Southeastern Louisiana University right-hander Brady St. Pierre held Stephen F. Austin to one hit through seven innings of shutout baseball Friday as SLU defeated the Lumberjacks, 8-1, in a battle of first-place teams in Southland Conference action at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.
The sophomore from LaPlace, Louisiana struck out a career-high eight batters, retiring 12 consecutive SFA (11-8, 4-3 SLC) hitters following a one-out single that dropped in down the left-field line in the first inning.
Meanwhile, the Southeastern (10-8, 3-1 SLC) bats provided plenty of offensive support.
A two-run home run by left fielder Justin Williams, his first of the season, put the Lions up 2-0 in the second. A pair of two-out hits by Ben Robichaux and Dane Watts later that inning extended the lead to 3-0 over the Lumberjacks.
Robichaux and Watts produced back-to-back hits once again in the fourth, scoring on Connor Cuff’s two-out triple down the right-field line.
An RBI groundout in the fifth and a two-out, two-run homer off the bat of Robichaux in the seventh rounded out the Lions’ support.
SFA picked up its lone run on a groundout in the eighth after a leadoff triple dropped just inside the right-field line.
St. Pierre (2-2) earned the win, logging a career-high seven innings of work. Lumberjack starting pitcher Gabriel LeBlanc, who entered the game ranked third in the league in ERA, suffered the loss after allowing five runs – all earned – in 4.0 innings pitched.
Triston Todorowski tossed the final two innings for SLU, allowing one run and striking out three.
Robichaux (3-for-5), Cuff (2-for-4), Watts (2-for-4), Williams (2-for-4) and Woods (2-for-4) contributed multiple hits to the Lions’ offensive attack.
UP NEXT
The series continues Saturday at 2 p.m. on ESPN+. Fans will be able to play baseball bingo during Saturday’s contest, with the first 25 winners claiming a prize.
READ MORE:St. Pierre pitches SLU to win in series opener of first-place battle vs. SFA
