BEAUMONT, Texas — It was a battle between the two best pitchers in the Southland Conference.

Chris Olivier tossed a two-hitter to guide Lamar University to a 5-0 win over McNeese on Saturday night, evening the series at Vincent‑Beck Stadium.

The Cardinals struck first in the opening inning when Tab Tracy reached on a leadoff infield single to third and then stole second.

A.J. Taylor advanced Tracy with a sacrifice bunt, setting up a sacrifice fly to left by Braden Benton.

LU added another run in the fifth inning after loading the bases following a walk and two errors.

Taylor drove in Lane Sparks with a pop fly to shallow right-center.

The Cardinals rallied for two runs in the sixth inning after stringing together five consecutive singles.

Hector Rodriguez sparked the rally with a single through the left side, followed by an opposite-field single from Theo Kummer to put runners on first and second.

Kevin Duran then singled through the right side, setting up an infield RBI single to first by Sparks.

Balin Valentine added another run with an infield RBI single to short.

Sparks brought in Ayden Sunday on a sacrifice fly to center in the bottom of the eighth for the final run of the game.

Olivier struck out his final six batters of the night, including striking out the side in the seventh.

RECORDS: LU (11-8, 5-3); McNeese (9-9, 4-4)

GAME NOTES

• Sparks finished 1 for 2 with a single, a walk and two RBIs.
• Tracy extended his on base streak to 10 games, going 1 for 4 with a single, a walk and a stolen base.
• Valentine tallied a single, a double and an RBI to go 2 for 4.
• Duran lengthened his on base streak to eight games finishing 1 for 4 with a single.
• Beau Durbin tallied his team-best 27th hit of the season, going 1 for 4 with a double.
• Kummer went 1 for 3 with a single while Rodriguez ended up for 1 for 4 with a single.
• Olivier has recorded three double-digit strikeout performances at home, including the 12‑strikeout outing over 7.2 innings while allowing just two hits and two walks in Game 2 vs. McNeese.
• Olivier drops his ERA to 0.84 while improving to 3-0 with 44 strikeouts in 32.1 innings pitched.
• Travis Lutz did not allow a run in 1.1 innings of relief as he fanned one batter and allowed two hits.

UP NEXT

The series concludes at 1:05 p.m. Sunday, March 15.