The Lions baseball team added on to their winning streak Wednesday night with a victory over Grambling State University. Runs came early and often for the Lions. They recorded eight runs within their first three innings at bat. The Lions would eventually tack on five more runs before the ball game would finish, securing a 13-0 win over GSU.
After being rescheduled once due to weather, the game took place on Wednesday, Feb. 26 at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field. It was a cold night for baseball, with temperatures dropping down to the low 40’s during the game.
“We had some outside distractions. We moved the game from yesterday to today. Also, the rain and the cold weather,” said Head Coach Matt Riser.
Momentum belonged to the Lions heading into the game. They came off a three-game winning streak sweeping George Washington University last weekend. The Lions now stand at 6-2 on the season following the victory.
The Lions were winning on both sides of the ball. Starting pitcher Sean Kennel was as efficient as can be from the mound. He held Grambling to only three at-bats. Kennel earned his first win of the season, bringing him to 1-1 on the season. Riser made sure to compliment his pitcher by saying “Sean Kennel did another fantastic job coming out, just absolutely pounding the zone.” Kennel also mentioned pitchers Gage Pickett, Matt Pittari and John Gremillion, stating, “They did a fantastic job of filling the zone up and worked with a good tempo.”
Offense was rolling just as smoothly as defense for the Lions. They pounded in 19 hits for a night which they saw 42 at-bats. This led to five players having a batting average of .400 or higher. Andrew Godbold, the Southland Conference Hitter of the Week, was player who hit over .400, and managed to add to his batting success. Godbold spoke about the award following the game, saying “It’s an honor to receive an award like that. My coaches and my teammates believe in me and give me the confidence at the plate.”
Hit of the night honors belonged to Kyle Cedotal, who had a double to left field in the third inning. The hit drove in three runs and added the finishing touches on a dominate inning at bat for the Lions.
“It kind of put the nail in the coffin for us,” said Riser.
Continuing their momentum is key for the Lions in their upcoming games. The Lions began a four-game road trip, starting with a trip to Monroe to face the University of Louisiana at Monroe in a weekend series. This will be the first meeting between the two teams since 2006. Following the series, the Lions will head to Lafayette to play against the Ragin’ Cajuns of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. ULL is coming off a win over nationally ranked LSU.