BEAUMONT, Texas — Senior Matthew McDonald drove the first pitch he saw in 10th inning into the gap in right center scoring Chase Kemp from first to give Lamar University a 4-3 walk-off victory over Tarleton State Thursday evening at Vincent-Beck Stadium.
The victory extends the Cardinals (34-19/18-10 WAC) win streak to five consecutive and keeps alive their hopes of taking the top seed in the WAC’s Southwest Division.
The Cardinals scored their four runs on seven hits, while Tarleton scored three runs – all in the fourth inning – on five hits. It was a struggle defensively on both sides the diamond as each team finished the night with three errors.
Braxton Douthit got the start and gave LU 7.0 strong innings, with the only blot on his line coming in the third inning where the sun wreaked havoc on the left side of field allowing balls safely to the ground. Douthit surrendered all three runs in that inning and didn’t figure into the decision. He finished the night allowing just three runs – two earned – on four hits with six strikeouts and no walks. Jack Dallas (4-0) pitched the final two-thirds of an inning recording the strikeout to pick up the win.
Luke Baley went 6.0 strong innings for Tarleton allowing two earned runs on three hits with four strikeouts. Zane Badmaev took the loss allowing the final two runs to come across.
Kevin Bermudez led the LU offense with a 3-for-5 night including an RBI and a run scored. McDonald was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.
The Texans scored their three runs all in the fourth inning, and LU – which had been held scoreless heading into the bottom half of the fourth – methodically worked their way back into the game. Big Red got solo runs in the fourth, sixth and seventh innings, and got shutdown innings from the pen for set up McDonald’s dramatics in the 10th.
Kemp led off the inning with a six-pitch walk, then Reese Durand flied out to center setting the stage for McDonald.
The victory pulls LU a half game closer to Sam Houston, who at the time of print was trailing Abilene Christian, 10-3, heading into the 9th inning. The Cardinals enter the final series of the season trailing The Bearkats by two games.
LU returns for game two of the series Friday, with first pitch slated for 6 p.m. from Vincent-Beck Stadium.