When Tanner Wilson stepped to the plate with two out in the bottom of the ninth, the Cardinals were staring at defeat at the hands of cross-border rivals McNeese. With two on, Lamar trailed by a single run. However, with one swing of the bat, the Cards’ hot start to the season continued.
The Lamar University baseball team beat McNeese State University Cowboys, 4-3, to win the three-game Southland Conference series 2-1, April 7, at Vincent-Beck Stadium in Beaumont.
The game started slowly with both teams scoreless though the first two-and-a-half innings. The Cardinals broke the deadlock when Kanin Dodge scored in the bottom of the third inning, thanks to Brayden Evan’s RBI single.
McNeese responded in the fifth inning with three runs. Cardinal pitcher Jackson Cleveland gifted McNeese the third run with an error.
Lamar’s Austin Roccaforte pulled a run back in the seventh inning, scoring on Tanner Wilson’s RBI single.
Both teams went scoreless in the eighth inning, and after a scoreless top of the ninth, thanks to Cardinal pitcher Andres Perez, Lamar was down to its last inning.
Roccaforte led off with a single, followed by LU senior Jack Schell who singled. McNeese managed to get the next two batters out, leaving Tanner Wilson as the Cardinals’ last chance.
With two runners on base, Wilson hit a ground ball past the Cowboy’s third baseman to drive in Roccaforte and Schell for the walk-off hit.
“They were throwing a lot of change ups, I saw my pitch and took it down the line,” Wilson said. “I just knew I had to get something on the ground— wind’s blowing in today — so we need to get something on the ground and let the guys run.”
Despite being down up until the last inning, LU head coach Will Davis said he told his players to positive and they could still win the game.
“We were all kinda just ticked off in the dugout, just because things didn't go our way in that one inning (and it) just kind of took the wind out of our sails,” Davis said. “We kept scratching and clawing and had some great at bats there at the end by Rocc and Schell to get us going. Then Tanner did a great job. Kanin Dodge and Evans, just a great team win all the way around.”
With the win, the Cardinals are now 25-6 overall and lead the Southland Conference with a 5-1 record. Lamar plays Stephen F. Austin next on April 9, 6 p.m. at the Vincent-Beck stadium.
