Lions baseball (12-6) used an onslaught of five runs in the first inning to surf to an 8-7 win over the Tulane Green Wave (10-7) at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field on Tuesday night.
The Green and Gold won their third straight game after suffering back-to-back losses versus LSU on March 6 and North Dakota State on March 9.
Senior catcher/infielder Jake Killingsworth won player of the game with an impressive stat line of two runs, four RBIs and one grand slam, which ignited the 1,661 fans at Alumni Field.
Senior outfielder/pitcher Justin Williams scored the first run of the evening before the avalanche started. With the bases fully loaded and the crowd on their feet, Killingsworth nailed the ball down the right side of the field for the grand slam.
The Alabama native sent junior outfielder/infielder Gray Rowlett, junior infielder/outfielder Ryan Brome and junior infielder TJ Salvaggio all home for scores.
Southeastern took a commanding 5-0 lead, but the Green Wave had an answer.
Infielder/outfielder Gavin Schulz stepped up to bat with outfielder Teo Banks and outfielder Jackson Linn on first and second base.
Schulz doubled to send his fellow teammates home for Tulane’s first runs of the game. The Green Wave kept chipping away at the lead, but SLU had another burst in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Williams scored another run after fifth-year infielder Shea Thomas singled up the middle; graduate outfielder Christian Garcia also ran home for a score.
Southeastern had a comfortable 8-5 lead over Tulane heading into the ninth inning; however, SLU found themselves in a similar situation just a week ago against the Tigers when they came up short.
This time around, even after Schulz and catcher Colin Tuft hit a pair of home runs, the Green and Gold stood tall and escaped with a victory.
On Saturday, March 16, SLU will start its season series against the Saint Louis Billikens at 11 a.m. at Alumni Field.
Saturday’s game is a doubleheader, with the series concluding on Sunday, March 17, at 1 p.m.
Tune in on ESPN+ to watch the games. As always, visit The Lion’s Roar for more information and coverage on Lions sports.
