March 2, 2014
BATON ROUGE, La. -Â
The Lamar University softball team split a pair of games Saturday on the second day of the Purple & Gold Challenge hosted by LSU.
Lamar (3-8) claimed a 6-3 win over Jackson State in the first game before falling to 22nd-ranked LSU 10-0 in the nightcap.
Lamar was one out away from victory in Sunday's game against Iowa State when it was stopped and declared "no game." Lamar held a 4-0 lead over the Cyclones with two outs in the bottom of the fifth when the game was stopped due to Iowa State's travel arrangements. The stats from Sunday's game will not count. Lamar had claimed a 3-2 win over Iowa State, a Big 12 school, in the first game of the classic on Friday.
Catcher Beverly Corry was the hitting hero for Lamar in the win over Jackson State, going 3-for-3 with a double, a home run, two runs scored and three RBIs. Shannon Sain had a pair of doubles, while Ashley McDowell added two hits for the Lady Cardinals.
That was more than enough support for left-hander Shannon Millman (1-5), who earned her first win of the season. It was the 18th win of Millman's career, moving her past Laura Hall who posted 17 wins between 1985 and 1986 for the top spot on Lamar's all-time list.
Corry's solo home run to lead the bottom of the fourth snapped a 3-3 tie to give Lamar the lead for good.
Canessa Swanson had three hits for Jackson State (5-13).
Things didn't quite go Lamar's way against nationally ranked LSU in the nightcap, as the Tigers (15-6) erupted for five runs in the first inning and never looked back. Sahvanna Jaquish's first-inning grand slam did most of the damage.
Beverly Corry and Casey Cromwell represented Lamar on the all-tournament team.
Lamar returns to action at 6 p.m. Thursday when it travels to Louisiana-Lafayette. That game will be shown on ESPN3. The Lady Cardinals open their home season and their Southland Conference schedule when they host Southeastern Louisiana in a three-game series at Ford Park starting with a 2 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday. The teams will play a single game at 1 p.m. March 9.
For ticket information, call (409) 880-1715, or visit www.LamarCardinals.com.
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