HAMMOND, La. – On a day that the Southeastern Louisiana University baseball program honored the memory of one of its own, the late Kaleb Manuel, the Lions created some new memories on the field with a 4-3, walk-off win over SIU Edwardsville at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field. 

Southeastern (2-0) tied the game twice but never led SIUE (0-2) until Tyler Finke crossed home plate on a wild pitch to end it. 

Redshirt junior Hayden Robb set the tone early for what proved to be another tight game, fanning the side in the first inning.

 After the Lions went up and down in order in the first, SIUE struck first. Robb struggled with his control after returning to the mound in the second. The right-hander from Vancleave, Mississippi hit the leadoff batter before surrendering a single. 

Following a sacrifice bunt, Robb proceeded to sandwich a pair of walks around a sacrifice fly. A wild pitch plated a second run for the Cougars. 

SLU left the bases loaded in the second, but scratched across a run in the third to cut the deficit in half. Finke worked a two-out walk and then stole second base. He scored on a bloop double down the left-field line off the bat of Preston Faulkner. 

The Lions tied the game in the fourth. Christian Garcia reached on a fielding error by SIUE starting pitcher Brant Glidewell to open up the inning. Graduate transfer Tristan Welch followed up with a hit-and-run single through the right side, putting runners on the corners.

 With one out, Evan Keller lined the ball back up the middle. It ricocheted off Glidewell’s ankle through the left side of the infield for an RBI single, tying the game at two apiece. Glidewell remained in the game to finish the inning but did not return after his club regained the lead in the fifth on a leadoff home run. 

Both bullpens locked down the game for the next several innings until SLU tied up the game in the eighth. 

Garcia drew a leadoff walk, advancing to third on Champ Artigues’ pinch-hit single and a throwing error by the SIUE second baseman. Artigues advanced to second on the error, but Garcia was cut down at the plate. 

The Cougars brought in reliever Alex Scherer (0-1). SLU countered with pinch-hitter Pierce Leavengood and pinch-runner Joe Delaney. Leavengood reached on a fielding error by the second baseman as Delaney advanced to third. Delaney scored to tie the game once again on an RBI fielder’s choice groundout off the bat of Keller. 

Andrew Landry (1-0), who entered the game in the seventh, retired all seven batters he faced in the game. The sophomore right-hander from Slidell, Louisiana fanned the final two batters in the ninth, giving him five in 2.1 innings of work. 

Scherer hit Finke with a pitch to open up the bottom of the ninth. Faulkner followed with a hit-and-run single to the second baseman. After issuing an intentional walk to shortstop Shea Thomas, Scherer uncorked the game-ending wild pitch. 

Landry earned the win in relief, the first of his career. Scherer suffered the loss, allowing one run in 0.2 innings pitched.