Box Score CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Lamar University jumped out to a 6-0 lead behind home runs from Kyle Harper and Ethan Ruiz and never looked back defeating Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 7-2, Wednesday evening at Chapman Field. The victory – LU's sixth in its last eight games – moves Big Red to 14-7 (.667) on the season.
 
The Cardinals finished the night with nine hits behind 2-for-4 performances from both Harper and Ruiz. Both Cardinals finished the night with three RBI's and at least one run scored. Senior Kirkland Banks recorded the Cardinals other RBI.
 
Sophomore Josh Ekness got the start and worked his way through some early traffic to pitch 2.0 scoreless innings. He struck out three Islanders while surrendering just one hit on a night that saw 10 different Cardinals take the mound. Big Red's staff allowed just two runs on seven hits while striking out nine Islanders (with only two walks).
 
The Islanders started Cassius Shy, but he took the loss after surrendering four runs – three earned – on six hits with three walks in 2.2 innings pitched. He struck out just two batters on the night.
 
For the Cardinals, the runs were coming in pairs, as LU hung a two spot in the second, third and fifth innings to build a six-run lead. It didn't appear early that LU would have the opportunity to snag the first lead of the game. The Islanders opened the night with runners on second and third and no outs in their half of the first, before Ekness fought back to strike out the next two batters and eventually escape the inning unharmed.
 
The Cardinals made their guests pay for not taking advantage of the opportunity. Matthew McDonald led off the next inning by reaching on and error, and Ben MacNaughton moved him over to third on a single four pitches later. The Cardinals scored the first run of the game on a fielder's choice off the bat of Ruiz. Two batters later, Harper drove a 3-2 pitch into left field to give the good guys a two-run lead.
 
The Cardinals were back on the attack in their half of the third inning. Still leading by two, LU opened the inning with three consecutive singles to load the bases. With one out in the inning, the Cardinals got an RBI single from Ruiz and an RBI walk from Banks to extend their lead to four, 4-0.
 
It remained a 4-0 lead until the top half of the fifth, when Harper bashed a 3-1 pitch over the wall to take a 6-0 advantage. After the Harper's blast, Big Red's bullpen went to work limiting the Islanders' opportunities late in the game. John Altman came on to shut down Corpus Christi in the fifth, followed by Landon Odom in the sixth. The Islanders managed to get two back in the seventh before the bullpen restored order in the eighth.
 
The Cardinals tacked on an insurance run in the ninth with Ruiz's first home run of the season. That was the final exclamation point in a five-run victory.
 
The Cards return to action Friday when they travel to Edinburg, Texas to face UT Rio Grande Valley in a conference contest. Friday's first pitch is slated for a 7 p.m. first pitch.