HAMMOND, La. – A resilient Southeastern Louisiana ball club weathered a pair of comebacks by Northwestern State in Friday's Southland Conference series opener, knocking off the Demons, 5-3, at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.
 
Southeastern (17-17, 9-4 Southland) jumps into second place in the conference standings with the win over the Demons (19-13, 9-7 Southland), remaining 2.5 games behind first-place Sam Houston State.
 
Corey Gaconi took advantage of Northwestern State's aggressive offensive approach early, needing four pitches to make it through the first inning and just six more in the second.
 
Kyle Schimpf gave the Lions a lead with one out in the first, blasting a two-run home run down the left-field line. It was the team-leading sixth homer of the season for the senior from Covington, Louisiana.
 
The Demons reached Gaconi in the third. After the right-hander issued a one-out walk, nine-hole hitter Jakob Nunez hit a game-tying, two-run homer to deep left-center field.
 
Southeastern regained the lead off Demon starting pitcher Ridge Heisler in the fourth. Nathan Pilutti, a senior from Destrehan, Louisiana, led off the inning with a single to left. After Connor Manola sacrificed him to second base, Pilutti scored on Cody Grosse's two-out single to right-center field.
 
Northwestern State tied the game once again in the seventh on a leadoff home run by center fielder Tyler Smith.
 
Both teams threatened to take the lead in their next at-bat, but the bullpens came up big for each. Lion reliever Grant Upton inherited a runner at second with no outs in the eighth and stranded the potential go-ahead run at third base.
 
The Lions went back in front with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning. Pilutti once again led off with a single to left, going first-to-third on Manola's hit-and-run single through the left side. Pilutti scored the winning run on Bryce Steckler's sacrifice fly to left field. Manola scored an insurance run after Northwestern State reliever Tyler Pigott walked Grosse, hit Schimpf with a two-out pitch and then issued a bases-loaded walk to Nick Ray.
 
Jared Biddy retired the side in order in the ninth, fanning a pair of batters to close out the game and earn his fifth save of the season. Upton (1-0) earned the first win of his collegiate career, fanning two of the three batters he faced. Demon reliever Kyle Swanson (0-1), who coughed up the hits to Pilutti and Manola, was charged with the loss.
 
Pilutti enjoyed a three-hit night at the plate, scoring a pair of runs, while Breaud and Grosse each picked up a pair of hits for the Lions.
 
Pushed up from the original start time because of weather concerns, the series continues Saturday at 1 p.m. with Southeastern senior right-hander Mason Knopp (3-1, 3.90) slated to oppose Demon senior right-hander Nathan Jones (4-1, 2.77) on the mound.
 
The game 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 broadcasts, stats, promotions and tickets are available on the baseball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.
 
Saturday's game is part of the annual celebration of all things Southeastern Athletics – Super Lion Saturday – and Baseball Alumni Day. All Lion baseball alums are invited back for the game and those in attendance will be honored on the field. Alumni interested in attending are encouraged to contact Mary Hannah Prevot with the LAA at (985) 549-5091 for more information.
 
Tangi Tourism will provide "Pass-Sport" cards for the Super Lion Saturday activities. Fans can get their cards stamped at the 10:45 a.m. tailgate party, the 11 a.m. football spring game, the noon softball game and the 1 p.m. baseball game. Any fan with at least two stamps on their card will be entered into a drawing to win a movie prize pack valued over $100 courtesy of Tangi Tourism. The drawing will be held and the winner announced at that day's Southeastern baseball game.
 
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 exactly 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.