Box Score Feb. 15, 2014
Box Score
BEAUMONT - Late inning three-run rallies spelled doom twice for the Lamar baseball team on Saturday as the Cardinals dropped a 6-3 12-inning decision to UIC in the afternoon and returned for a 4-3 loss to Marist on the second day of the Cardinal Classic at Vincent-Beck Stadium.
LU, which took home a dramatic 7-6 victory in the first game of the weekend on Friday, dropped to 1-2 on the year. UIC improved to 3-0, and Marist concluded its opening weekend with a 1-3 mark.
In the opening game, UIC jumped on LU starter Will Hibbs, loading the bases before a single out was recorded. An Alex Jurich single pushed the first score across moments later, and Jake Nath grounded into a double play to add another. A flyout later in the frame stopped the bleeding at 2-0.
Hibbs allowed one more run to cross in the fifth via a fielding error and a sacrifice fly before ceding the mound to Hunter Perry. Hibbs finished with 4.1 innings pitched, allowing five hits, three runs (two earned) and four walks.
Kevin Santana reached on a fielding error to start the sixth, and Jacoby Middleton singled later in the frame to put LU back in business. Wayne Stanley laced a two-out single up the middle to bring home the first score, and Justin Eckols followed up with one of his own in the ensuing at-bat. A Sam Bumpers double leveled the score at 3-3, where it would stay until the top of the 12th.
Bumpers, Eckols, Middleton and Jude Vidrine all had two-hit outings as the Cards combined to out-hit the visitors from Chicago 12-11.
Perry and Kirkham did much of the work on the mound over the course of the stalemate, combining to pitch six innings, striking out three and allowing four hits.
Alex Lee led off the 12th for the Flames with a walk against LU pitcher Zach Aitken, and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. A wild pitch put him on third, and a single broke the deadlock. An error, single and another wild pitch, this time from Andrew Beasley, allowed two more runs to cross and put the game out of reach for the Red and White.
In the nightcap, Jayson McKinley had a strong outing for the Cards, pitching five one-run frames vs. Marist in his first start of the year, but a three-run eighth proved to be the difference. The Friendswood native allowed four hits and struck out five, walking just two.
Lamar kicked off the scoring with a Vidrine double and a Reed Seeley sacrifice fly in the third, but the visitors from New York pulled one run back on a pair of singles and a fielder's choice in the fifth to bring an end to McKinley's night.
Vidrine was one of six Cards to record a hit in the game, and Stanley led the offense, ending 2-for-3 with a walk and a score.
Danny Fernandez took the mound in relief for McKinley, pitching 2.1 frames and allowing the game's deciding three runs in the eighth. Matt Pagano started the rally with a single and moved into scoring position on a throwing error. A Nick McQuail groundout put him 90 feet from home, and Steve Laurino hit into a fielder's choice to even up the game. Graham McIntyre and Zach Passerelle doubled and singled, respectively, to give the Red Foxes a late 4-2 advantage.
A pair of singles and a Bumpers fielder's choice in the bottom half of the frame accounted for the final score.
Lamar will return to action on Sunday with a noon start vs. UIC at Vincent-Beck Stadium. Chase Angelle is slated to go on the mound for the Cards.
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