Stephen F. Austin
Lamar
'Jacks Fall To Cardinals in Extras, 9-8
5/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Lamar 9, Stephen F. Austin 8 (10 innings)
Vincent-Beck Stadium • Beaumont, Texas
Records: SFA (17-34, 11-18 SLC); LU (20-30, 9-18 SLC)
Up Next: at Oklahoma • Tuesday, May 12 • 6:00 p.m.
BEAUMONT, Texas -- Stephen F. Austin raced out to an early 5-0 lead in the series finale against Lamar, only to see the Cardinals rally late to force extra innings. Lamar then rallied once more in the 10th, handing SFA the 9-8 loss in the Lumberjacks' 2015 SLC finale.
The Lumberjacks fall to 17-34 on the year and close out their 2015 SLC slate with an 11-18 record. SFA took the series against Lamar two games to one, giving the Lumberjacks four SLC series victories on the year (A&M-Corpus Christi, Sam Houston State and Abilene Christian were the others).
After scoring six runs over the final three innings in Saturday's 8-1 win, SFA's bats remained hot early against Lamar Sunday, scoring five runs over the first two innings. The `Jacks raced out to a 2-0 lead in the first thanks to RBI singles from Dan O'Neill and Brandon Smith, then notched three more in the second as O'Neill added two more RBI with Nick Ramos adding to the outburst.
Lamar cut into that lead with three runs in the third, which was answered with a Kyle Thornell RBI off a leadoff double from Conner Fikes in the fourth as SFA doubled up Lamar 6-3.
The Cardinals kept pecking away at the lead, however, recording two more runs in the bottom of the fourth to pull to within one at 6-5. SFA had a great chance in the top of the fifth, loading the bases as Eric DeJesus drew a two-out walk, bringing Smith home to make it 7-5. But that was all the runs the `Jacks could tally as SFA left eight runners on base on the day.
Lamar, playing in its final home game of the season, kept fighting back, scoring a run in the sixth, then notching the equalizer in the eighth to tie the game 7-7. The Cardinals had a chance to win it in the ninth, loading the bases with no outs. But a 5-2-3 double play, followed by a groundout to short kept SFA alive, sending the game into extra innings.
SFA manufactured a run in the 10th, beginning with a leadoff single by Garrett McMullen. A sac bunt by Tyler Boxwell and a stolen base advanced McMullen to third, and then a sac fly from Hunter Wilson brought him home, giving SFA the 8-7 lead heading to the bottom of the 10th.
Once again, Lamar loaded the bases in the bottom half of the inning, scoring the tying run on an RBI single to left. With the bases still loaded, the final Cardinal batter was hit by a Tyler Wiedenfeld pitch, bringing the winning run across the plate and salvaging the final game of the series.
The Lumberjacks finished with 10 hits on the day, eight of which came in the first five innings. O'Neill, Fikes and Smith each recorded a pair of hits for SFA with O'Neill leading the way with three RBI on the afternoon.
Starter Jarred Greene took the no decision after allowing five runs on eight hits through 3.2 innings of work. Wiedenfeld took the loss, allowing two runs on two hits in 1.1 innings while also registering his first blown save of the season.
With SLC play in the books, SFA has just one game remaining in the 2015 season. The Lumberjacks make the trek north to Norman, Oklahoma, facing Big 12 foe Oklahoma in the season finale. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. at L. Dale Mitchell Park.
-SFA-
