NEW ORLEANS, La. – For the first time since 2004, Lamar University has won a share of the Southland Conference title. The Cardinals swept a doubleheader from New Orleans Thursday in extremely different ways. The Cardinals thumped UNO, 12-3, in the first game but had to rally late for a for game-two victory, 10-9, at Maestri Field.
 
The Cardinals, who also secured their first 40-win season since 2004 in the first game of the day, will now look to win the title outright Friday when they return to the diamond looking for the series sweep.
 
The Cardinals scored 22 runs on 29 hits between the two games and used the long ball to their advantage. Big Red slugged eight home runs from six different players as Ethan Ruiz had two blasts in game one and River Orsak followed with a two in the second.
 
The Cardinals also hit back-to-back-to-back homers in the seventh inning of the first game (Tanner Wilson, Ruiz and Drake Varnado).
 
Game one saw LU record 15 hits from eight different players led by multi-hit games from three different Cardinals, including a career night from Ruiz (4-for-5, 2 HRs, 5 RBIs and 3 runs). Varnado was 3-for-5 with a double, HR, and 2 runs scored and Wilson finished the game 2-for-4 (RBI, 3 runs).
 
The Cardinals scored their runs in the fourth (4), fifth (2), seventh (3) and ninth (3) innings, while holding UNO scored solo runs in the second, fifth and seventh.
 
Senior Brooks Caple (7-3) picked up his seventh win of the season after pitching 7.0 innings allowing just three runs on four hits with eight strikeouts. He was one of just two pitchers to take the mound in the first game for LU.
 
After UNO got on the scoreboard in the second, LU hung its first crooked number of the day on the board with a four-spot in the fourth. The Cards scored four runs on three hits in the inning and took advantage of a UNO error. Austin Roccaforte got things started with a one-out double. Ruiz dug in following a walk to Wilson and crushed a 1-2 pitch over the left field wall.
 
Moments later, Varnado doubled and was moved to third on a grounder off the bat of Kanin Dodge but an errant throw from first back to third allowed Varnado to trot home for another LU run.
 
UNO was able to scratch across a run in their half of the fifth inning, but that came after Lamar scored two runs on two solo shots – Zak Skinner and Austin Roccaforte – to take a 6-2 lead.
 
Lamar maintained the four-run lead when the trio of Wilson, Ruiz and Varnado went back-to-back-back to make it a seven-run advantage. It marked homers number four, five and six of the game for Big Red.
 
Lamar pushed across three more runs in the ninth to put the game away.
 
Game two saw LU score 10 runs on 14 hits, scoring in the first four innings and again in the ninth. UNO finished the second game with nine runs on 11 hits.
 
Eight different Cardinals collected hits in the second game led by multi-hit performances from Dodge, Brayden Evans, Orsak and a 4-of-5 effort from Logan Hamm.
 
Jacob Ellis got the start and gave the Cardinals 4.1 innings allowing six runs on seven hits with five strikeouts. He was one of five pitchers for LU in the second game as Jackson Cleveland got the win (5-0) and Austin Neal came on in the ninth to get the save.
 
The Cardinals appeared to be following the same script in the second game in terms of using the long ball to their advantage behind two home runs from Orsak. The Cardinals appeared to be off and running in the second contest building a 4-0 lead before a rain delay halted action for nearly an hour in the second inning.
 
New Orleans responded to the delay by scoring two runs in the second and third innings, but LU always had an answer and took an 8-4 lead into the bottom half of the fifth. That inning saw New Orleans score four runs on three hits and take advantage of one costly error to tie the game at 8. The Privateers would tack on another run in the seventh to take their first lead of the since early in the first game.
 
Despite the change in momentum, the Cardinals would have an answer and it would come with two outs and in the form of an unlikely hero. Playing in just his 10^th-game of the season, Scott Jones was called on to pinch hit and he rewarded head coach Will Davis' decision with a double (on a 2-2 pitch) over the right fielder's head scoring Ruiz and Peyton Sanderson, who entered the game as pinch runner.
 
Neal came on in relief in the ninth and shut the Privateers down in order to pick up his seventh save of the season.
 
The Cardinals return to action Friday looking to secure the series sweep and the outright conference title. Game three is slated for a 1 p.m. start and will be streamed live on ESPN+.