Lamar sports information

BEAUMONT – Six Cardinals — including second-team members Cutter McDowell and Robin Adames — were named as league standouts when the Southland Conference announced their all-conference teams Tuesday afternoon, along with their individual awards.

McDowell was a second-team outfielder and Adames the second-team designated hitter. Bryndan Arredondo was named as the third team catcher, Reid Russell as an outfielder, Trey Silvers as the first baseman and Grant DeVore as the third-team utility player. Both Carson Lance and Tanner Driskill were also listed as honorable mention pitchers.

This list of six gives the Cardinals their largest unit to make All-Southland Conference since a group of eight did it in 2013. For Russell and Arredondo, it’s the second time they’ve been honored in as many years.

McDowell — who missed the last 10 games of the regular season due to an injury — is the team’s leader in seven statistical categories, including batting average (.367), slugging (.559), on-base percentage (.474) and doubles (22). His 22 doubles rank fifth all-time at Lamar for two-baggers in a single season. He was the league’s leader in on-base percentage and second in batting average.

He started the season slow, but in the 30 games prior to his injury, he’d held a .432 (54-of-125) batting average with 31 runs scored and 27 runs batted in. Overall, the senior has 21 multiple-hit games and seven multiple-RBI games, second and sixth on the team, respectively.

Dating back to his streak last season, the Pearland native reeled of a 26-game reached base streak that was snapped at No. 21 Texas in late February. On March 14 he put up five RBIs in a single game against Prairie View, and was 3-for-4 in that game with two runs scored. Against No. 8 LSU on April 18, he was 3-for-5 with two solo home runs – the third and fourth of his season.

Adames is second to McDowell in average (.341), but leads LU in hits (75) and RBI (53). The sophomore ranks fifth in the Southland Conference in hits and is fourth in RBIs. He’s hit in three different spots of the Lamar batting order, mostly in the third spot – where he’s spent his last 25 games.

The Bronx, N.Y. native has been the Cardinals steadiest hitter on the year, only going hitless in 12 games and being kept off base in only five. He leads Lamar in multi-hit games (22) and multi-RBI games, and has the season’s second-longest reached base streak (19), just short of Arredondo’s 21-game streak.

In the second game of a much-needed sweep of Stephen F. Austin, he notched a team-best six RBIs contest on a 3-for-6 day with two runs scored and a two-run bomb.

Arredondo, a first-team selection last season, finished his regular season with a .316 batting average (fourth on the team) with 32 runs scored and 31 driven in, all three career bests at Lamar. The Lubbock native recorded the season’s longest reached base streak at 21 games. While on it he was 29-of-73 (.397) with 12 walks and 17 RBI.

He has 15 multi-hit games and nine multi-RBI games, including in the last series against McNeese when he lifted a two-run shot in the series opener. That was his fifth homer of the season in a 3-for-4 day.

Russell — the league’s 2017 hitter of the year — is the team’s leader in walks (66) and ranks second in on-base percentage at .420. He’s upped his walk total by 20 from last season and cut down his strikeouts by 19. He holds a .310 batting average with 49 runs scored — eight more than last season. He also has 42 RBI, to join Trey Silvers as the only Cardinals with 40 runs and 40 RBIs.

He has the team’s longest hit streak this season at 14 games, and was fourth with a 17-game reached base streak.  The Longview native has 18 multi-hit games and 10 multi-RBI contests. He was named the Southland’s Hitter of the Week in week two after a he reached in 11 of his 18 plate appearances, including a two-bomb game against Fairfield — one was a three-run shot that tied the game. He notched seven RBI and six runs in the series.

Silvers was also named as a league hitter of the week, for his week 10 performance over Abilene Christian — in which he tied the school’s record for homers in a single game (3).  He was 7-of-15 at the plate over a four-game span and tied or led the Cardinals in runs (5), RBI (6), doubles (2), homers (3), average (.467), slugging (1.200) and on-base percentage (.579).

The Manvel native tied Russell for the team’s lead of 10 homers on the year. He is just short of the .300 threshold with a .294 batting average. He and Russell are also the only two Cardinals to play in every game this season, and he has 40 runs on the year with 47 RBIs.

DeVore finished the regular season as the Cardinals’ hottest hitter, with a .563 (18-for-32) batting average over his last nine games. He has 11 runs scored, 12 RBI and three doubles in that span. His three doubles helped him to a team-high .656 slugging mark and eight walks have him with a .634 on-base mark in the nine game span.

He was voted as a utility man due to his versatility in the field. He’s played 30 games in center field, 10 in right field and 27 games at second base. He finished his regular season as Big Red’s third best hitter with a .331 mark, and added 29 runs and 25 RBIs.

Lance (7-6, 3.80 earned run average) will get the start in the first game of the Southland Conference Tournament. He’s worked 14 games, all starts, and has the team high 85.1 innings and team high 78 strikeouts. He’s the only Cardinal to be in the starting rotation the entire season.

Driskill was Lamar’s best reliever during the season, but started as the Opening Day starter. He was moved to the bullpen in the third weekend of the season, and he thrived. Since, he’s worked 46 1/3 relief innings and has just a 1.75 earned run average — lowest bullpen ERA and most innings on the team. Out of the pen, he’s struck out 41 batters with just nine walks.

Southeastern Louisiana’ Taylor Schwarner is the player of the year while McNeese State’s Shane Selman is the hitter of the year. Sam Houston State’s Heath Donica won pitcher of the year and J.T. Newton of Houston Baptist was the relief pitcher of the year. Hayden Wesneski (SHSU) was the freshman of the year and Josh Evans (Stephen F. Austin) was voted the top newcomer.

McNeese led the way with seven all-league picks, followed by six from each Lamar and Sam Houston, five from Southeastern Louisiana, and four from New Orleans and Stephen F. Austin. Central Arkansas, Abilene Christian and Houston Baptist all had two, while Northwestern State and Nicholls each added one.