ABILENE, Texas – Runs did not come at a premium Friday night, but the top of the Lamar University baseball team's order slugged the Cardinals by Abilene Christian 17-11 in the first of a three-game Southland Conference series at Crutcher Scott Field.
 
The top four of Lamar's (23-16, 10-9 Southland) order, made up of Cutter McDowell, Reid Russell, Robin Adames and Trey Silvers, was a combined 11-of-21 with 11 runs scored and four driven in; five of the 11 base hits were for extra bases. Lamar's 17 runs are the most it's scored on the season in league play during the 2017 campaign.
 
McDowell was 2-of-7 with a run, RBI and double, and in the slot behind him Russell was 3-for-6 with three runs, an RBI and long ball. Robin Adames tied his career best for runs in game at four on a 4-for-5 day with two RBI and two extra-base knocks (double and homer). Silvers rounded out the group with a 2-for-3 day, two RBI and a double. He drew two walks and was plunked by a pitch to reach five times.
 
Thirty-eight hits were accounted for between both teams. In total, the game lasted 3 hours, 55 minutes.
 
Russell, Adames and Chad Fleischman – twice - powered balls over the wall, but it was back-to-back five-run innings that was the story of the game, the first of which came after the Wildcats (10-24, 1-18) used their own five-run third inning to tie the contest.
 
LU jumped back out and grabbed the lead in the fourth when Trey Silvers popped a RBI-single to right field that pushed across Russell, who reached on a leadoff single. Following Russell's single, a walk to Adames and Silvers' double, Bryndan Arredondo smoked a pitch back up the middle that made it 7-5 – Adames scored and Silvers moved up to third.
 
Still with no outs, Cole Coker rolled over to the right side and looked to reach first safely, but was called out on a controversial ruling. Silvers scored on the play. The inning was capped by Fleischman's two-run long ball to left field.
 
He launched another home run in the seventh inning, which gave him three in two games and six on the season.
 
LU's starter Carson Lance (6-4) answered with a shutdown inning in the fourth, and used a double play to end it after Mark Pearson reached on an error. The Cardinals ran back out and put another five runs up in the fifth, which with back-to-back one-out singles from Adames and Silvers.
 
Arredondo split the gap in left center and scored both. Two walks, issued to Cole Coker and Phil Ingram, loaded the bags for a two-run single down the left field line from Grant DeVore in the nine-spot. DeVore's single made it 15-5.
 
The Wildcats were able to draw it closer with two runs in the bottom of the fifth and then another in the sixth. Cole Solomon walked in a run in the eighth and Jose Trevino popped a towering home run to right field that put them over the 10-run threshold. ACU is only the third team break that barrier on LU.
 
All told the Cardinals mashed 22 base hits, the most since they put up 22 against ACU on April 2 of last season. They were kept off the board in only two, the sixth and ninth, and only went down in order in the sixth.
 
Ingram was 3-for-4 from the eighth spot with two runs, and in front of him Fleischman was 2-of-6 with his two bombs. DeVore tied Fleischman and Arredondo (3-for-5) with team-lead of three RBI.
 
Russell kicked off the game with a solo shot in the first inning that was the first of two runs in the inning after Coker's RBI-single drove in Adames. Lamar put up two more the second inning, one on an error that pushed across McDowell and the other on an Adames single that scored Russell – who also reached on a single in the at-bat before.  
 
Big Red used another error in the third to grab another run. Ingram was hit in the wrist on a pitch. He took off for second on a wild pitch and ran to third when the attempt to get him rolled into center field. DeVore scored him with a sacrifice fly.
 
Lance earned the win after he left the mound with a 15-7 lead to end the fifth. He gave up eight hits and two walks in five innings, and struck out seven batters. Russell Crippen jumped on Lance with a leadoff single, but the Cardinal pitcher dialed up three-straight strikeouts to end the inning. He struck out five batters before he gave up his first run.
 
Ryan Cawthon took over in the sixth inning and worked into the seventh before he was pulled with two runners on. His final numbers were an inning of work with one run given up on three hits and two walks. Brett Brown took over in the seventh and struck out three batters to get out of that jam, two of them with the bases loaded.
 
Brown was pulled after two innings. He allowed one run on two hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Tanner Driskill closed out the game and worked 2/3 of an inning with a single allowed.
 
ACU's starter Caleb Dougherty (0-2) lasted just 1 1/3 innings, and gave up four runs (three earned) on six hits and a walk. Austin Lambright followed him and worked the longest at 2 2/3, and gave up six runs (five earned) on five hits and two walks.
 
The Wildcats worked through five pitchers in the contest, and all but one fell victim to the Cardinals scoring.
 
The Cardinals will try for the series win at 2 p.m. Saturday at Crutcher Scott Field. Jimmy Johnson (3-4, 3.07 earned run average) takes the hill and will be faced by ACU's Zach Kornely (0-2, 6.52). The finale is slated for 1 p.m. Sunday.