Final Stats

BEAUMONT, Texas - The Lamar baseball team had a chance in the last two innings, but Abilene Christian's run in the seventh inning gave the Wildcats the go-ahead run and the 5-4 win over the Cardinals on Sunday at Vincent-Beck Stadium in non-conference action.

Despite the loss, the Cardinals (13-14) won the series after wins on Friday and Saturday, but ACU (6-18) battled back to keep from being swept. The seventh inning run was the only run LU could not answer. ACU continued to get ahead, but Lamar answered with one run or tie every inning.

Tyler Eager led off the seventh inning with a single into center field, and took second base after Russell Crippen was plunked by a pitch. Both were moved over on a sacrifice bunt from Alex Copeland, and the winning run scored on Marcelle Carter's single into left field.

LU went down 1-2-3 in its frame of the seventh. In the bottom of the eighth, the Cardinals got runners on the corners with two outs, but ACU forced a ground out to end that inning. In the ninth, Stijn van der Meer led off the inning with a single into right field. On the first pitch of the at-bat to Reed Seeley, van der Meer took off and was called out on a very, very close play.

Seeley grounded out for the second, but Lamar was able to get another runner aboard after an error. Nick Palacios closed out the game without any damage.

ACU's Kevin Sheets, who was not scheduled to start on Sunday, worked 4.0 innings and gave up two earned runs on five hits. Ladgie Zotyka earned his second win of the season in relief on three innings of work. He gave up two runs, one earned, on one hit and two walks.

Palacios earned the save in two scoreless innings, and allowed three hits.

Jayson McKinley started the game and pitched four innings. He gave up two runs, neither earned, on six hits and one walk. Both of the scores against him were in the first inning on two errors. Aaron Draper singled to center field, but was able to advance to second base after the ball rolled by LU's center fielder Brendan Satran.

McKinley struck out Kyle Caroll, but gave up a single to right field to Eager that scored Draper. He walked Crippen, and both Crippen and Eager attempted double steal as Copeland was being struck out. Catcher Brandon Provost rocket a ball to third, but it rolled into left field and that allowed Eager to score.

Lamar answered with one run in the bottom of the first when Kyle Markum put a single between the first and second baseman, and van der Meer came around to score after he led off the inning with a single to left field. He took second on Provot's single from the three-hole.

LU tied it up in the third when van der Meer came across on a ground out from Provost. Van der Meer singled to left center, took second on a wild pitch and advanced to third base on a grounder to the right side by Seeley.

The Wildcats made it 4-2 in the fifth inning when Carter singled to right field and scored Carroll and Eager. Carroll singled and Eager was intentionally walked. Lamar tied it again in the bottom of the frame.

CJ Moore, who was hit by a pitch scored from third on a wild pitch. Van der Meer scored when Provost put down a sacrifice bunt that would move him and Seeley over, but third baseman Darper threw to ball past his first baseman.

Eric Foshee worked 1.2 innings for the Cardinals and allowed two runs on four hits with a walk. Kyle Leggett was tagged with the loss on 1.1 frames of work and one run allowed no two hits. Collin Chapman closed out the game with only one hit and one walk in two innings.

Markum and van der Meer both finished the game with three hits in four tries. Van der Meer scored three runs and Markum had one run batted in.

Lamar continues its eight-game home stand on Tuesday when it hosts nationally-ranked Rice before opening a Southland Conference series on Thursday with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.