HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana junior shortstop Evan Keller's solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning proved the game winner, as the No. 3 seed Lions defeated sixth-seeded Northwestern State, 2-1, in the final game of the opening day of the Southland Conference Baseball Tournament presented by GeoSurfaces Wednesday night at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.
 
Southeastern (31-22) took the decision in the pitcher's duel. Trey Shaffer (3-3) tossed 2.1 shutout innings of relief to earn the win for the Lions.
 
SLU took an early lead off Demon starter Cal Carver in the bottom of the first inning. Tyler Finke singled with one out, moved to second on a Preston Faulkner walk. After Carver hit Jacob Burke to load the bases, Gabby Cruz lifted a sacrifice fly deep enough to score Finke and stake Southeastern to a 1-0 lead.
 
Lion starter Will Warren threw a pair of scoreless frames before NSU tied it up in the top of third inning. A single by Cam Sibley and a Jake Haze walk put a pair of Demons on board with no outs. Warren recovered to retire the next two Northwestern State batters, but uncorked a wild pitch that scored Sibley to tie the score.
 
Both Carver and Warren got into a groove over the next several innings. Northwestern State was the next team to threaten, loading the bases in the top of the sixth inning. However, Warren forced Lenni Kunert to fly out to keep the score deadlocked.
 
Southeastern mounted a threat of its own in the sixth, as Keller was hit by a pitch and Faulkner walked to put a pair of runners on with one out. However, Keller was doubled up at second on a failed hit-and-run to allow the Demons to escape unscathed.
 
Sibley doubled to lead off the NSU seventh, but Warren retired the next two Demons before giving way to Shaffer after a 116-pitch effort. Shaffer came in and retired Daunte Stuart to get out of the jam.
 
Shaffer and NSU reliever Drayton Brown (2-3) kept the game tied until one out in the bottom of the eighth inning. Keller lined a 0-1 pitch over the left centerfield wall to give the Lions the lead for good.
 
However, Northwestern State wouldn't go away without a fight, loading the bases with two outs in the top of the ninth inning. Shaffer held firm, inducing Stuart to hit a routine grounder to Keller at short, who flipped to Eli Johnson at second for the final out.
 
Keller's third home run of the season, as well as the combined efforts of Shaffer and Warren on the mound helped the Lions advance to Thursday's 7 p.m. winner's bracket game versus No. 7 seed McNeese (29-28), which defeated second-seeded New Orleans, 12-0, in eight innings on Wednesday. Southland Conference Freshman of the Year Brennan Stuprich (6-2, 2.17 ERA) will take the mound for SLU, while the Cowboys will counter with Jonathan Ellison (4-3, 3.02 ERA).
 
The game can be heard in the Hammond area on the flagship station of the Southeastern Sports Radio Network – KSLU 90.9 FM – in addition to online at www.LionSports.net/ListenLive and via both the Lions Gameday Experience and TuneIn Radio apps.
 
Other options to follow the Lions during the tournament include live statistics or the @LionUpBaseball Twitter account. Links to audio, video and stats are available on the baseball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.
 
2021 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament Presented by GeoSurfaces
 
Wednesday, May 26
Game 1 – No. 4 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 4, No. 5 Sam Houston 3
Game 2 – No. 1 Abilene Christian 7. No. 8 Lamar 1
Game 3 – No. 7 McNeese 12, No. 2 New Orleans 0 (8 innings)
Game 4 – No. 3 Southeastern Louisiana 2, No. 6 Northwestern State 1
 
Thursday, May 27
Game 5 – Sam Houston vs. Lamar, 9 a.m.
Game 6 – New Orleans vs. Northwestern State, 12 p.m.
Game 7 – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi vs. Abilene Christian, 4 p.m.
Game 8 – McNeese vs. Southeastern Louisiana, 7 p.m.
Home teams in italics
 
Friday, May 28
Game 9 – Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 7, 9 a.m.
Game 10 – Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 8, 12 p.m.
Game 11 – Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9, 4 p.m.
Game 12 – Winner Game 8 vs. Winner 10, 7 p.m.
 
Saturday, May 29
Game 13 – Winner Game 11 vs. Loser Game 11 (Only necessary if Game 9 winner wins Game 11)
Game 14 – Winner Game 12 vs. Loser Game 12 (Only necessary if Game 10 winner wins Game 12)
Game 15 – Winner Game 13 vs. Winner Game 14, 6 p.m.
If only one of the two early games is necessary on Saturday, it will be played at 1 p.m.
 
TOURNAMENT TICKET INFORMATION
General Admission booklets, allowing admission to every game of the tournament, are $100 for adults and $50 for youths ages 3-12. Students presenting a valid ID from a current Southland Conference institution, and children under the age of three, will be admitted free of charge.
 
For each day of the baseball tournament, any remaining tickets will be sold for the morning session (first two games) or afternoon session (last two games). The ballpark will be cleared between sessions and re-entry is not allowed.
 
Session ticket prices are: $21 (box seats, as available), $17 (chairback seats, as available), $13 (general admission adults) and $9 (general admission youth – ages 3-12).
 
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 4 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Fridays. The ticket booth at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field opens exactly one hour prior to the scheduled first pitch.
 
MOBILE TICKETING
Southeastern implemented mobile ticketing as the primary method for securing tickets during the 2020-21 school year. Tickets will be available via text message or email in a PDF format for fans to download on their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded to Apple Wallet. 
 
GAMEDAY PARKING
Single-day parking during the 2021 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament, presented by GeoSurfaces, is $5 for most vehicles. An All-Tournament parking pass is available for $20 for standard vehicles and $50 for RVs.
 
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics enforces a clear bag policy for all ticketed events. The policy mirrors safety precautions required for entrance to professional and collegiate sporting venues throughout the country. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/Clear.
 
SOCIAL DISTANCING ON GAMEDAYS
Southeastern, which is following state and local health guidelines for outdoor events set forth by Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, has returned to 100 percent capacity at all athletic events. Fans are asked to maintain a comfortable distance from others when possible, wear a face-covering over both their nose and mouth, and wash their hands frequently. Hand sanitizing stations are located throughout Southeastern's athletic facilities.
 
LIONS GAMEDAY EXPERIENCE APP
The 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 or by following the link www.LionSports.net/App.
 
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.