No. 3 Lamar Defeats No. 6 Sam Houston State in Game One of Southland Tournament
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LAKE CHARLES, La. –Third-seeded Lamar earned a 6-2 victoy over sixth-seeded Sam Houston State Wednesday afternoon at the Cowgirl Diamond on the campus of McNeese in Lake Charles, La. With the win, the Cardinals advance to the second round to take on No. 2 seed Nicholls later today.
Lamar (33-20, 18-9 Southland) relied on standout second-team all-conference pitcher Ciara Luna, who reached her 100th strikeout on the season after facing her first two batters today. Luna pitched a complete game, giving up only four hits and two runs.
The Cardinals scored first in the bottom of the second as Sam Houston pitcher Lindsey McLeod hit Maddy Myer with a pitch with bases loaded. Still rattled McLeod walked another Cardinal to make the score 2-0 before she was pulled for Jordan Franks.
Lamar increased its lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the fourth as Stephanie Meeuwsen scored on a passed ball.
First baseman Codi Carpenter was Sam Houston’s only answer with a two-run single in the top of the fifth inning. The Cardinals responded with back-to-back doubles by outfielder Brittany Rodriguez and third baseman Sable Hankins to end the fifth up 3-1.
Lamar bats went off in the bottom of the sixth with four hits, including three-consecutive doubles, for two runs to put the game away 6-2.
Sam Houston earned four hits in the game but was unable to capitalize on scoring opportunities late in the game, leaving runners stranded in the fifth and sixth innings.
No. 3 Lamar will now play second-seeded Nicholls (38-15, 21-5 Southland) later today from the Cowgirl Diamond. Last weekend, Nicholls defeated Lamar in the final Southland series of the regular season.
Sixth-seed Sam Houston State (20-31, 12-14 Southland) will now play at 11 a.m. tomorrow morning in the first game of back-draw play. The Bearkats’ opponent will be against the loser of tonight’s game between No. 1 seed McNeese and the winner of No. 4 Central Arkansas and No. 5 Stephen F. Austin.
Tournament play continues this afternoon in Lake Charles, La., with the Bears taking on the Ladyjacks at approximately 1:30 p.m.
The Southland title game is slated for a 2 p.m. start Friday with a possibility of second game for the tournament championship. The 11th game would be played in the event an undefeated team lost in the title game forcing a second game for the tournament championship, upholding the double elimination format. Game 11 start time is to be determined.
For more information on the tournament, including a link to
live stats, please visit
Southland.org. For updates and the most current information throughout the tournament please follow the Southland Conference on twitter at SouthlandSports and use the hashtag #SLCSoftball.
The first nine games of the 2016 Southland Softball Tournament will be streamed live for free on the Southland Conference Digital Network, including
Southland.org/watch and the league's mobile and tablet apps. The championship round will be an exclusive presentation of ESPN3, available via
WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app. Chris Mycoskie, Assistant Commissioner of Television and Electronic Media for the Southland Conference, will handle play-by play for all games. Former University of Houston outfielder Sydney Gerbracht will join him for the championship as the color analyst.