BEAUMONT, Texas – In a game that featured some similarities to Friday's season-opener, the Lamar Cardinals defeated the Oakland Golden Grizzlies, 3-2, on Saturday, February 18 at Vincent-Beck Stadium with senior third baseman Ethan Ruiz walking it off with a double to score classmate Kirkland Banks.
Working three-plus innings, graduate student left-hander
Christian Stelling took the loss for Oakland, allowing one run on two hits with a walk and a strikeout.
Junior right-hander Kole Tauzin picked up the win for the Cardinals, tallying 2.2 scoreless frames to finish the game.
The Golden Grizzlies struck first when sophomore left fielder
John Lauinger drew a bases-loaded walk in the second inning, bringing in classmate and third baseman
Brandon Nigh.
Oakland extended their lead to 2-0 in the fifth when Lauinger tagged up and scored on a sacrifice fly to center field off the bat off graduate student second baseman
Jared Miller.
Lamar first appeared on the scoreboard in their half of the fifth and tied it up at two an inning later.
Both teams threatened in the seventh and eighth innings, but no runs were ultimately scored. After Stelling hit Banks with a pitch to lead off the bottom of the ninth, he was replaced by junior right-hander
Brandon Decker.
Pitching in the final inning for the second consecutive game, the first batter Decker faced was Ruiz, whose double to center field was enough to score Banks.
As was the case Friday, the Golden Grizzlies recorded five hits, with two coming from graduate student shortstop
Thomas Green and junior catcher
Brandon Heidal, sophomore designated hitter
Kevin Krill and Lauinger all collecting one.
Redshirt senior right-hander
Brett Hagen started for Oakland Saturday and was effective over his 4.2 innings, giving up just a lone Cardinal hit with four walks and a strikeout.
UP NEXT
The Golden Grizzlies still have a chance to take one from Lamar as the two will square off in the final game of their three-game set on Sunday, February 19 at 2 p.m. on ESPN+ (subscription required).
Bryce Konitzer, another redshirt senior righty, will go for Oakland, while fellow right-hander Patrick Hail, a redshirt sophomore, will start for the Cardinals.
