HAMMOND, La. (Interstat) — A dominant combined pitching performance from Dylan Mulcahy and Nate Vidlak propelled the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks to a 3-2 victory over the Southeastern Louisiana Lions on Sunday afternoon at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field, salvaging the final game of their weekend series.

The Lumberjacks (11-9) built an early lead and their pitching staff made it stand, shutting out the Lions (11-9) over the final seven innings. Stephen F. Austin snapped a two-game skid in the series after dropping the first two contests by a combined score of 16-8.

The most critical sequence of the game occurred in the bottom of the sixth inning. With the Lions trailing by a run and having scored both of their runs in the second inning, Stephen F. Austin manager Johnny Cardenas summoned Vidlak from the bullpen to replace starter Dylan Mulcahy. The move proved decisive. Vidlak inherited a runner after hitting the first batter he faced but then proceeded to strike out the side, extinguishing Southeastern Louisiana’s momentum and beginning a stretch of four hitless, scoreless relief innings.

Stephen F. Austin struck quickly against Lions starter Blake Lobell. Leadoff hitter Schneider singled, advanced on a walk and a wild pitch, and scored on a first-inning groundout by Mark Henning. The Lumberjacks added two more in the second. Juan Cantua singled, stole second, took third on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI groundout by Bland, staking Mulcahy to a 3-0 lead.

Southeastern Louisiana answered in its half of the second. Williams and Woods led off with a single and a double, respectively. Perry drove in Williams with a groundout, and Blaise Priester followed with an RBI single to score Woods, cutting the deficit to 3-2. That would be the Lions’ final hit of the game.

Mulcahy (5.0 IP, 0 H, 2 ER, 6 K) settled in after the rocky second, working around traffic to complete five innings and earn the win. Vidlak was overpowering in relief, striking out seven over four perfect innings to record the save. The Lions’ eight hits all came in the first two innings against Mulcahy.

Lobell (6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 4 K) was solid in a losing effort for Southeastern Louisiana, keeping his team within reach. The Lions’ bullpen of Luke Barbier and Truitt Webb allowed just one unearned run over the final three frames.

Stephen F. Austin managed nine hits, with Cantua and Ethan Pena each collecting two. The Lumberjacks squandered several chances to extend their lead, stranding 11 runners on base, including leaving the bases loaded in the ninth inning.

Southeastern Louisiana’s Brooks Wright went 2-for-4, accounting for two of his team’s eight hits. The Lions’ offense, which had been potent in the series’ first two games, was completely silenced by the combination of Mulcahy and Vidlak after the second inning.

The loss ended a three-game winning streak for Southeastern Louisiana. Both teams now hold identical 11-9 records.

Stephen F. Austin travels to face Texas-Arlington on Tuesday. Southeastern Louisiana will host Oklahoma on Tuesday.

The result defied the pregame projections from Interstat, whose game simulator had predicted a 7-4 Lions victory and whose ELO system gave Southeastern Louisiana a 79.60 percent probability to win.