Final Stats

BEAUMONT - Lamar held a 5-1 lead after four innings, but Incarnate Word continued to figh and used a three-run top of the ninth to rally to an 8-6 win and Southland Conference series victory Sunday afternoon at Vincent-Beck Stadium.

It was UIW's (15-27, 6-15 Southland Conference) second league series win, and Lamar's (19-24, 8-13) third straight to lose.

UIW was down 6-5 at the outset of the ninth inning, and Lamar put Brandon Kirkham on the hill to try and close out the game. Kirkham- who took the loss- struck out the first batter he saw in Aaron Warren, but was pulled after he surrendered a single and walk.

Enrique Oquendo entered the contest with two on and one out, and struck out cleanup hitter Austin Hoffman. He loaded the bases one batter later on a walk and was pulled for Kyle Leggett. The big hit came from catcher Weston Pitts, who entered the as a defensive replacement in the bottom of the eighth, when he scorched a sinking liner into center field and gave the visiting Cardinals a 7-6 lead.

Brance Kahle pushed the score to 8-6 on a roller through the left side that scored Jesse Hoover.

UIW scored the first run of the game in the top of the first, but Stijn van der Meer picked up right where left his 4-for-4 performance on Saturday with a RBI-double in the first to tie the game and scored on Mason Salazar's single deep to the shortstop hole.

LU took the lead and held it until UIW's ninth inning rally.

Salazar recorded his second run batted in of the game on a sacrifice fly in the third that scored Reed Seeley for the second time. Seeley's first run was on van der Meer's double.

The home Cardinals took advantage of an error from UIW to score two in the fourth to push it out to a 5-1 lead. The bases were loaded when van der Meer hit a bouncer to UIW's first baseman Colton Besett who air mailed the ball to the plate to get the force at home. Joe Arechiga (who was on third) and CJ Moore (second) scored on the play.

UIW answered with three in the fifth to make it 5-4, but Lamar pushed it back out to a two-run lead in the sixth when Jake Nash singled home Seeley for his third score.

Collin Chapman started the game for Lamar, and was pulled after he worked into some trouble in UIW's three-run fifth. Other than the first inning run, Chapman kept the Incarnate Word hitters off balance. He was perfect in the second and fourth frames, and retired nine of 10 batters from the second to fourth innings.

Joe Farley relieved him and was pulled without recording an out for Derek Wade, who pitched 2.2 innings with one run allowed on three hits and a walk. Will Hibbs worked the eighth before Kirkham (1-2), Oquendo and Leggett pitched the ninth.

UIW starter Brandon Anderson was pulled after three innings, and was on the hook for the loss until the ninth. Kris Looper (2-5) took over for him and finished the game with three runs on seven hits allowed.

Seeley was 3-of-3 on the day and reached in every plate appearance he had. Van der Meer finished the game with two hits in four at-bats.

Lamar hosts its final midweek game on Wednesday at 4:00 against Texas Southern before traveling to first place Southeastern Louisiana on Friday at 6:00 for a three-game conference set.