HAMMOND, La. – St. John's batted around in the fourth inning, scoring nine runs on its way to defeating the Southeastern Louisiana University baseball team, 12-7, in a rare Monday night game at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.
 
The Lions (7-2) took an early lead over St. John's (4-3) with a pair of runs in the third inning.
 
Reliever Dylan Johnson (1-0) walked TJ Salvaggio to open up the frame. He advanced to second on a groundout and scored on Tyler Finke's two-out single to center field. Finke scored from first on Shea Thomas' double to right-center field.
 
A barrage of home runs powered the Red Storm rally in the fourth.
 
Following a leadoff single, designated hitter Tate Ballestero and third baseman Marty Higgins hit back-to-back home runs off SLU starting pitcher Jay Long (0-1). A three-run homer by center fielder David Glancy off reliever Aaron Hosack added to the totals. In all, the Red Storm sent 14 batters to the plate in the inning.
 
Three more runs in the fifth off reliever Hayden Robb aimed to put away the Lions, but Southeastern would not go quietly.
 
A pair of doubles by Finke and Jake Killingsworth produced a run in the bottom of the inning, making the score, 12-3. Then the Lions batted around in the sixth.
 
Champ Artigues drew a leadoff walk from reliever Vincent Bianchi. The right-hander hit Joe Delaney with a one-out pitch before issuing back-to-back walks to Rhett Rosevear and Finke, forcing in a run. Thomas then greeted reliever Tim Cunningham with an RBI single to center. Killingsworth followed with a sacrifice fly, plating Rosevear. A pinch-hit single by Pierce Leavengood wrapped up the scoring.
 
Southeastern mustered little offense over the final three innings.
 
Johnson earned the win, surrendering a pair of runs in 2.0 innings of work. Long suffered the loss, allowing five runs – all earned – in 3.1 innings pitched.
 
Finke and Thomas produced three hits and drove in a pair of runs each while Connor Manola also went 2-for-4 for the Lions. Five players for St. John's enjoyed multi-hit performances at the plate.
 
UP NEXT
Southeastern hits the road for an extended road trip. The Lions travel to Jacksonville, Florida for a three-game series at Jacksonville University, Friday through Sunday. A midweek game in Huntsville, Alabama against Alabama A&M is scheduled for March 8 and a three-game series at No. 13-ranked Auburn wraps up the trip, March 10-12.
 
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 by 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.