Box Score
HAMMOND – Senior Ryan Boudreaux pitched eight strong innings in his first start in over three weeks and No. 21 Southeastern Louisiana broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the eighth inning on a groundout by Trey Martin to claim a 3-2 win over Tulane before a season-high crowd of 1,723 on Tuesday at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.
All-American reliever Chris Franklin retired Tulane (17-9) in order on six pitches in the ninth inning to record his sixth save of the year as Southeastern (23-3) claimed its third game in the last four contests against its in-state rival.
Boudreaux (3-0), whose last start was a 5.1-inning performance against Texas Southern, allowed runs in the third and fourth inning before retiring 14 of the final 16 batters he faced. The right-hander retired eight straight batters after Brennan Middleton’s RBI single in the fourth tied the game at 2-2.
Middleton, who went 2-for-4 with an RBI, added a two-out single in the sixth for the Green Wave but was stranded and Matt Ryan recorded a one-out single in the seventh before Blake Crohan hit into a 6-4-3 double play.
Southeastern (No. 21 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, No. 22 Collegiate Baseball, No. 23 USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll) scored the go-ahead run in the eighth after Brock Hebert chased Tulane reliever Ryan Doiron (0-1) with a one-out double to left field. Hebert, who went 2-for-3 with two runs scored, then moved to third after Nick Pepitone was called for a balk and scored one batter later when Martin was retired at first on a chopper against a drawn-in infield.
The Lions, who collected eight hits, took a 2-0 lead in the second after recording three straight hits with two outs off Tulane starter Gunner Wright. Hebert opened the rally with a single through the right side before Martin doubled down the left field line to give Southeastern a 1-0 lead.
After Martin advanced to third on a wild pitch, Cass Hargis hit a 3-and-2 pitch up the middle to give the Lions a 2-0 advantage.
Tulane cut the lead to 2-1 in the third inning after Nick Boullosa was hit by a pitch, moved to third on a single by Ryan and scored on Crohan’s sacrifice fly to center. The Green Wave knotted the game in the fourth when Brandon Boudreaux drew a lead-off walk, moved to third on a single by Garrett Cannizaro and scored on Middleton’s single to left.
Josh Cryer added two hits for Southeastern while Jeff Harkensee hit his Southland Conference-leading 12th double of the season.
Southeastern will return to action on Thursday when it opens a three-game series in Beaumont, Texas at Lamar. First pitch for Thursday’s game is at 6:30 p.m. The series resumes on Friday at 6:30 p.m. before the teams conclude with a 2 p.m. contest on Saturday. All three games can be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9) and on the internet at www.LionSports.net.
Tulane.............. 001 100 000 - 2 7 0 (17-9)
Southeastern La..... 020 000 01x - 3 8 1 (23-3)
Wright, Doiron (6), Pepitone (8) and Schaffer. R. Boudreaux, Franklin (9) and Gough-Fortenberry. W – R. Boudreaux (3-0). Sv. – Franklin (6). L – Doiron (0-1). E – Cryer (5). DP - SLU 1. LOB – TUL 7, SLU 10. 2B – Harkensee (12), Cryer (6), Hebert (9), Martin (3). HBP - Boullosa, Cryer, Gougler, Martin. SH – Zabel (2). SF – Crohan (2). T - 2:21. A – 1,723.