BEAUMONT, Texas - Some early offense and another solid showing from the bullpen allowed Lamar University to even the series against the Nicholls State University baseball team as the Colonels fell, 9-7, Saturday afternoon at Vincent-Beck Stadium.
Lamar (17-9, 3-2 SLC) scored three in the first before Nicholls answered with three in the second. But six combined runs in the third and fourth frames for the Cardinals were more than enough to withstand a late Colonel rally.
Despite the loss, Nicholls (16-13, 3-2 SLC) outhit LU, 14-12, but stranded two more runners. Five Colonels turned in multi-hit days with
Gerardo Villarreal leading the way with a 4-for-5 effort. He also accounted for two of the four extra-base hits for the Colonels with
MaCrae Kendrick adding a double and
Edgar Alvarez homered in the ninth.
Lamar gave Colonel starter
Devin Desandro a tough time in the opening frame, using three doubles for the early 3-0 lead. The Colonels answered in the third with RBI singles by Kendrick and
Garrett Felix before
Kaden Amundson tied the game with an RBI groundout.
In the third, Lamar used a pair of 2-run home runs for a 7-3 advantage. Ryan Snell hit the first homer and River Orsak followed with his four batters later.
Nicholls scored a run in the fourth on a Kendrick double, driving in
Austin Cain who led off with a single. But once again, Lamar answered with two runs in the bottom half to go up 9-4. Desandro tossed 3.1 innings, allowing six earned runs on nine hits.
Lamar looked to take a commanding lead in the fifth, loading the bases with one out. But second baseman Kendrick made a Play of the Year snag after he chased down a popup in shallow right field for an out.
Gavin Galy then forced another popup to escape the jam. Galy pitched the rest of the way, allowing one hit in. 3.1 innings.
After the bullpens combined for four shutout frames to keep the score at 9-4, Nicholls made a late push in the ninth. The offense put together five hits in total, with Alvarez hitting his fourth homer of the season for the first two runs. Felix added another RBI single but it would be the day's final run.
Orsak led LU's offense with three hits and he and Snell drove in three runs.
ON DECK
The rubber match on Sunday is scheduled for 1 p.m. The game will stream on ESPN+ and can be listened to on ESPN Radio New Orleans 100.3 FM.
