HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University baseball team defeated Mississippi Valley State, 13-0, in seven innings Wednesday at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field, tossing its nation-leading sixth shutout of the season.
 
Left-hander Nik Toups, a freshman from Lake, Charles, Louisiana, combined with four additional members of the Southeastern (20-5) pitching staff to spin the shutout against the Delta Devils (5-10).
 
After Toups struck out the first two batters he faced on the way to retiring the side in order, SLU batted around in the first inning. 
 
Peyton Woods drove in the first two runs with a two-out double to left-center field. Three batters later, Jude Hall pulled the ball into right for another two-run double. Parker Coley followed with a two-run single as the Lions picked up six in the frame.
 
Southeastern sent nine more batters to the plate in the second, pushing across five more runs.
 
Bailyn Sorensen started a three-batter stretch of run-producing hits, driving in a pair with a bases-loaded single. Hall followed with an RBI single up the middle and Coley plated two more with a single to left.
 
Leading 11-0, SLU added single runs in the fourth and sixth to wrap up the scoring.
 
Toups (1-0), who earned the win, retired nine of the 10 batters he faced before handing the ball over to the bullpen. Nick Gisclair retired all three batters he faced in the fourth. The Lions also got scoreless outings from Chance Vaught, Patrick Vienne and Jimmie Johnson. Valley starting pitcher Aiden Meyer (0-1) suffered the loss, allowing six runs – all earned in one inning of work.
 
Coley, Hall and Woods all went 2-for-3 at the plate for the Lions. Coley drove in a season-high four runs and Hall provided three RBIs.
 
UP NEXT
Southeastern returns to Southland Conference action this coming weekend in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Lions face UNO in the 10^th annual Pontchartrain Bowl rivalry series at Maestri Field on the lakefront.
 
Games are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. All three games are slated for coverage on ESPN+.
 
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.