HAMMOND, La. – A brisk wind blowing in from center field the majority of the afternoon helped stifle both teams' offenses Friday at Young Memorial Field as the Southeastern Louisiana University baseball program dropped a pitcher's duel, 3-2, to UAB in the series opener.
Southeastern (2-3) applied pressure in every inning, but it was the Blazers (3-2) that would break through first.
Lion starting pitcher
Brennan Stuprich carried a shutout into the fifth inning. A two-out error by second baseman
Jake Haze allowed UAB shortstop Alex Cheeseman to reach. A single and back-to-back doubles followed, producing all three Blazer runs.
SLU loaded the bases in the top of the sixth but was unable to bring home a run.
Levi Bennett relieved Stuprich in the seventh and proceeded to retire all six batters he faced over the next two innings.
In the eighth, center fielder
Jude Hall drew a one-out walk and was aboard for
Bailyn Sorensen's first home run as a Lion. The hard-hit ball sliced through the wind, clearing the fence in left-center field to pull Southeastern within a run.
Pinch hitter
Rhett Rosevear drew a one-out walk in the ninth, and pinch runner
Christian Garcia stole second, but the Lions were again unable to push across a run. SLU stranded 14 runners in the game.
UAB starting pitcher Blayze Berry (1-0) picked up the win, tossing six shutout innings. He scattered six hits, three walks and a hit batter, striking out seven. Ben Abernathy picked up the final five outs to earn his second save of the season. Stuprich (0-1) was the hard-luck loser, allowing three runs – all unearned – in six innings of work. He surrendered six hits and did not walk a batter, striking out two.
Haze,
Ryan Brome and
Michael Curry led the Lions at the plate. Brome reached base three times, going 1-for-3 at the plate with a walk and an HBP. Haze was 2-for-4 with a pair of singles and a walk. Curry was 2-for-5 with a pair of singles.
UP NEXT
The series resumes Saturday at 2 p.m. with game coverage limited to live stats and Twitter updates.
Saturday's pitching matchup features redshirt junior right-hander
Dakota Lee (0-0, 0.00) for SLU and sophomore left-hander Issac Warrick (0-0, 6.75) for the Blazers.
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
Fans are encouraged to follow the Southeastern Baseball social media accounts (@LionUpBaseball) on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to stay engaged with the program.
The latest updates are also available at www.LionSports.net and the Lions Gameday Experience app. Available for both Android and iOS devices, the Gameday app can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play.
#LionUp
