HAMMOND, La. (Interstat) — Rhett Centanni launched a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning Wednesday night, lifting Southeastern Louisiana to a 7-6 comeback victory over Louisiana-Lafayette in a back-and-forth non-conference baseball game at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.

The designated hitter’s fourth homer of the season, a solo shot to left field on the first pitch from Louisiana-Lafayette reliever Chase Brasch, capped a rally from an early four-run deficit and handed the Lions their 20th win.

The most important part of the game was the Lions’ relentless response after the Ragin’ Cajuns seized immediate control. Louisiana-Lafayette battered Southeastern Louisiana starter Jake Lirette for four first-inning runs, keyed by a two-run single from Connor Spalitta. The early offensive burst seemed to set the tone, but the Lions answered immediately in their half of the frame.

Justin Williams led off the bottom of the first with his seventh home run of the year, and Rhett Centanni followed later in the inning with an RBI double to cut the lead to 6-2. The Lions continued their charge in the second when Ben Robichaux hammered a two-run homer, his eighth, off Ragin’ Cajuns reliever JR Tollett to make it 6-4.

Southeastern Louisiana completed its comeback in the fifth inning, tying the game at 6-6. An RBI fielder’s choice by Parker Perry and a run-scoring double by Reid Watts erased the remaining deficit, setting the stage for a tense battle of bullpens.

Both teams received standout relief work to keep the game deadlocked. For the Lions, Logan Freche threw two scoreless innings, allowing just one hit. Larson Fabre and Nik Toups each added a scoreless frame, with Toups striking out three. The Ragin’ Cajuns countered with dominant outings from Tyler Papenbrock and Garret Carter, who combined for three perfect innings, striking out four.

Louisiana-Lafayette broke the tie in the top of the ninth, capitalizing on small ball. Ethan Lewis led off with an infield single, advanced to third on two wild pitches, and scored on an RBI infield single by Rigoberto Hernandez to put the visitors ahead 6-5.

Hernandez finished 3-for-4 with an RBI and two stolen bases for the Ragin’ Cajuns, who outhit the Lions 10-11 but left the potential tying run in scoring position in the ninth.

The lead was short-lived. After Brasch retired the first two batters in the bottom of the ninth, Centanni stepped in and ended the game with his second hit, a line drive over the left-field wall. He finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

The loss dropped Louisiana-Lafayette to 18-14 overall, while Southeastern Louisiana improved to 20-13. The result avenged a 9-3 loss to the Ragin’ Cajuns in Lafayette on March 24.

The outcome defied aspects of the pregame projections. While Interstat’s game simulator had predicted a Southeastern Louisiana win by a 7-2 score, its ELO rating system had given Louisiana-Lafayette a 53.90 percent probability to win.

Louisiana-Lafayette opens a three-game home series with Southern Mississippi on Friday. Southeastern Louisiana begins a Southland Conference series at home against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, also on Friday.