Blaise Priester’s walk-off two-run homer sent Southeastern to a dramatic 3-2 win over Houston Christian on Thursday night at Alumni Field during the Lions’ opening game of the Hammond Bracket of the Southland Conference Tournament. 

SLU’s senior catcher demolished HCU pitcher Louis Castano’s full-count offering over the left field wall, punctuating the Lions’ come-from-behind effort over the defending SLC Tournament champs.  

“Things weren’t working out for us through the first eight innings. The mark of a really good player is to stick through adverse times,” said back-to-back SLC Coach of the Year Bobby Barbier. 

The Green and Gold’s regular-season series sweep of HCU at home (12-2, 12-1, 4-1) mattered little in the fourth meeting at The Pat between the two sides, which transpired into a tense postseason struggle. 

SLU’s at-bats were kept quiet throughout much of the contest until the nine-hole hitter Priester delivered the decisive moment in the clutch. 

“Anybody have oxygen?” Priester jokingly asked after his late-game heroics. “It really just goes back to our preparation between Coach [Evan] Bush (hitting coach) and Coach [Taylor] Dugas (recruiting coordinator/assistant coach). When it pays off in a big spot like that, it means the world to our guys and to me,” said Priester as the ninth-inning termite invasion at The Pat continued into the postgame celebration. 

The junior shortstop Connor Cuff’s RBI double drove in the junior right fielder, Peyton Woods, for the first run of the game in the bottom of the second, but HCU responded immediately in the top of the third through Jack Walker’s two-run RBI single to put last year’s SLC Tournament champions in front 2-1. 

Neither team could muster a run from the bottom of the third inning on as pitching took center stage. 

Senior pitcher Blake Lobell pitched 6.2 innings for the Lions before being pulled, allowing two runs on five hits, one walk and four strikeouts. 

The Holden native and Springfield High alum kept SLU within a run until Amite native freshman pitcher for the Lions, Logan Freche, shut the door on the Huskies, retiring all seven HCU batters faced en route to picking up the win on the bump. 

Houston Christian starting pitcher Ben Smith’s magnificent seven innings, one run, nine-strikeout outing was all for naught as Castano’s blown save spelled defeat for the traveling outfit. 

Southeastern (32-19, 19-9 SLC) moves on to the winner’s bracket of the four-team field, facing fifth-seeded McNeese (29-23, 16-14 SLC) tonight at 6 p.m. Whoever emerges victorious between the Lions and Cowboys will be in the driver’s seat, having to be beaten twice in the championship. 

McNeese notably took two out of three from the back-to-back regular season SLC champs in Lake Charles back in March. The Cowboys beat the Lions 8-2 and 8-7 (11 innings) before Southeastern avoided the Sunday sweep with a 13-8 win.  

HCU (23-28, 13-17 SLC) is currently battling fourth-seeded Nicholls (25-25, 15-13 SLC) in the loser’s bracket contest. Update: The Huskies eliminated the Colonels 5-4 behind Levi Castilleja’s walk-off home run.

Fans can watch the tournament live on ESPN+ and tune in on 90.9 The Lion for radio coverage.