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HAMMOND, La. – Three members of the Southeastern Louisiana University baseball program earned a spot on the Southland Conference’s Preseason All-Conference Team and conference peers picked the Lions second in the preseason poll, the league office announced Friday.

Dalton Aspholm, Bryce Grizzaffi and Will Kinzeler represent the Lions on the Preseason All-Conference squad, earning spots on the second team. Returning members of the postseason All-Conference automatically earn a spot on the preseason team. The remaining members are voted on by conference head coaches.

A senior right-hander from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Aspholm is one of the top power arms in the Southland. He averaged 12.77 strikeouts per nine innings last season, a total that ranks as the fourth-highest in program history.

The toughest catcher in the Southland to run on, Grizzaffi threw out 15-of-31 would-be base stealers last season (48.4 percent). On the flip side, the native of Morgan City, Louisiana stole 10 bases in 14 attempts. Possessing a keen eye at the plate, he chalked up the lowest strikeout percentage in the SLU lineup.

Kinzeler turned in eight quality starts in his 14 appearances last season. Despite missing a start in Week 12, he still ranked second in innings pitched (84.1) and fourth in ERA (3.84). The junior right-hander from Covington, Louisiana also ranked eighth in strikeouts (63).

The defending conference tournament champion, SLU received 10 of the 18 possible first-place votes in the Southland’s preseason poll. McNeese (7) and Northwestern State (1) received the remaining first-place votes.

The Lions accumulated 115 total votes, placing them three votes shy of defending regular-season champion McNeese (118). Re-joining the Southland after one season in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), Lamar (88) received the third-most overall votes followed by New Orleans (87), Northwestern State (65), Nicholls (59), A&M-Corpus Christi (55), HCU (41) and UIW (20).

The 2023 baseball preseason poll was voted upon by head coaches and sports information directors from around the conference. Voting for one’s own school and players was not permitted.

UP NEXT

Fan Day and the annual Alumni Game is coming up Sunday at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.

The event kicks off with an autograph session from 12:45 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. prior to infield warmups.

Season ticket holders will be able to pick up their tickets from representatives of the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office beginning at 1 p.m.

First pitch for the scrimmage, which will pit the 2023 Lions against a team featuring SLU baseball alums, is scheduled for 2 p.m. After the game, kids of all ages can run the bases.

Admission is free.

Southeastern opens the season at 6 p.m., Feb. 17, at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field against Lafayette College. The opening weekend series against the Easton, Pennsylvania-based institution is slated for four games, with a Saturday doubleheader book-ended by single games Friday and Sunday.

TICKET & PARKING INFORMATION
Single-game tickets are now on sale. Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance to minimize ticket lines on game days. Southeastern students are encouraged to contact the ticket office prior to the game to reserve theirs in advance.

General admission tickets for most games are $9 for adults and $6 for youth (ages 3-12). Southeastern students, with a university ID, and children under age 2 are admitted for free. Gameday parking is $5 per day for standard vehicles and $25 for RVs.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.LionSports.net/Tickets or by contacting the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466. Office hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Fridays. The ticket booth at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field opens exactly one hour prior to the scheduled first pitch.

Southeastern uses mobile ticketing as the primary method for distributing tickets purchased online. Tickets will be available via text message or email in a PDF format for fans to download on their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded to Apple Wallet.

CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics enforces a clear bag policy for all ticketed events. The policy mirrors safety precautions required for entrance to professional and collegiate sporting venues throughout the country. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/Clear.

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.

 

SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS

First Team

Pos.	Name	School	Cl.	Hometown
1B	Edgar Alvarez *	Nicholls	Jr.	Orlando, Fla.
2B	Brad Burckel *	McNeese	Sr.	Lindale, Texas
3B	Josh Leslie *	McNeese	Sr.	Kenosha, Wis.
SS	Parker Coddou *	Nicholls	Jr.	Thibodaux, La.
C	Bo Willis *	Northwestern State	Jr.	Magnolia, Texas
DH	Tre Jones *	Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	Jr.	Houston, Texas
OF	Payton Harden *	McNeese	Sr.	Atascocita, Texas
OF	Brendan Ryan *	Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	Sr.	Leawood, Kan.
OF	Xane Washington *	Nicholls	R-Sr.	Houma, La.
SP	Zach Garcia *	Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	So.	New Braunfels, Texas
SP	Grant Rogers *	McNeese	Jr.	Groves, Texas
SP	Tyler Theriot *	Nicholls	Sr.	Brusly, La.
RP	Burrell Jones	McNeese	Sr.	Holt, Mich.
U	Alec Carr *	UIW	Sr.	Sugar Land, Texas

 

Second Team

Pos.	Name	School	Cl.	Hometown
1B	Josh Blankenship	Lamar	Sr.	Santa Fe, Texas
2B	Daunte Stuart *	Northwestern State	Jr.	The Woodlands, Texas
3B	Kasten Furr *	New Orleans	Jr.	Ruston, La.
SS	Tyler Bischke	New Orleans	Jr.	Pittsburgh, Pa.
C	Bryce Grizzaffi *	Southeastern	Sr.	Morgan City, La.
DH	Kade Hunter *	McNeese	Sr.	Comfort, Texas
OF	Josh Caraway *	Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	Jr.	Roanoke, Texas
OF	Braden Duhon *	McNeese	Jr.	Moss Bluff, La.
OF	Issac Williams *	New Orleans	Jr.	Alexandria, La.
SP	Cal Carver *	Northwestern State	Sr.	San Antonio, Texas
SP	Tyler LeBlanc *	New Orleans	Jr.	Lafayette, La.
SP	Will Kinzeler *	Southeastern	Jr.	Covington, La.
RP	Dalton Aspholm	Southeastern	Sr.	Baton Rouge, La.
U	Tre’ Obregon III	McNeese	Sr.	Sallisaw, Okla.

SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE PRESEASON POLL

Pl	School	1st	Pts
1	McNeese	7	118
2	Southeastern	10	115
3	Lamar		88
4	New Orleans		87
5	Northwestern State	1	65
6	Nicholls		59
7	A&M-Corpus Christi		55
8	HCU		41
9	UIW		20