BEAUMONT, Texas – The Lamar University softball program captured a comeback win in game one and dominated game two to secure two wins over Texas Southern to begin the week of play.
 
GAME 1 – Lamar 7, Texas Southern 6
 
The Tigers got to work early in game one as they took a 3-0 lead in the first after a triple form Tevana Tate that brought home all three runs. Sophomore Nicolete Ramriez tallied a double to left center in the bottom of one, but Lamar did not get anything going offensively. Texas Southern extended their lead in the second on a single to left.
 
Going into the fifth with a 5-0 lead over Lamar, the Tigers looked to get to eight runs but fell short as they only tallied one run in the inning. The Cardinals got some offense going in the bottom of the fifth, but it was in the sixth that the Big Red allowed one Tiger hit and then exploded to tie the game in the bottom of the frame. After three straight walks, the Cards got their first run of the game on a wild pitch by the Texas Southern pitcher.
 
Redshirt senior Victoria Garivey pinched hit in the sixth and it paid off for the senior as she doubled to right center that brought in Kaylee Ancelot and Hannah Kinkade. Freshman Audry Fleming singled up the middle and then stole second as junior Brooke Smith came to the plate. Smith went onto tally the RBI single and that at-bat moved Fleming to third. Ramirez was the next Cardinal batter and put the second pitch to center field for a single that brought home two runs to tie the game at six a piece heading into the final frame.
 
The mighty Cardinal defense forced the Tigers to go three up three down in the top of the seventh. Lamar needed just one run in the seventh to capture the comeback win and they got it as Garivey tallied a sacrifice fly to center field that brought home sophomore Hannah Kinkade as the Cards took game one, 7-6.
 
GAME 2 – Lamar 7, Texas Southern 1
 
The Cardinals kept the hot bats going in game two as Kinkade jacked a two-run home run to right center field to put the Cards on the board first. The Lamar defense tightened up as the only committed one error in game two. The Tigers looked to get something going in the first two innings, but it was freshman Breanna Reyna that turned on the burners in the second contest as she tallied three strikeouts and only allowed one run in the fourth.
 
The Cardinals extended their lead in the second after sophomore Olivia Taylor recorded a sacrifice fly to right field that brought in Murphy. The bats continued to be hot for the Big Red in the third on another sacrifice hit, this time from Kaylee Ancelot, that extended the LU lead to 5-0.
 
Texas Southern tallied their lone run of game two on a triple to center by Juli Bilbao. Heading into the bottom of the fifth, the Cardinals went onto add one run to their lead on a double to right center by senior Hannah Carpenter that was able to be prolonged enough to bring in freshman Aleka Xayaseng. The Cardinals went onto add one more to push their lead to six in the sixth, and the Big Red defense was able to hold the Tiger offense at bay as Lamar went onto capture game two by a score of 7-1.
 
UP NEXT: The Cardinals will travel east to Lake Charles, Louisiana to take on McNeese in Southland Conference play with a single game on Friday, April 2^nd and then a doubleheader on Saturday, April 3^rd.