Junior third baseman Taylor Schawner, left, scoring one of his two home runs in the game. Schawner’s hit also sent teammates Carson Crites and Evan Pace home.
Regina Pergola/The Lion’s Roar
The Lions baseball team won the third annual Pontchartrain Bowl by defeating the University of New Orleans three times in a row following eight other wins and four losses this season.
From Mar. 10 to 12, the Lions played UNO in the competition. In each of these three games, the Lions won resulting in them reclaiming the Pontchartrain Bowl trophy.
The Lions won the Pontchartrain Bowl first in 2015. UNO won it the following year. This competition is named after Lake Pontchartrain, which lies between Hammond and New Orleans.
“It’s a good rivalry we have with them only being 45 minutes away from us,” said Head Coach Matt Riser. “A lot of these guys have played against each other or with each other growing up. Coach Dean has a good program over there. We have a good program. There’s a good rivalry especially in conference.”
Riser was elated that the Lions took the Pontchartrain Bowl trophy home at the end of the triple game series this year.
“We’re excited to get it back home where it belongs,” said Riser. “They came in here last year and got us at our place twice, so it’s good to have it back at our home.”
During the Pontchartrain Bowl, the offensive line batted well. Riser accredited junior infielder Taylor Schwaner with contributing a significant portion of the offense’s success.
“Taylor Schwaner stepped up,” said Riser. “Obviously, the kid swings a hot bat right now. He’s had four home runs just this week. Also, he had two again today. He was the guy of the moment to get the big hit. Without him right now, offensively, we would have been pretty anemic. I think the six RBIs and the two home runs restored the ball game.”
Sophomore pitcher Corey Gaconi, a sophomore marketing major also gave credit of the win to the offensive line.
“Pontchartrain Bowl is a cool little thing,” said Gaconi. “We’ve got a little trophy to win the series. Today, our offense really came along towards the end of the game and that helped.”
Gaconi played hard and relied on his teammates to help bring the team to success during the second game of the tournament.
“I don’t think I had my best stuff out there, but I just went out, tried to throw strikes while my defense played behind me,” said Gaconi. “Then Schwaner had those two huge bombs. That was nice. It really helps us out. So, I thought overall we had a pretty good day and got to look to sweep tomorrow.”
Schwaner shared that he appreciated having a goal to look forward to and to motivate him to play better while still having fun.
“It’s a rivalry, so I was amped up for it,” said Schwaner. “We ended up getting two wins and taking it home, so that’s good. I just take it one game at a time. I don’t take any game differently. It’s definitely more fun playing for something.”
The Lions won their previous game against the West Virginia Mountaineers on Mar. 8. These teams were supposed to play more than once but were rained out on Mar. 7. They play University of South Alabama next on Mar. 14 at Mobile, Alabama.
Regina Pergola/The Lion’s Roar