HAMMOND, La. – One night after McNeese rallied for a comeback victory against the Lions, the Southeastern Louisiana University baseball team rallied for an 8-7 comeback win of its own Saturday in Southland Conference action at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field, forcing a rubber match in Sunday's series finale against the Cowboys.
 
Southeastern (18-17, 4-7 SLC) reliever Jackson Rodriguez (1-0), appearing for the second time in as many nights, earned the win. McNeese (23-12, 5-6 SLC) reliever Christian Vega (3-3) was tagged with the loss one night after earning the win.
 
Champ Artigues (2-for-4) and Tyler Finke (2-for-5) picked up all but one of the Lions' hits in the game. Artigues drove in the game-winning run in the eighth with his two-out, opposite-field single to left.
 
The Cowboys chased hard-luck starter Andrew Landry from the game in the sixth after going up 3-0 in the game. Landry had suffered the loss in each of his last four starts coming in despite having pitched well enough to earn the win in at least three of those outings.
 
SLU finally broke through against Cowboy pitching in the bottom of the inning, taking advantage of the bullpen's inability to throw strikes to pull within a run. Shea Thomas drew a two-out walk and Artigues followed with his first hit, a single to right field that chase reliever JT Moeller from the game.
 
Brock Barthelemy entered and walked both batters he faced, Pierce Leavengood and Rhett Rosevear, to force in a run. Derrick Cherry, the Cowboys' third pitcher of the inning, walked TJ Salvaggio to force in another run before getting out of the inning. McNeese pitchers walked 11 batters over the final five innings.
 
The Cowboys responded immediately. Back-to-back hits against the Lions' Lakin Polk put a pair of runners in scoring position to open up the seventh. A pair of errors in the outfield on the same play benefitted McNeese as it picked up three runs on what effectively were two sacrifice flies and extended its lead to 6-2 over SLU.
 
Southeastern would not go away quietly and went right back to grinding out at-bats in the bottom of the seventh. Cherry Walked Bryce Grizzaffi to open up the inning. Finke followed with his second hit of the game, a single to left and Connor Manola drew one of his three walks in the game to load the bases.
 
Thomas greeted Vega with a two-run single to right-center field and the Lions pulled within a pair, 6-4. Artigues laid down a sacrifice bunt, pushing Manola and Thomas into scoring position. Leavengood drew his third walk of the game, loading the bases again. Rosevear ground to first, but in an attempt to turn an inning-ending double play, the first baseman threw the ball away at second as he tried to cut down Leavengood. Manola and Thomas both scored, tying the game.
 
Vega walked Salvaggio to load the bases once again. Two batters later, Leavengood scored on a passed ball off the glove of Cowboy catcher Andruw Gonzales.
 
Another outfield error in the eighth led to McNeese scoring the tying run but in the bottom of the inning Southeastern regained the lead for good. After Manola drew a one-out walk, pinch-runner Joe Delaney stole second base. He would score ahead of the throw on Artigues' two-out single to left.
 
Rodriguez allowed one hit in 1.1 scoreless innings of relief work, striking out two. Vega allowed three runs – one earned – in 2.0 innings, surrendering two hits and issuing three walks. He struck out four.
 
UP NEXT
The series wraps up Sunday at 1 p.m. and is slated for coverage on ESPN+. Brennan Stuprich (3-3, 6.05) gets the start on the mound for Southeastern. The Cowboys have not announced a starting pitcher. Live stats will be available online at www.LionSports.net and in the Lions Gameday Experience app. Fans can also receive in-game updates on Twitter by following the @LionUpBaseball account.
 
A pregame reunion for all baseball alumni and staff will be held before the game and there will be on-field recognition prior to the first pitch. Baseball alums interested in attending should RSVP with Allie Crain in the LAA office at allie.crain@southeastern.edu.
 
The series finale is another Military Sunday game with all active duty military personnel and veterans receiving free admission (must show Military ID at the ticket window).
 
TICKET & PARKING INFORMATION
Single-game tickets are now on sale. Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance to minimize ticket lines on game days. Southeastern students are encouraged to contact the ticket office prior to the game to reserve theirs in advance.
 
General admission tickets for most games are $9 for adults and $6 for youth (ages 3-12). Southeastern students, with a university ID, and children under age 2 are admitted for free. Gameday parking is $5 per day for standard vehicles and $25 for RVs.
 
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.

Southeastern uses mobile ticketing as the primary method for distributing tickets purchased online. 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. 
 
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics enforces a clear bag policy for all ticketed events. The policy mirrors the 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.
 
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 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.