Feb. 26, 2012

Final Stats

BEAUMONT, Texas - The twins Parr helped rally the University of Illinois to a 9-8 victory Sunday in the finale of the 2012 YMBL/Cardinal Classic, played before a crowd of 591 in Vincent-Beck Stadium.

Left fielder Justin Parr poked his fourth hit of the day - a single into right field to lead off the top of the ninth. After Brandon Hohl put down a perfect sacrifice bunt, first baseman Jordan Parr powered a double down the left-field line to score his brother with the winning run.

The Cardinals, who had earlier overcome a five-run deficit to force the 8-8 tie in the seventh inning, made a strong effort to again overtake the Fighting Illini. In the bottom of the ninth, second baseman David Harris drilled a one-out single to right field, and first baseman Brad Picha followed with another single to right, enabling Harris to race to third base.

After catcher Zach Luevanos struck out and with shortstop Aaron Olivas at the plate, Picha broke for second base but Illinois catcher Alex Lincoln didn't take the bait. He spotted Harris a little too far off third base and hit third baseman Brandon Hohl, who applied the tag on the game-ending pickoff.

The loss was the Cardinals' fourth straight in the three-day tournament, and it dropped them to 2-4 on the season. Reliever John Gilligan, who provided 4 1/3 impressive innings of work, was the hard-luck loser, dropping him to 0-1.

"John going out there and shutting them (the Fighting Illini) down and holding them until we could catch up was huge," said Lamar coach Jim Gilligan of his nephew. "He showed a lot of poise out there, and he did a great job. It's a shame he had to take the loss."

Center fielder Garret Autrey blasted his team-leading third home run of the season - a three-run shot over the right-field fence - to highlight Lamar's five-run rally in the seventh inning. Designated hitter Seth Dornak went 3-for-4 and drove in two runs, and the Cardinals matched Illinois' 13 hits.

"I'm still seeing balls get through to the outfield that should've been stopped in the infield," said coach Gilligan. "We have only seven guys now who played D-1 ball before this season, and it's showing. Things will get better after make we a few adjustments and get more experience for these guys."

Next up for the Cardinals is their third-straight weekend tournament - the Baylor Classic in Waco. Cal-Irvine will be the Cards' first-round opponent for a 2 p.m. game on Friday.

LAMAR