Cowboys flat in 12-5 loss to Lamar on Thursday

BEAUMONT – Lamar produced one of its most impressive offensive outings of the season while McNeese gave up the most hits in a game on the year as the Cardinals posted a 12-5 win over the Cowboys in the first game of a three-game Southland Conference baseball series here Thursday night.

The Cardinals (17-36, 11-17 SLC) put 20 hits on the board, the most in conference play by the Cardinals and second-most overall on the year.

Game two of the series will carry a 6 p.m. first pitch on Friday.

The loss by the Cowboys (25-29, 15-13 SLC) combined with a win by Houston Baptist, dropped McNeese to sixth place in the league standings. McNeese can still finish in a tie for third place with wins on Friday and Saturday, and losses on both of those days by Central Arkansas and Northwestern State.

The hit barrage started right off the bat for the Cardinals when Lamar belted out seven hits in the first inning that led to four runs and an early 4-0 lead.

The hits kept coming for the Cardinals against McNeese starting pitcher Grant Anderson who threw 5 2/3 innings and gave up eight runs on 15 hits while taking the loss and dropping his record to 4-6 on the season.

It’s his second straight start where he’s allowed 10 or more hits.

McNeese (25-29, 15-13 SLC) battled back with a run in the second inning on a RBI double by Jake Cochran, then tied the game at 4-4 in the third on a RBI sac bunt by Reid Bourque then a two-run single by Joe Provenzano to knot things up.

After that, the Cowboys managed just one more hit in the game as Lamar added two runs in the bottom of the third, two in the sixth, and four runs in the seventh.

Lamar starting pitcher Tanner Driskill improved to 6-5 on the season after picking up the win following 6 2/3 innings of action and giving up five runs on six hits.

Six Cowboy batters combined for the team’s six hits. Provenzano extended his hitting streak to 12 games with his third inning single. That also increased his career record mark to 249.

Mitchell Rogers hit his seventh home run of the season with a solo blast in the top of the fifth inning to cut the deficit to 6-5.

Robin Adames, the only player in the Lamar lineup with a home run, belted a two-run homer in the sixth inning, his fifth on the year, to put the Cardinals up 8-5.

Lamar opened things up in the seventh on an RBI double by Chase Kemp, a two-run single by Avery George, then an RBI double by Adames to make it a 12-5 game.

All but one starter in the lineup had a hit for the Cardinals while seven of the nine posted two or more base hits.