HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University baseball team was shut out, 5-0, Friday in its Southland Conference series opener against Lamar at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.
 
Despite the loss to the Cardinals (37-12, 17-8 SLC), Southeastern (33-13, 18-7 SLC) maintains a slim, half-game lead in the conference standings over both McNeese (17-7 SLC) and UTRGV (19-8 SLC), who were both rained out Friday. The Lions' lead over fourth-place Lamar is down to one game.
 
Second baseman Matt Ryan provided the Cardinals all the offense they would need, leading off the second inning with a solo home run to left-center field. It was his sixth of the season.
 
Three walks and an error contributed to a pair of Lamar runs scored in the third.
 
An unearned run in the sixth and an insurance run in the seventh wrapped it up for the Cardinals.
 
Riely Hunsaker (3-2) earned the win, tossing seven shutout innings nd striking out 10 batters. Brennan Stuprich (9-3) suffered the loss, allowing four runs – two earned – in 5.2 innings pitched.
 
Mo Little (2-for-4) turned in a multi-hit performance at the plate for the Lions.
 
Stuprich reached the 100-strikeout plateau for the season, becoming just the seventh pitcher in program history to record triple-figure strikeout totals in a single season. He also bypassed Corey Gaconi (2016-19) into second place on the SLU career chart for innings pitched (311.0).
 
UP NEXT
The series continues Saturday at 6 p.m. with a pitching matchup that features junior right-hander Luke Lirette (4-2, 3.72) for SLU. The junior from Houma, Louisiana will counter Cardinal junior right-hander Chris Olivier (6-1, 3.02).
 
Baseball bingo cards will be available for fans at Saturday's game.
 
All three games of the weekend series will be carried 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.
 
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics enforces a clear bag policy for all ticketed events. The policy mirrors the safety precautions required for entrance to professional and collegiate sporting venues throughout the country. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/Clear.
 
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 the 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.