation Day. Every Sunday home game throughout the 2019 season, the Lions give thanks to first responders, military personnel and service members with a discounted ticket available at the ticket booth (must have a valid service ID).
 
All three games can be heard in the Hammond area on the flagship station of the Southeastern Sports Radio Network, KSLU 90.9 FM, online at www.LionSports.net/ListenLive and via both the Lions Gameday Experience and TuneIn Radio apps.
 
Fans can also keep up with all the action through streaming video ($), live statistics or by following @SLUathletics on Twitter. Web links to audio and video broadcast, stats, promotions and tickets are available on the baseball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.
 
The Lions (8-12, 1-2 Southland) are coming off back-to-back nonconference wins, Sunday at Oklahoma State and Wednesday against Alcorn State. Abilene Christian (10-10, 3-3 Southland), which did not face any nonconference competition this week, dropped 2-of-3 games this past weekend at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
 
Southeastern is hitting .240 collectively, with 29 doubles, four triples, 12 home runs and 35 stolen bases. The Lion pitching staff has worked to a combined 5.08 ERA, striking out 162 batters in 177 innings. Opponents are hitting .264 off Southeastern pitching.
 
Kyle Schimpf (.333), Trey Harrington (.317) and Preston Faulkner (.278) pace the Southeastern offensive attack. Faulkner has hit a team-high three home runs, while Schimpf and Nathan Pilutti are the team leaders in RBI (18) and stolen bases (9), respectively.
 
Corey Gaconi (1-2, 3.03), a senior from Metairie, Louisiana, draws the starting nod for the Lions in the opener, opposing Abilene Christian junior right-hander Spencer Chirpich (3-1, 2.60).
 
Neither team has announced a starting pitcher for the middle game of the series, but Southeastern will counter Wildcat senior right-hander Jonathan Nicholson (2-1, 3.90) in the series finale with sophomore righty Will Warren (1-2, 7.61).
 
Luis Trevino (.382), Ryne Randle (.317) and Koby Claborn (.308) are Abilene Christian's top hitters. Trevino has hit a team-leading four home runs and Claborn owns a team-high 20 RBI. Derek Scott is the Wildcats' leading stolen-base threat, swiping four bags so far this season.
 
Abilene Christian is hitting .264 as a team, with 34 doubles, five triples, 17 home runs and 11 stolen bases. The Wildcat pitching staff has worked to a combined 5.55 ERA, striking out 141 batters in 175 innings. Opponents are hitting .272 off Abilene Christian pitching.
 
The Lions kick off a 4-game road trip this coming week, traveling to South Alabama for a nonconference game Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in Mobile, Alabama. Following Tuesday's game against the Jaguars, Southeastern travels to Nacogdoches, Texas, for a conference series at Stephen F. Austin.
 
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. The ticket booth at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field opens one hour before first pitch.

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.
 
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.