Fifth-year infielder Shea Thomas hit a walk-off home run to lift the Green and Gold past the Southern Miss Golden Eagles (18-11) 7-6 at the Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field on Tuesday night.
Thomas stepped up to the plate with the game tied at 6-6. He blasted the ball down the right side of Alumni Field, and it seemed like all of Hammond, America, knew it was a home run.
He excitedly threw punches and chucked his helmet into the air in celebration as he ran home for the game-winning score.
The Washington native’s heroics brought the Lions’ record to 19-10 (3-3 SLC) on the season and gave Head Coach Bobby Barbier his 200th career win.
Thomas put the Lions back in the win column after they lost the season series to Houston Christian University 1-2 (11-1, 9-1, 7-0) from March 28-30.
Southeastern dispatched HCU 11-1 in the opening game, then lost the last two by a combined score of 16-2.
SLU opened the game versus Southern Miss with another slow start. The Golden Eagles took a 4-0 lead heading into the bottom of the second inning.
Senior catcher/infielder Jake Killingsworth put Southeastern on the board with a home run and gave Lion fans some hope.
After a scoreless third inning from both teams, the Lions struck gold at the bottom of the fourth inning with five runs to take a 6-4 lead.
Junior infielder/outfielder Ryan Brome led off with a single, then advanced to second on a fielding error by Southern Miss.
Graduate outfielder Christian Garcia stepped up to bat and singled down the right side of the field and Brome ran home for the first score of the inning.
The momentum shift led to an onslaught of runs scored by Garcia, Thomas, senior outfielder/pitcher Justin Williams and junior infielder TJ Salvaggio.
The Golden Eagles retaliated with runs at the top of the fifth and ninth to tie the ballgame at six apiece before Thomas saved the day for the Green and Gold.
SLU will look to carry the momentum heading into a three-game season series against touted Southland Conference foe Nicholls.
Game one starts at 6 p.m. on Friday, April 6. Game two is scheduled for Saturday, April 7, at 6 p.m. The series concludes on Sunday, April 7, at 1 p.m.
Watch the two rivals clash on ESPN+ and visit The Lion’s Roar for more information and coverage on Lions baseball.
