BEAUMONT, Texas – Trailing 6-1 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, Lamar University (4-14, 0-4 SLC) had the winning run at the plate Friday night at home against Southeastern Louisiana (14-6, 3-1 SLC), but ultimately fell 6-4 in the Southland Conference battle.

"Throughout our first 18 games I've never felt like we've quit or given up," said head coach Will Davis. "I've been saying this until I'm blue in the face, but we're right there. If Chase Kemp's ball gets down the right field line we'd have the tying run in scoring position. We competed until the very end tonight, and I'm very proud of this team. The results we've had do not reflect the character of the team we have."

The Lions jumped out to an early lead, scoring one run in the second and another in the fourth inning, outhitting Lamar 6-2 through the first six innings while holding a 2-0 lead. Four more hits for SLU in the top of the seventh scored four more runs, giving the Lions a 6-0 lead, but the Cards began to rally in the bottom of the seventh.

Philip Ingram led off with a single to left center field, and he was joined on the base paths by Chase Kemp, who singled to right to place Ingram on second with one out. Cole Coker then singled up the middle with two outs, scoring Ingram. But a strikeout ended the two-out rally, and after seven innings the score was: Southeastern Louisiana 6, Lamar 1

Ryan Johnson relieved Chet Jones in the eighth and earned his first out in a three-pitch strikeout with a runner on first. A 4-3 grounder advanced the runner on first to second with two outs, and after a hit-by-pitch another 4-3 grounder ended the inning.

Lamar's rally continued in the bottom of the eighth. Rhett McCall drew a lead-off beaning from the pitcher, and after a wild pitch advanced McCall to second, an error allowed Chad McKinney to reach first safely. That errant throw traveled into the dugout, putting McKinney on second and scoring McCall. A single from Payton Robertson in a pinch-hit put McKinney on third, and a 6-3 grounder from Ingram scored McKinney. A single from Chase Whetsel scored the third run of the inning, and it appeared as if the scoring would continue. But Chase Kemp lined out to first with Whetsel off the bag, enabling a "right place at the right time" double play for the Southeastern first baseman. After eight innings Lamar trailed by just two, 6-4.

AbeRee Hiebert struck out the first batter he faced in the ninth inning, but the Lions managed to load the bases over the next three at-bats, and Ryan Erickson was called in to relieve Hiebert. Erickson had the Lion batter on a 2-2 count before he put a burner in play towards Ingram. The shortstop snagged the ball and threw to Grant DeVore just before the runner reached second, and DeVore's throw to Adames on first beat the runner as well, ending the inning without allowing a single run to score.

Coker drew a five-pitch walk with one out to put the tying run at the plate, and an error by the SLU second baseman allowed Mitch Andrews to reach with two outs, bringing McKinney up to the plate representing the winning run. A strikeout ended the inning, and Lamar fell 6-4.

Saturday's game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start with Noah Sills (2-1, 0.74 ERA) facing RHP Carlisle Koestler (3-0, 1.12 ERA). Weather could play a factor, so fans should stay tuned to LamarCardinals.com and @Lamar_Baseball on Twitter for updates.