MYERS 3 FOR 3 AS LU RETURNS FAVOR
Published 12:05 am Saturday, April 8, 2017
BEAUMONT — Maddy Myers went 3-for-3 to lead the Lamar Cardinals to a 4-2 win over Sam Houston State and a split of their Southland Conference softball doubleheader on Friday. The visiting Bearkats won the first game 1-0 in 10 innings.
The three hits were a career high for Myers, who entered the game just 2-for-13 on the season.
“Maddy came through for us when we needed it tonight,” LU coach Holly Bruder said. “When your No. 9 hitter can have a game like that, it’s huge.”
Ciara Luna (6-12) was the tough-luck loser in the first game, allowing seven hits, while striking out 11, one shy of her career high. The only run scored came via the tie-breaker rule as Ashley Kopps started the 10th inning on second base, was sacrificed to third and scored on pinch-hitter Hannah Marino’s two-out single.
Myers’ offensive output helped back up a strong effort from LU starter Laura Napoli (9-8), who scattered five hits and allowed no earned runs.
Sam Houston State (16-19 overall, 7-7 Southland) scored a pair of unearned runs in the top of the third before the Cardinals (19-20, 9-5) responded with three runs in the bottom of the third, taking advantage of an error and a passed ball along with Brynn Baca’s RBI single.
LU added an insurance run in the fourth as Myers hit a one-out triple to right field before coming home on Ashley McDowell’s sacrifice fly. It was the 99th career RBI for McDowell.
Sable Hankins added two hits for the Cardinals. Codi Carpenter had two hits for Sam Houston State.