HUNTSVILLE – The Sam Houston Bearkats could not solve the riddle of the Lamar pitching staff on Saturday, falling 1-0 to the Cardinals at Don Sanders Stadium.
Despite a brilliant 7.0 innings from starter
Steven Beard that saw him allow just one unearned run on four hits, the Bearkat (23-19, 13-7 WAC) bats only mustered five hits against the combination of Lamar (27-16, 13-7 WAC) starter Adam Wheaton and a pair of relievers.
The win, the second in a row for the Cardinals in the series, pulls LU into a tie with the Bearkats for first place atop the WAC Southwest Division.
The game's lone run came in the fourth inning when the Cardinals took advantage of the Kats lone error in the game. Kelby Weyler reached on a fielding error and one batter later Matthew McDonald doubled off the left-field wall to plate him.
The double was the only extra-base hit of the game for either team with McDonald being the only player for either team with multiple hits.
The Kats proceeded to have runners in scoring position in each of the next three innings, but couldn't get any home. The best opportunity came in the sixth when the Kats loaded the bases with two away before Wheaton was able to get out of the jam with a key strikeout of
Hunter Autrey.
The Kats and Cardinals will play the series finale on Sunday beginning at 1:00 p.m. at The Don.
