BATON ROUGE, La. - Lamar University (14-27) came within inches Tuesday in a mid-week showdown at #9 Louisiana State University (27-15). The Cardinals ultimately fell 5-3 to the Tigers at Alex Box Stadium.

"I was really happy with the way we competed," said head coach Will Davis. "We played mistake-free baseball for the most part. Our pitchers pounded the strike zone and our guys had really good at-bats all night but we just didn't do quite enough. One swing made the difference in this game. It's a game of inches at times, and that's been the story of our season so far. We've been really close all year, but it still goes down as a loss which is unfortunate. The positive thing is that almost everyone that played in this game will be back next year. Last year when we played in this types of places we'd play scared and tense, and I don't see that from this team any more. We meet the challenge head-on now, and it's exciting to see how they'll continue to develop moving forward."

Starter Jack Dallas was largely untouchable through four innings of work, facing the minimum in the first, third, and fourth innings. His only blemish came in the second. The Tigers barely out-ran a 4-6-3 double play to keep the inning alive and then hit a three-run homer two at-bats later, putting LSU up 3-0. Relievers Marcus Olivarez, Dylan Johnson, Kristjan Storrie, and Ryan Erickson combined for just one more hit, two earned runs, two walks, and four strikeouts in the final four innings, shutting down the Tigers altogether in the three innings.

Lamar matched the Tigers in hits through the first four innings but were bit by bad luck in each frame. In the first Avery George led off with a single but was called out for interferring on the base paths, turning Cole Girouard's single into a fielder's choice. In the second Logan Berlof singled but was barely picked off, and in the third and fourth innings the Cards got lead-off bases runners only to see them struck down in double plays.

Robin Adames got the scoring started for the Cards in the fifth inning. The senior from The Bronx, N.Y., took one pitch before smashing a ball 387 feet to left center field, bringing himself home. It was his seventh homer of the year and his 25th career moon shot. Rhett McCall led off the sixth with a single and reached second on a wild pitch, then Cole Coker singled him home with two outs, bringing LU within three of LSU through six innings.

Both teams went down in order in the seventh and eighth before the ninth got interesting. Girouard led off with a single to left on the first pitch he saw, but a bad luck play ended his night. With one out JC Correa hit what he thought would be a single only for the LSU right fielder to catch Girouard hesitating between first and second. The Tiger outfielder beat Girouard to second and turned Correa's hit into a fielder's choice. A walk of Adames put runners on first and second with two outs, and Berlof was walked in the next at-bat to load the bases. Anthony Quirion was beaned by the first pitch he saw to earn a painful RBI, and a strikeout ended the Cardinal rally. LSU narrowly escaped with a 5-3 decision over Lamar.

The Cardinals return to action on Friday with the first of three Southland Conference games at New Orleans. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m., though weather could play a factor in the schedule.