Feb. 9, 2014

SAN ANTONIO - Ashley McDowell's first two home runs of the season weren't enough for the Lamar Lady Cardinals as they dropped a 10-9 heartbreaker to host UTSA in a non-conference softball game Sunday.

McDowell, who belted a school-record 12 home runs last season, hit a solo homer in the fourth inning and a three-run homer in the fifth as Lamar (0-3) battled back from deficits of 6-0 and 9-2 to tie the game at 9 in the sixth inning only to fall short at the end.

"We keep falling behind and trying to battle back," Lamar coach Holly Bruder said. "We didn't take advantage of some chances early. We can't keep waiting until the late innings."

Beverly Corry went 3-for-3 on the day, with a double and a home run. For the season, Corry is hitting .556 (5-for-9) with a slugging percentage of 1.333.

Lamar outhit UTSA 10-7 on the day, but the Roadrunners took advantage of nine walks, three hit batters and three Lamar errors to complete the sweep. The Roadrunners snapped the tie in the bottom of the sixth without a hit, taking advantage of four walks issued by Lamar reliever Shannon Millman (0-2). Pinch-hitter Alyssa Cummings drew the bases-loaded walk to plate Paige Hamilton with the winning run.

Lamar starter Tina Schulz worked the first four innings, allowing seven hits and nine runs, four earned. She walked five. Millman worked two innings of hitless relief, walking four and striking out two.

Kacy Freeze (1-0), the third UTSA pitcher used, picked up the win in relief, allowing two hits and one run, while walking one and striking out three.

Jori Fox had a pinch-hit grand slam for UTSA in the third inning.

Lamar is idle until Feb. 21, when it plays five games at the Citrus Series Classic in Orlando, Fla. The Lady Cardinals face Mercer and Fairfield on Feb. 21, Lehigh and IPFW on Feb. 22, and Albany on Feb. 23.

"I think having this time off will help us work on some things," Bruder said. "I think we got better this weekend, but we definitely have some areas we need to improve."

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