LU clinches SLC East crown

By Tom Halliburton
The Port Arthur News

May 17, 2008 01:46 am

— BEAUMONT — This landmark Cardinals baseball victory deserved to be labeled the most remarkable comeback in school history.
McNeese State led 10-0 midway into the second inning. McNeese still clinged to a comfortable 10-4 advantage with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning on Friday night at Vincent-Beck Stadium.
That obviously suggested Jim Gilligan's players would wait another day to hopefully clinch the Southland Conference's East Division championship. Gilligan's career victory total surely would be stuck on 1,099 until at least this afternoon.
Yet Lamar authored probably its greatest come-from-behind sports triumph one could ever conjure in a wildest dream.
Lamar 11, McNeese 10 ended with invaluable LU reliever Tim Erickson (8-2) winning his second game in as many nights, but also scoring the winning run after making his first-ever plate appearance in his collegiate career.
“It was a real big win all around," Erickson said. “It lets us know that we can always come back even when you get into the tournament.”
A Nederland batter for McNeese was the early hero. A Nederland pitcher for Lamar was the later, most overwhelming hero. When the new artificial surface cooled, Lamar improved to 31-21 and 19-10 and Gilligan secured his 1,100th career win as a college coach.
The LUmen applied the SLC East title clincher because Central Arkansas' 6-2 win over Northwestern State placed Lamar 1.5 games ahead of the Demons with one game to play.
Lamar will send lefty Jordan Thibodeaux (0-1) to the mound for their regular-season finale at 1 p.m. Nine seniors in Gilligan's program will be recognized in pre-game ceremonies at 12:50 p.m.
It was special for Erickson to get the win and cross the plate to unlock a 10-10 tie. It meant a lot for Nederland junior Walker to hurl 7.1 scoreless relief innings, too. Yet those pitchers would not have taken their bows without terrific clutch home-run hitting by Nik Gumeson and Tyler Link with two outs in LU's ninth.
Lamar trailed 10-4 with two outs and a runner on first in the ninth. Consecutive singles by David Moore and Chris Dunkin brought home Travis Dunson, cutting the gap to 10-5. Next batter Gumeson socked the third pinch homer of Lamar's season, trimming the count to 10-8.
Gumeson's three-run blast moved the hosts within shouting distance before pinch-hitter Wade Mathis doubled into the right field corner and Link knocked a two-run home run to leftcenter off reliever Scott Holstein. That tied it 10-10 after nine, and 10-10 after 10 innings and 10-10 until two outs in the bottom of the 11th.
"That's as good a comeback as I can think of," Gilligan said afterwards. “It was great to see (Brian) Taylor come through and it was special for Tim to score the winning run. Winning the division to help our seeding (for the SLC post-season tournament) was a lot bigger.
“You want to be hot coming into the tournament and we're running out of weekends to get hot."
Struggling through one of its worst seasons ever, McNeese (13-41, 7-22) never trailed in this game until LU second baseman Taylor lined a base hit to leftcenter and winning pitcher Erickson scored from third with two outs in the bottom of the 11th.
Former NHS slugger and McNeese junior Ryan Brauninger smacked a 400-foot grand slam to the leftcenter field flagpole to highlight a seven-run McNeese first inning and knock Cards starter Brian Needham out of the game. The visitors added a three-run second before NHS junior Walker arrived on the hill as LU's reliever in the third.
Delivering his finest hour in a Redbirds' uniform, Walker permitted five hits, no runs, no walks and fanned six batters in 100 pitches. The perfect relief outing allowed LU’s bats a chance to rally.
“I threw inside more than I have been and my control was a lot better," Walker said.
“For him to go out and do what he did really meant a lot,” said Gilligan, who has patiently worked with his tall lefthander all through Lamar.
There will be those who believe LU's 15-3 win over Texas in 1994 at Vincent-Beck would rank even better. For a landmark victory with a league title at stake, Lamar never has pulled off a comeback close to this one.