Last weekend, the Southeastern baseball team (35-13, 20-7 SLC)  hosted its last home series at the Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field. After a tough loss on Friday night, they won the series and defeated Lamar (37-14, 17-10 SLC) 2-1 with a phenomenal game on Senior Day. 

MAY 3 – FRIDAY 

The weekend did not start in Southeastern’s favor, as Lamar shut out the Lions 5-0 in the series opener Friday night. The Cardinals struck early, scoring in the second inning before adding two more in the third to take a 3-0 lead. 

Despite the strong outing by starting pitcher Brennan Stuprich, Southeastern could not generate enough offense to respond to the Cardinals’ early momentum. 

During the game, Stuprich reached the 100-strikeout milestone for the season, which made him the seventh pitcher in program history to achieve triple-digit strikeouts in a single season. 

Junior infielder/outfielder Mo Little had a solid performance at the plate, going 2-for-4. However, Lamar extended its lead with late runs in the fifth and seventh innings to seal the 5-0 win. 

MAY 4 – SATURDAY 

With Friday behind them, the Lions responded to the loss in game two, shutting out the Cardinals 4-0 to even the series. With this win, Southeastern secured its position atop the SLC rankings and tied with Iowa for the second most shutouts of the season at the Division I level.

Sophomore infielder/outfielder Peyton Woods and junior outfielder Dane Watts led the Lions with two hits each, while senior catcher Conner O’Neal and redshirt junior infielder Giavanni Licciardi each hit a home run. 

According to Head Coach Bobby Barbier, they did not make significant changes since the previous day. 

“We got a couple more hits, you know? I mean, no, we didn’t really change much. O’Neill gets the big homer there to kind of break the ice. You know, we hadn’t scored in a while. Once that went down, we were in good shape,” Barbier said. 

O’Neal broke the scoreless tie in the fourth inning with a two-run homer to right center. Later that inning, Watts singled in another run to make it 3-0. Licciardi followed with a solo shot in the sixth and Luke Walters added an RBI single to extend the lead to 4-0. 

Barbier’s expectations for the final day of the series were to start strong and get the lead early against the Cardinals. 

“Tomorrow, we need to use some bullpen arms like today. We need a good start from Blake [Lobell] and just have to come out and be really good [at the plate],” Barbier said.

MAY 5 – SUNDAY 

On Sunday, the Southeastern baseball team celebrated its seniors before its final game against Lamar. During the ceremony, fifteen seniors and Kumar Patel were recognized for their contributions to the program and were celebrated among their friends and family. 

On the final day, Southeastern defeated the Cardinals 7-4 and kept their position as the No. 1 team in the conference. 

According to Barbier, celebrating the seniors has a huge impact on the players since the whole team wanted to win the game for them. 

“I think they wanted to play for their seniors. They love and respect those guys so much, so I hope they had a little extra in them today,” Barbier said. 

Starting pitcher Blake Lobell kept the Cardinals scoreless through five innings, which helped the Lions secure a lead. Woods scored the first run in the second inning after Brady Robichaux’s single. 

In the next inning, the Cardinals tied the score, but in the bottom of the sixth, Southeastern scored 4 runs. Stromboe homered to right field while Robichaux scored. Then, the Lions took advantage of some of Lamar’s errors to add two more unearned runs. This resulted in a 5-1 lead for the home team. 

At the top of the seventh, Lamar cut the difference to 5-3, but the Lions answered in the eighth when Stromboe singled through the left side and Licciardi scored. Lamar drove in one more run, but it was not enough for a comeback.

Barbier was extremely satisfied with the team’s performance after the game. 

“Today was just fantastic. For us to come out after Friday’s loss…. The guys did a great job, we got four RBIs with a home run, it’s just special today,” Barbier said. 

This ended the last conference series at home with a win, which was even sweeter on Senior Day. 

The Lions are hosting South Alabama on Tuesday, May 6, at the Pat Kenelly Diamond before focusing on the conference tournament. 

When it comes to preparation, Barbier does not plan on making major changes: they stick to what has worked so far and believe in their potential to become champions. 

“We’ll just do the same thing we always do. We’ll get them ready at practice and coach them up hard and get them right back,” Barbier added. 

The 2025 Southland Conference tournament will be hosted by the No. 1 and 2 seeds in the rankings on May 15-18. Only the top eight teams qualify for the championship. The remaining games will be held on the side of the higher-seed winner’s field May 22-24. 

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