The Southeastern baseball team (19-5, 7-2 SLC) was defeated 2-1 in the series against the McNeese Cowboys (18-5, 8-4 SLC) at the Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field last weekend. 

SLU won game one on Friday, 6-0, before dropping games two and three on Saturday and Sunday, 10-9 and 7-1. 

FRIDAY

Friday night, the Lions secured a dominant 6-0 win over the Cowboys, leading the nation with their fifth shutout of the season. 

Redshirt senior Brennan Struprich, the starting pitcher, was a standout performer of the night, controlling McNeese’s offense by striking out ten batters and allowing just four hits over seven innings. 

The game started in a pitching fight, with McNeese’s pitcher Cooper Golden bringing a perfect performance into the sixth inning. However, the Lions broke that streak with junior second baseman Giovanni Licciardi’s walk to get on base, which set the stage for junior third baseman Mo Little to hit an RBI for Licciardi and break the scoreless stretch 1-0.

In the eighth inning, the stadium went wild when senior first baseman Ryan Brome’s singled up the middle, advancing him to second base. This RBI allowed Little to score and advanced junior outfielder Dane Watts to third base. Then, senior designated hitter Conner O’Neal crushed a three-run home run, sending Watts, Brome and O’Neal home. This was his sixth three-run homer this season, leading the home team to a 6-0 lead in the eighth inning. 

Stuprich improved to 6-0 this season with the Friday night win, leading the Southland Conference in wins and strikeouts (55). At the same time, Watts continued his successful season. He made two impressive catches in the outfield and increased his batting average to .435 during the first game of the series. 

SATURDAY 

Despite last night’s dominant win, day two presented some challenges for the home team. The Cowboys defeated the Lions in a close 10-9 battle, bringing an end to Southeastern’s seven-game winning streak. 

The Lions’ offense had a solid night with fifteen hits and nine runs. Brome led the team with three hits and three runs, while TJ Salvaggio added three RBIs. During the game, Licciardi also performed well and collected four hits. 

Head coach Bobby Barbier felt the loss was due to defensive struggles and missed opportunities. 

“I thought we gave some pretty good at-bats, had quite a few hits but we just got to play better. We didn’t play any defense and didn’t pitch nearly as well as we’re capable of. To win games in conference play, you’ve got to play better than we did,” Barbier said. 

McNeese struck first in the top of the first inning when Conner Westenburg doubled down the left field line and later stole home to give the Cowboys an early 1-0 lead. However, SLU quickly responded in the bottom half of the inning, tying the game 1-1 with an RBI from O’Neal. 

The game remained close through the next two innings, but in the third, the Cowboys gained a lead with a two-run homer, making it 3-1 and extending that lead to 5-1 in the fourth.

Southeastern’s offense ignited the game with five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. After a key RBI by Watts and an RBI double from Salvaggio, the Lions tied the game 5-5 with a two-run double by senior outfielder Parker Coley. Then, with an RBI single from Hall, the Lions regained the lead 6-5.

Despite the comeback, McNeese held on to secure its win. Westenburg tripled to left center, tying the game 6-6, then putting the Cowboys ahead 7-6 in the top of the sixth inning.

For the remainder of the game, McNeese maintained its advantage, stayed ahead 8-6 in the eighth inning, and closed out with a final strikeout to claim a 10-9 victory on day two of the series. 

“Baseball is not a game where you’re going to be the best every day, so you’ve got to find ways to win when you aren’t great. We had a chance there at the end, but it’s just part of the game,” Barbier added. 

SUNDAY 

After the series was tied 1-1, the Lions lost a hard-fought game 7-1 to the Cowboys on the final day. 

Southeastern’s only run of the game came off the bat of catcher O’Neal, who delivered a solo home run. Watts and Licciardi added singles, but the Lions struggled to generate offense and bring runners home.

According to coach Barbier, McNeese played nearly flawlessly in the last two days, which made it hard for Southeastern to steal bases and hit home runs. 

“I thought they [McNeese] played fantastic. They didn’t commit errors, they didn’t walk us, they threw the ball in the zone with multiple pitches and we didn’t have an answer for it. So we just got to get better, see where we made mistakes and what we have to work on this week,” Barbier added.

During Sunday’s game, the Cowboys got an early lead with Matt Brousseau’s home run in the top of the first inning and continued the undisturbed lead until the bottom of the fifth when Southeastern’s catcher O’Neal hit a home run, bringing the score to 4-1.  

However, McNeese answered right back in the sixth with a two-run homer (6-1) and increased its lead by another run (7-1) in the top of the eighth inning. The offense of the home team was unable to respond. 

McNeese was ready to pull further in the ninth inning, but Southeastern’s defense held firm, striking out two batters and forcing a flyout. The Lions attempted to come back, but the final flyout to left field ended the game in a 7-1 loss. 

The Lions have a busy schedule this week. Southeastern beat LSUA 15-6 tonight at Alumni Field and will host another home game tomorrow afternoon against Mississippi Valley State at 3 p.m. 

The next conference series is in New Orleans this weekend against the UNO Privateers, starting with game one on Friday, which is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

“For next week, we’ll need some pitchers who haven’t pitched a lot to do well for us. It will be good to get those guys back out there, let them get some innings and see who can help us,” Barbier said. 

For more information, stay tuned to The Lion’s Roar and Southeastern Athletics.