CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Southeastern Louisiana University baseball team took down Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 11-3, Friday in the opening game of a Southland Conference series at Chapman Field.
 
Southeastern (27-7, 12-4 SLC) jumped out in front early on back-to-back home runs from Ryan Brome and TJ Salvaggio, but the Islanders (13-22, 5-11 SLC) scratched across a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame to tie it up.
 
Lion starting pitcher Brennan Stuprich (7-2) and A&M-Corpus Christi starter Zach Garcia (3-4) held the bats in check over the next three innings. Beginning with the final out of the first, Stuprich retired 13 consecutive batters until he hit the first batter he faced in the sixth with a pitch.
 
By that time, SLU had given Stuprich the lead once again. Sending eight batters to the plate in the fifth, Southeastern took advantage of a pair of Islander errors on its way to a three-run inning.
 
Parker Coley led off the inning with a single up the middle. He was erased on a fielder's choice as Giovanni Licciardi reached base. Brome doubled down the right-field line. Licciardi scored when the throw to second got away. Salvaggio reached on an error by the A&M-Corpus Christi third baseman. Conner O'Neal drove in Brome with a double down the right-field line and Salvaggio scored on Mo Little's RBI groundout.
 
Leading 5-2, the Lions sent nine batters to the plate in the sixth on their way to three more runs.
 
Jude Hall ripped a leadoff double, advancing to third on a wild pitch that just happened to also be ball four to Coley. Licciardi dropped down a sacrifice bunt, reaching base safely when the Islanders threw home to prevent Hall from scoring. Brome then ripped an RBI single to center, chasing Garcia from the game. O'Neal added an RBI single and Little tacked on a sac fly before the inning ended.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi scored an unearned run in the sixth when the Lions threw the ball away attempting to turn a double play. Stuprich battled back to get a double play from the next batter and a pop-up two batters later to end the inning.
 
Luke Barbier relieved Stuprich in the eighth, recording the final four outs to finish out the game.
 
Delivering some insurance in the ninth, Coley, Licciardi and Brome delivered consecutive run-scoring hits.
 
Stuprich earned the win, allowing three runs – two earned – in 7.2 innings pitched. He surrendered four hits and one walk, striking out seven batters. Garcia suffered the loss, allowing eight runs – seven earned – in 5.0 innings of work.
 
With the 23^rd victory of his career, Stuprich is now tied with Tate Scioneaux (2013-15) for fifth in program history. His career strikeout total now stands at 256, bypassing Steve Trosclair (1998-2002) into a fourth-place tie with Jeff Williams (1992-96). The redshirt senior from Kenner, Louisiana also made the 48^th start of his career, tying Williams and former teammate Will Kinzeler (2021-24) for second in program history.
 
Brome (4-for-6), Coley (3-for-4), Hall (2-for-4) and O'Neal (2-for-5) enjoyed multi-hit performances as the Lions collectively pounded out 14 hits in the series-opening win.
 
UP NEXT
The series continues Saturday at 6 p.m. on ESPN+. Live stats will be available in the Lions Gameday Experience app and online at www.LionSports.net.
 
Fans can listen to game broadcasts in the Hammond area on KSLU 90.9 The Lion. In addition, an audio stream is available online at www.LionSports.net/ListenLive and via the Lions Gameday Experience and MyTuner Radio apps. The MyTuner app is compatible with the Apple CarPlay software available in most late-model automobiles.
 
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.