BATON ROUGE, La. – Leading 2-1 in the 10th inning, Southeastern Louisiana right fielder Andrew Godbold threw out Bryant's Dan Cellucci at the plate to end the game Saturday at Alex Box Stadium and seal the Lions' first NCAA postseason win since the 1992 season.
Southeastern (38-24) scored the eventual winning run in the top of the 10th on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by Sam Roberson, but Bryant (42-16) immediately went to work in the bottom of the inning.
Shortstop, and No. 9 hitter, Cellucci led off the inning with a double down the left-field line. Carl Anderson followed with a single up the middle, putting runners on the corners with no outs. Anderson stole second, erasing the force play, but Mason Klotz buckled down and struck out pinch hitter Tom Gavitt. After intentionally walking right fielder Jourdan Mountford to load the bases, and set up a force play at every base, Klotz got cleanup hitter AJ Zarozny to hit a fly ball to right.
Godbold came charging in, made the catch, and unleashed a shoulder-high strike to Jameson Fisher just up the third-base line. The throw was in plenty of time to nail Cellucci at the plate, ending the game.
“I think early in the ball game you saw both clubs struggling to try to get some things going,” Southeastern head coach Matt Riser said. “They had a tough loss yesterday, we had a tough loss yesterday. We knew it would be one to keep grinding out.
“Obviously when you get late in the ballgame, we practice what you call a championship inning. In the
ninth (inning) we just kept talking about it, one inning at a time. If you win the championship inning, you win the ballgame. You just have to keep grinding it out no matter what happens and obviously you saw. We had guys on first and second with nobody out but couldn’t get the bunt down. Then, we execute the hit and run and a big sacrifice fly. Then, we give up the leadoff double. They have guys on second and third with nobody out. It was a big situation, nine times out of 10, you don’t come out of it. Our guys have been put in that situation all year long. I don’t think we’ve had a lot of blowouts, most of the games we’ve played have been tight. They did a great job of handling the moment.”
The Lions scored the first run of the game just three batters in. Jacob Seward singled up the middle and advanced to third on an errant pickoff throw. After Jameson Fisher was hit by a pitch, Bryant starter Craig Schlitter uncorked a wild pitch to score Seward.
Bryant tied the game in the fifth with a run off Lion starter Tate Scioneaux.
Klotz (2-0) worked four scoreless innings in relief, stranding the potential winning run in scoring position in both the seventh and ninth innings. He earned the win, Southeastern's first since May 22. 1992 when the Lions shutout Hawaii, 8-0, in the opening game of the Tuscon, Ariz., regional. Bulldog reliever Trevor Lacosse (4-4) was saddled with the loss.
The Lions will face Houston, a 5-1 loser at LSU on Saturday, Sunday at 2 p.m. in an elimination contest on ESPN3. The winner will meet LSU Sunday at 7 p.m. in the first of two possible games to decide the regional championship.