HAMMOND, La. – Sophomore pitcher Andrew Landry tossed the 21st one-hitter in program history Sunday as the Southeastern Louisiana University baseball team defeated Houston Baptist, 12-0, in seven innings to complete a sweep of the Southland Conference series at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.
With the win, Southeastern (22-25, 12-9 SLC) maintains a share of first place in the Southland standings. The Lions are tied with McNeese (27-21, 12-9 SLC). Tied for third place, just one game back of first, are HBU (18-31, 11-10 SLC), New Orleans (25-20, 11-10 SLC), Nicholls (24-20, 11-10 SLC) and Northwestern State (23-24, 11-10 SLC).
SLU scored in every inning on the way to its first run-rule victory over a conference opponent since a 10-0 win over HBU in eight innings on May 20, 2021.
Evan Keller led off the bottom of the first inning with a triple to right-center field. He scored on Rhett Rosevear’s RBI groundout. Two batters later, Preston Faulkner added his conference-leading 13th home run of the season. The solo shot was the 33rd of his career, tying him with Jeremy Gross (1997-98) for second place on the Lions’ all-time list.
Southeastern went up, 3-0, in the second inning when Rhett Rosevear was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. It marked the 30th time this season Rosevear has drawn an HBP, a total that leads the nation.
As the Lions’ lead grew, Landry locked down the HBU bats. The right-hander from Slidell, Louisiana struck out seven of the first 10 batters he faced, including fanning the side in the third.
Christian Garcia added to the lead in the third, driving in a pair with a double inside the third-base bag.
Keller and Rosevear blasted back-to-back home runs leading off the fourth, staking the Lions to a 7-0 lead. It was the sixth of the season for Keller and the third for Rosevear. Both are career-highs.
The Huskies broke up Landry’s no-hit bid with one out in the fifth, but he promptly retired the next two batters on fly balls to end the inning.
In the bottom half of the inning, SLU picked up four runs. Tyler Finke drew a bases-loaded walk and Faulkner followed with the third triple of his career, clearing the bases. He now has 158 RBIs in his career, passing Ty Summerlin (2006-09) into third place on the Lions’ all-time list.
Southeastern scored one final run in the sixth. Pinch-hitter Nick Ray drew a two-out walk and scored one batter later on Connor Manola’s RBI double off the wall in left-center.
Landry (3-5) finished off the game by retiring the final eight batters he faced, to earn the win. In addition to the fifth-inning single, he also walked two batters. Landry struck out seven batters over seven innings pitched, both career-highs. It is the first complete game and shutout of his career.
It was the first one-hitter spun by the SLU pitching staff since Mac Sceroler and Derrick Mount combined to accomplish the feat on April 30, 2016, also against the Huskies.
HBU starting pitcher Matthew Charles (3-1) suffered the loss, allowing seven runs in 3.1 innings of work.
Faulkner (2-for-4), Garcia (2-for-2) and Keller (2-for-3) each turned multi-hit performances for the Lions. Faulkner drove in four runs while Rosevear drove in three and Garcia plated a pair.
UP NEXT
Southeastern wraps up the regular season on the road. Traveling to Baton Rouge, Louisiana for a Tuesday matchup at No. 14-ranked LSU and then on to Thibodaux, Louisiana for a conference series, Thursday through Saturday, at Nicholls.
RADIO SHOW
The next episode of Inside Southeastern Baseball with Matt Riser, presented by Pour House Pizza and Beer Garden, is slated for Monday at 12 p.m. from the restaurant in downtown Hammond. Fans can listen to every show online at www.LionSports.net/ListenLive and via the Lions Gameday Experience, MyTuner Radio or Mixlr apps. The MyTuner Radio app is compatible with the Apple CarPlay software available in most newer automobiles.
LIONS GAMEDAY EXPERIENCE APP
The Lions Gameday Experience app puts audio, stats, video, social media and more in the hands of fans. Those in attendance can also check in to earn reward points redeemable for Southeastern-related prizes. Available for both Android and iOS devices, it can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play or by following the link www.LionSports.net/App.
DIAMOND CLUB / S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the baseball program are encouraged to join the Diamond Club. Lion baseball alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.
All membership fees and donations to both the Diamond Club and S Club (baseball) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern baseball program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or by visiting www.LionUp.com.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Lions Baseball, follow @LionUpBaseball or @MattRiser17 on Twitter, @LionUpBaseball on Instagram and Facebook, and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.
LINE SCORE
Southeastern 12, Houston Baptist 0 (May 08, 2022 at Hammond, La.)
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Houston Baptist … 000 000 0 – 0 1 2 (18-31, 11-10 SLC)
Southeastern ……… 212 241 X – 12 10 0 (22-25, 12-9 SLC)
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Pitchers: Houston Baptist – Charles, Matthew; Valka, Trey (4); Ripoll, Will (5); Bolgiano, Blake (5) and Edwards, Parker. Southeastern – Landry, Andrew and Manola, Connor.
Win-Landry, Andrew (3-5) Loss-Charles, Matthew (3-1) T-2:17 A-1012
HR SLU – Keller, Evan (6); Rosevear, Rhett (3); Faulkner, Preston (13).
Weather: 82 Partly Cloudy, SSE 3 mph
W. Ripoll faced 2 batters in the 5th.
{Courtesy: release from Southeastern Athletics}