AUSTIN, Texas – Lamar University (1-3) jumped out early on #14 Texas (3-1) but couldn't hold on Wednesday night at UFCU Disch-Falk Field with temperatures dropping to as low as 41 with a wind chill of 37. The Longhorns defeated the Cardinals 7-2.

"It was disappointing, because I know we're capable of playing better than that," said head coach Will Davis. "I think we let the conditions affect us, and that's a shame because we've practiced in this before and I think we could have been better than that. Infield defense is a strength of our team, and to make three infield errors was disappointing to say the least. It's all about perspective. Three of our four games so far have been against ranked teams, and all four have been against teams that played in the NCAA Regionals last year and have a lot more experience than we have."

Lamar struck quickly, putting one across in the first. Grant DeVore led off with a three-pitch single past second base, and was joined on the base paths by Cole Secrest, who drew a five-pitch walk. Chase Kemp was plunked by Texas's Nico O'Donnell just two pitches later, loading the bases with no outs. A single sent blazing up the middle by Robin Adames gave Big Red a 1-0 lead, but the Cardinals also got their first out of the inning when Secrest was thrown out trying to score and give LU a 2-0 lead.

A walk of Cole Coker loaded the bases again with one out, but a double play ended the Lamar threat. Taylor Rich struck out two to keep Texas off the board and looked nigh untouchable in the first, and the Cards took a 1-0 lead into the second inning.

Texas scored its first run of the game in the second on the strength of a single, a sac bunt, and an RBI double down the right field line. The Longhorns had a runner in scoring position with the game tied and one out, but he was caught attempting to steal third by Chad McKinney. A flyout to Mike Leal kept the game tied at 1-1 through two innings.

Rich opened the third inning with his third strikeout of a Longhorn, then forced a groundout of the next batter. Texas worked two full-count walks to put a runner in scoring position with two outs, but Rich struck out Austin Todd looking to end the threat. He finished the night with four strikeouts, two walks, and one earned run on three hits.

"I'm really excited about the pitching staff, and I think the way Taylor threw the ball tonight is really exciting," said Davis. "He held them at bay and they had a hard time hitting his fast ball and that's a Big 12 team. I think he could be a real factor for us moving forward. Our pitching staff continues to get better and better the more these new guys get out there, and once we get to conference play and only have to play three games in a weekend it will be a tough matchup."

The cold conditions started to affect the Cardinals in the fourth. After Mike Leal singled through the middle with one out, he expired on a 5-4-3 double play. Three errors in the bottom of the inning allowed Texas to score two runs, giving the 14th ranked Horns to take a 3-1 lead after four innings.

Consecutive plunkings of DeVore and Secrest by the Texas pitcher in the top of the fifth gave Lamar a shot to pull within one run, but a deep shot by Chase Kemp was caught in the wind, hanging long enough for the Horns rightfielder to get underneath it and again end the Cardinal threat. A walk, a double, a triple, an error, and a sac fly put four more across for Texas, giving the Longhorns a 7-1 lead after five.

AbeRee Hiebert, Marcus Olivarez, and Ryan Johnson held Texas in check through the final three innings, allowing just three more hits.

On what easily could have been the fourth ball of the at-bat and a free base for Adames with no outs, the junior from Bronx, N.Y., decided to take three more from the Longhorns. He knocked the laces off of a ball that was about a foot off the plate, driving it over the right field fence. Adames was the lone Cardinal with multiple hits and had both of LU's RBI.

Lamar returns to Vincent-Beck Stadium on Friday to start a four-game series against Hofstra (0-0). This will mark the first meeting between the Cardinals and the Pride. Inclement weather could once again play a factor in the scheduling of the weekend series, so Cardinal fans should stay tuned to LamarCardinals.com and @Lamar_Baseball on Twitter for updates.