BEAUMONT – Saturday's game was just a flipped script of Friday's, and this time it was UT Rio Grande Valley's Austin Oakes three-run double to left center in the eighth inning that broke a tie and downed the Lamar University baseball team 7-3 at Vincent-Beck Stadium in non-conference action.
 
The Cardinals (8-4) and Vaqueros (4-7) were knotted at 2-2 when LU pitching gave up three free passes to the top three hitters in the UTRGV order. Fernando Martinez issued a walk to Joseph Callazo to start the frame and was followed by a hit by pitch to Jose Garcia and walk to Cole Loncar which loaded the bases. The hit by pitch and second walk were given up by Enrique Oquendo.
 
Oquendo had a strike on Oakes, but the designated hitter took the second pitch he saw and split the Cardinal outfielders. The inning mimicked Jake Nash's bases-loaded triple to right center that broke a tie Friday and won the game for LU. Only one of the runners when he stepped to the plate reached on a hit, the other two made it on a walk and hit by pitch.
 
"We won yesterday when they walked and hit a guy. Things got loaded up and then Nash hits a triple that unloaded them," said Gilligan. "It was the same today for us. We walked a couple and hit a guy, and they do the same thing. Almost identical ball games."
 
Eventually, Oakes would make it to third base and scored to final UTRGV run on a sacrifice fly to right field.
 
UTRGV (1-1) starter Andrew Garcia worked a complete game for the Vaqueros and gave up three runs (two earned) on 11 hits and did not walk a batter. He hurled 121 pitches and struck out four.  
 
"(UTRGV's) starter did a great job of using the park. Tip your hat to him, he did a great job," said Gilligan. "A complete game this time of year is very unusual, but he was good.
 
The Vaqueros jumped up 1-0 early when Loncar singled home Callazo just three batters into the game. Collazo reached after he took a hit by pitch, and made it to third when Jose Garcia double to right center. The Cardinals responded with one run in both the second and third frames. The run in the second was Robin Adames, who reached on an error, and back-to-back singles from Reid Russell and Ryan Erickson drove him in.
 
In the third, Jake Nash singled to a diving Scott Mercer at third base, but reached first before the ball did.  He took second on a single through the left side by Cutter McDowell and scored on Bryndan Arredondo's single down the left field line.
 
UTRGV tied it in the sixth on an inning that was started by a LU infield error. Collazo reached on the error and then scored in the next at-bat on Jose Garcia's double to left center field.
 
The final tally of the game was Adames again who scored on a RBI double from Chaneng Varela in the ninth.
 
Jayson McKinley started the game on the mound for Lamar, and worked six strong innings and gave up two runs (one earned) on four hits with four strikeouts. After the shaky first ended on a double play, the senior sat down 11-straight batters and worked three-straight perfect innings.  
 
"McKinley did his job today. I'm sure he had a lot on his mind, but he gave us everything he had," said Gilligan. "We just couldn't come up with the timely hit to back him up."
 
The LU bullpen finished the game with three innings of work and four runs allowed on six hits and a walk. Martinez (1-2) suffered the loss on one inning of work with a run allowed on no hits and a walk.
 
Arredondo and Russell were both 2-of-4 in the game, Arredondo had a run driven in. Adames was 1-for-4 with two runs scored. All but one Cardinal notched a base knock in the game.   
 
Both teams will look to grab a series win on Sunday at 1 p.m. when they square off at The Beck. Billy Love (0-0, 1.29 earned run average) is expected to get the start on the mound for the Cardinals and faceoff against Ryan Jackson (0-2, 3.09).