NATCHITOCHES, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University baseball team dropped its Southland Conference series finale, 11-8, Sunday against Northwestern State at Brown-Stroud Field, snapping an eight-game winning streak.
 
Southeastern (17-7, 2-1 SLC) sits one game out of first place in the conference standings following its opening weekend series against the Demons (6-18, 1-2 SLC).
 
The shorthanded Lions jumped out in front first, as they had done in the first two games of the series, with a pair of runs in the third inning.
 
Jude Hall drew a one-out walk and Jeremy Rader followed with a single to left-center field, putting runners on the corners. Rhett Rosevear laid down a squeeze bunt, beating it out for a base hit as Hall scored. TJ Salvaggio followed with a single to left-center, bringing home Rader from second.
 
Northwestern State responded with five runs in the bottom of the inning, taking the lead, 5-2, over the Lions.
 
SLU rallied to tie the game in the fourth. With one out, Christian Garcia and Bailyn Sorensen rapped back-to-back singles. Rader followed with a two-out single up the middle to score Garcia and Rosevear lined the ball over the shortstop's head into left-center for a two-run single.
 
The Demons regained the lead in the bottom of the inning on a squeeze bunt, tacking on two more runs in the fifth and one in the sixth to build a 9-5 lead.
 
Continuing to showcase their resilience, Southeastern rallied to pull within a run in the seventh. With one out, Rosevear was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game. Salvaggio and Shea Thomas then worked back-to-back walks to load the bases.
 
Conner O'Neal greeted reliever Alejandro Marquez with a sacrifice fly to center, bringing home Rosevear. Parker Coley followed with a two-run double down the left-field line to cut the Lions' deficit to 9-8.
 
That was as close as SLU would get. The Demons added a run in the bottom of the inning and one more in the eighth to close out the scoring.
 
Northwestern State starting pitcher Dylan Marionneaux (1-4) earned the win, allowing five runs – all earned – in five innings pitched. Austin Anderson picked up his first save, tossing a scoreless ninth. Will Kinzeler (1-1) suffered the loss.
 
Rader (2-for-4), Rosevear (2-for-3) and Salvaggio (2-for-4) turned in multi-hit performances. For Salvaggio, it was his fourth in as many games and fifth in the last six contests.
 
RADIO SHOW CANCELED
Monday's episode of Inside Southeastern Baseball with Bobby Barbier has been canceled as players and coaches continue to deal with the effects of a stomach bug that began making its way through the team Saturday afternoon.
 
UP NEXT
Southeastern wraps up its four-game road trip Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in Baton Rouge, Louisiana against No. 4-ranked LSU at Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field. TV coverage will be provided by the SEC Network+ and the radio broadcast will air locally on 90.9 The Lion.
 
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.