Article Courtesy of Southeastern Athletic Communications Dept. | LionSports.net
HAMMOND, La. – The No. 25-ranked Southern Miss Golden Eagles defeated the Southeastern Louisiana University baseball team, 8-1, Tuesday at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.
Southern Miss (11-5) jumped out in front in the first inning, holding off Southeastern (11-6) early before pulling away against the Lion bullpen.
Back-to-back hits led to a run with one out in the first and a solo home run by the designated hitter produced another run in the third.
The Lions cut the deficit in half in the fourth. Shea Thomas led off with a single to center field, advancing to third on Clay Cook’s one-out double inside the third-base bag. Thomas scored from third on TJ Salvaggio’s fielder’s choice grounder.
SLU starting pitcher Jay Long battled through five innings, handing a one-run game over to the bullpen in the sixth. The Golden Eagles broke the game open over the next two innings, scoring three runs each in the sixth and seventh.
Lakin Polk and Reid Reynolds closed out the game with a pair of scoreless innings, but by that time the damage had been done. Five Southeastern pitchers combined to walk 11 batters in the game.
Southern Miss starting pitcher Billy Oldham (2-0) earned the win, allowing one run in five innings pitched. He scattered four hits, two walks and one hit batter, striking out five. Long (1-2) suffered the loss, allowing two runs – both earned – in five innings of work. He surrendered six hits and four walks, striking out two.
UP NEXT
Southeastern hosts Memphis in a three-game series at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field. Games are slated for 6 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. The series marks the first-ever meeting between the two schools on the diamond.
A host of promotions are on tap for the weekend series. All general admission tickets are $5 every Friday game this season. Fans can play the popular Baseball Bingo game Saturday. Free general admission tickets are available each Sunday home game for active military members, as well as veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces, by presenting a valid service ID at the ticket booth.