HAMMOND, La. (Interstat) — In a wild Southland Conference opener defined by explosive offense and dramatic momentum swings, Justin Williams launched three home runs and drove in six as Southeastern Louisiana outslugged New Orleans 13-11 on Friday night at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.

The game, which featured 24 combined hits and seven total home runs, saw the Lions erase multiple deficits before Williams and catcher Blaise Priester delivered the decisive blows late. Williams, who entered the game in a 3-for-14 slump over his previous four contests, finished 3-for-4. His third homer, a two-run shot in the seventh inning, tied the game at 9-9. Priester went 3-for-4 with two homers and five RBIs, including a go-ahead, three-run blast in the eighth inning that proved to be the game-winner.

The most important sequence of the game occurred in the bottom of the eighth inning. After New Orleans’ Dylan Biddick hit his second solo homer of the game in the top of the frame to tie the score at 11-11, the Lions mounted a two-out rally in the bottom half. With two on and two out, Priester turned on a pitch from reliever Alack and hammered it down the left-field line for a three-run homer, reclaiming a 13-11 lead the Lions would not relinquish.

The game defied the pregame projection from Interstat, which had forecast a lower-scoring 5-3 victory for Southeastern Louisiana with a 62.5% probability of winning.

New Orleans struck first when Biddick led off the game with a home run. The Privateers then staged a massive seven-run rally in the top of the seventh inning to storm back from a 7-3 deficit. Kruise Newman provided the biggest blow of the frame with a three-run homer, and Jayden Adcox added a two-run shot later in the inning to give the Privateers an 11-9 lead.

Southeastern Louisiana starter Truitt Webb allowed one earned run over three innings, striking out five. New Orleans relievers Tyler Velino and Brice Deaton combined for 3 1/3 scoreless innings of one-hit ball to briefly steady the game for the Privateers.

The Lions improved to 14-12 overall, while New Orleans fell to 11-17. The two teams continue their three-game series on Saturday.

Williams’ breakout performance powered an offense that consistently answered New Orleans’ challenges. After the Privateers took their early lead, Williams hit a two-run homer in the second. When New Orleans pulled ahead in the seventh, Williams connected again in the bottom of the inning to set the stage for Priester’s late heroics.

Biddick led New Orleans offensively, going 2-for-3 with two homers, two RBIs and two walks. Owen Smith added two hits and an RBI for the Privateers, who stranded several key runners late.

The teams combined to use 13 pitchers in a game that lasted over three and a half hours. Triston Todorowski earned the win for Southeastern Louisiana with two innings of relief, allowing one run on Biddick’s eighth-inning homer.