SAN ANTONIO – Southeastern Louisiana wraps up the regular season this weekend with a crucial Southland Conference series against Incarnate Word. Games are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, 6:30 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday at Sullivan Field.
 
The Lions (28-24, 17-10 Southland) are tied for second in the conference standings with UIW (33-17, 17-10 Southland) and Central Arkansas (27-23, 17-10 Southland), one game back of first-place Sam Houston State (29-22, 18-9 Southland). The Bearkats return home to host Northwestern State (29-21, 14-13 Southland) in their final bit of Southland action. Central Arkansas wraps up its conference schedule at Lamar (17-34, 8-19 Southland).
 
All three games in the series 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 (provided by UIW), live statistics or by following @SLUathletics on Twitter. Web links to audio, video and stats are available on the baseball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.
 
After shutting out Sam Houston State in the series opener this past weekend, Southeastern dropped the final two games of the series.
 
The Lions are hitting .252 collectively, with 74 doubles, 14 triples, 38 home runs and 77 stolen bases. Southeastern's pitching staff has worked to a combined 4.73 ERA, striking out 432 batters in 462 innings. Opponents are hitting .260 off Lion pitching.
 
Kyle Schimpf (.294), Preston Faulkner (.288), Nathan Pilutti (.279) and Cody Grosse (.278) key Southeastern's approach at the plate. Faulkner leads the team with nine home runs and is second in the Southland with 17 doubles. Schimpf's 44 RBIs rank fourth in the conference. Grosse is second in the Southland with 23 stolen bases.
 
With an earlier than normal start to the series, neither team has announced its anticipated starting rotation.
 
Ryan Gonzalez (.354), Ryan Flores (.341), Taylor Smith (.333) and Sean Arnold (.330) are the Cardinals' top hitters. Smith leads the team with 14 home runs and 51 RBIs. Antonio Valdez is the squad's top base-stealing threat with 10 steals.
 
UIW leads the Southland with a .311 batting average, 114 doubles, 22 triples and 60 home runs. Cardinal pitching has 4.23 team ERA, fanning 418 batters in 459.1 innings pitched. Opponents are hitting .273 of UIW pitching.
 
Southeastern returns to action Wednesday in first round action at the 2019 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament.
 
SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
Tickets for the 2019 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament are on sale through the TDECU Ticket Office at Constellation Field in Sugar Land, Texas, by phone at (281) 240-4487 or online at www.southland.org/baseball.
 
The double-elimination tournament, scheduled for May 22-25 at Constellation Field (1 Stadium Drive, Sugar Land, Texas, 77498), will feature the league's top eight teams and concludes with a winner-take-all championship game May 25 at 6 p.m. CT. The winner of the tournament will receive the Southland's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. All games will broadcast on ESPN+.
 
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.