SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Bailyn Sorensen, TJ Salvaggio and Cole Stromboe all homered and the Southeastern Louisiana University baseball team received shutdown pitching from Brennan Struprich, Jackson Rodriguez and Levi Bennett on the way to a, 9-0, victory Friday in the opening game of a Southland Conference series against UIW at Sullivan Field.
 
With the win over the Cardinals (24-24, 9-10, SLC), Southeastern (24-24, 6-13 SLC) moved into a tie with HCU (15-28, 6-13 SLC) for eighth place in the conference standings following the Huskies' 6-2 loss at McNeese Friday evening. SLU also gained half a game on seventh-place Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (21-30, 9-12 SLC) which does not have a Southland series this weekend.
 
The top eight teams in the conference standings qualify for the Southland's postseason tournament. The 2024 North Oaks Health System Southland Conference Baseball Championship is set to be held, May 22-25, at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field on the Southeastern campus in Hammond, Louisiana.
 
Stuprich was locked in early, retiring the first seven batters he faced and holding UIW without a hit until the fourth inning.
 
The Lions took the lead in the second. Jake Haze lined a two-out single to right field for the first hit of the game. Sorensen followed with his fifth home run of the season. The two-run blast to left was the fifth of the season for the junior from Rayville, Louisiana.
 
SLU broke the game open in the sixth. Parker Coley and Ryan Brome ripped back-to-back singles to open up the inning. Salvaggio followed, launching a towering shot to center for his 13^th homer of the season. The three-run bomb places the Lion shortstop one off the top of the conference leaderboard.
 
Shea Thomas continued the hit parade, dropping a double down the right-field line. He came around to score on Haze's one-out single to left.
 
Leading 6-0, the Lions added another run in the seventh on Stromboe's leadoff homer. It was the first long ball of the junior's SLU career.
 
Stromboe also started a two-out rally in the ninth, pulling a single to right. After Jeremy Rader was hit by a pitch, Coley pulled a double to left to bring home both.
 
Rodriguez and Bennett both worked a scoreless inning to close out the win.
 
Stuprich (4-3) earned the win, scattering five hits and two walks in his seven-inning sting. The redshirt junior from Kenner, Louisiana fanned a pair of batters. UIW starter Josh Salinas (5-2) suffered the loss, allowing seven runs – all earned – in seven innings of work.
 
The Lions pounded out 12 hits in the game, reaching double digits for the third consecutive contest and for the eighth time in the last 10 games. Coley (2-for-5), Haze (2-for-3), Salvaggio (2-for-5), Stromboe (2-for-4) and Thomas (2-for-4) all turned in multi-hit performances at the plate for Southeastern.
 
UP NEXT
Despite weather concerns earlier in the weekend, the series will continue with a single game Saturday at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.
 
The pitching matchup features redshirt junior right-hander RHP Dakota Lee (1-3, 6.22) for SLU and graduate right-hander Isaiah Zavala (4-3, 5.87) for the Cardinals.
 
Fans can listen to the game in the Hammond area on 90.9 The Lion. In addition, an audio stream is available online at www.LionSports.net/ListenLive and via the Lions Gameday Experience, TuneIn and MyTuner Radio apps. Both the TuneIn and MyTuner apps are compatible with the Apple CarPlay software available in most late-model automobiles. Search for KSLU 90.9 FM in the TuneIn 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
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.