HAMMOND, La. – A ninth-inning rally by the Southeastern Louisiana University baseball team came up short Friday as the Lions fell, 7-5, to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in Southland Conference action at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.
 
Trailing 7-3 after surrendering an unearned run to the Islanders (16-17, 5-10 SLC) in the top of the inning, Southeastern (21-14, 10-6 SLC) kept the game alive with a two-out walk by Dane Watts.
 
Catcher Blaise Priester followed with a towering home run to left field. The two-run shot was his sixth of the season.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi reliever Pierre-Luc Jacques proceeded to hit Ben Robichaux with a pitch, bringing Connor Cuff to the plate as the potential tying run. The Islanders brought in Luke Singleton to face Cuff and the left-hander struck him out to end the game.
 
Christian Smith-Johnson drove in a pair of runs in the second with his first homer of the season as the Islanders batted around, adding two more runs in the process.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi extended its 4-0 lead in the fourth, picking up two more runs on a Lion error.
 
SLU shaved a couple of runs off the deficit in the fifth. Watts led off with a single to left field and Priester followed with a double off the wall in center. Consecutive groundouts brought both runners home.
 
A two-out, RBI double by Brody Capps in the eighth brought home Ben Robichaux, pulling the Lions within 6-3 heading to the ninth.
 
Islander starting pitcher Chase Mayer (2-2) earned the win, allowing two runs – both earned – in 7.0 innings of work. He scattered six hits and did not walk a batter, striking out three. Singleton picked up his first save of the year, striking out the only batter he faced to end the game. Truitt Webb (3-1) suffered the loss, allowing four runs – three earned – in 1.2 innings pitched.
 
Kaleb Howell logged 4.2 scoreless innings in long relief, scattering one hit and one walk. He struck out five batters, retiring 12 consecutive hitters at one point to allow the Lions a chance to get back into the game.
 
Three errors led to three unearned runs for A&M-Corpus Christi.
 
 
Capps (2-for-4) and Priester (2-for-4) produced multiple hits for SLU.
 
UP NEXT
The series continues Saturday at 6 p.m. on ESPN+. Saturday is Baseball Bingo at the Ballpark. Each Saturday during the season, fans can grab a bingo card from the marketing and promotions table in the concourse and play along. The first 25 valid bingos win a prize from Southeastern Athletics.
 
Fans can listen to all the Southeastern baseball action locally on KSLU 90.9 The Lion or worldwide online at either www.LionSports.net/listenlive or www.LionUpRadio.org, via the following apps – Lions Gameday Experience, Live365, iHeart, Audacy, TuneIn and MyTuner Radio - or on Alexa speakers (skill must be enabled first). All you have to say is, "Alexa, play K.S.L.U."
 
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.