Lamar Reaches Title Game after 9-3 Win over McNeese State
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Lamar cruised to a 9-3 victory over McNeese State Friday to earn a spot in the championship game of the 2010 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament Saturday.
The seventh-seeded Cardinals (34-24) jumped on the Cowboys early with four runs in the bottom of the first inning. Quentin Luquette drove in the first run with a single through the left side. Wade Mathis singled to the right-field corner to score another and then Anthony Moore followed with a two-run homer to deep right-center field to make it a 4-0 game.
McNeese (31-27) showed the fight that helped it win two games as the No. 6 seed and scored three in the third. Steven Irvine singled through the left side to put the Cowboys on the board. A fielding error on the Lamar third baseman allowed two more runs to score.
That inning was the only blemish in an impressive start by Cardinal starter Jonathan Dziedzic, who pitched in relief in Lamar's tournament opening win against Northwestern State on Wednesday. Against McNeese, he allowed only one earned run (three total) on five hits to improve to 5-5 on the year. He struck out 10 and walked four, including two in the third inning.
He also had additional run support to relieve some of the pressure the rest of the way. Andy Mena doubled in a run in the fourth. Ryan Meade doubled in the first of two runs in the fifth. He scored later scored on a fielder's choice to make it a 7-3 game. Mena drove in two more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning on a single up the middle to give the Cardinals a six-run lead.
Mena finished with three RBI in a 2-for-4 effort. Aaron Buchanan, Anthony Moore and Joey Latulippe also had two of the Cardinals' 14 hits. Five different Cowboys each had one hit.
The Cardinals will face either UT Arlington or Texas State Saturday in the championship game on the Southland Conference Television Network. The telecast will begin at 6 p.m.
Lamar has won the tournament two times previously with titles in 2002 and 2004. The Cardinals, which have won a league-best 29 tournament games, have reached the title game five times, including three times consecutively from 2004-06.
Lamar coach Jim Gilligan
"He was struggling in the first inning, sort of regrouped and then had that bad inning that let them get back in the ball game. After that he made an adjustment and mowed through them for awhile. That was the difference for us. Then we swung the bat, we did a good job. I know that McNeese was hoping to get to tomorrow. They probably would have had (Jaden) Dillon coming back. It would have been a much tougher outing for us with Dillon on the mound. Our reliever really did a good job of keeping them off balance."
Lamar starting pitcher Jonathan Dziedzic
"Coach (Jim) Gilligan pointed out some mechanical issues in the third inning when I gave up the three runs. He came in, told me what I was doing wrong and helped me finish up seven innings.
"Fortunately, I had all my pitches late in the game, but my curveball was working really well today, as well as my changeup.
"Our hitting has really showed up this tournament; we're putting up eight runs a game. It just gives the pitcher that much more confidence and helps you relax when you are pitching."
McNeese State coach Terry Burrows
"Obviously it started a little bit rough for us. Taylor Ducoff went out and gave up four runs in the first inning. It puts you in a little bit of a bind but he pitched well and gave us a chance late in the game. Give Lamar credit, that guy that went out there; Dziedzic threw the ball well. Seven innings and three runs, he did a great job.
"Getting here, being a six-seed, it's going to be tough getting in there and finishing things up. I couldn't be more proud of this group of guys. They came in, battled hard and did a good job all year. The 10 seniors that are leaving, I couldn't be more proud of them but at the same time I've got a group of guys that are going to come back also. We'll get back to the tournament next year, hopefully make some noise and win it."