BEAUMONT – Reid Russell's two-run smash over the left field wall put the Lamar University baseball team up 3-2 in the fourth inning, and from there LU pitching took over and shut down the Southeast Missouri bats to get the Cardinals a 5-2 win for the series sweep Sunday at Vincent-Beck Stadium in non-conference action.
 
It was the first time since 2013 that LU (3-0) swept the first opponent on the season, which came against Northern Kentucky in a four-game series. The Cardinals will play host to Arizona (2-1) on Monday at 6 o'clock before LSU pays visit to The Beck on Wednesday at 6 o'clock.
 
"I feel really good about this weekend.  We didn't swing the bats as good as I thought we would, but a lot of that has to do with (Southeast Missouri)," said head coach Jim Gilligan. "That felt like a Southland-type weekend with the arms they had. They were very good.
 
"It's always good to win close games, and we won three of them this weekend," he said. "It's the close ones that make up the ranking at the end of the year."
 
Lamar jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a score in the second, but the Redhawks (0-3) answered with two in the third frame with back-to-back RBI-base knocks from Branden Boggetto and Garrett Gandolfo. To start off the fourth, Cutter McDowell singled up the middle and sat there when Russell turned on a pitch to make it 3-2.
 
 
McDowell led off a frame three times in the ball game, all three times he singled and later scored. He was the score in the second inning after a single up the middle, wild pitch and RBI-single to center field from catcher Bryndan Arredondo. He also led off the sixth with a single to center field and scored with on a sacrifice fly from Arredondo again.
 
McDowell was 4-of-4 in the game, he also doubled in the eighth, with three runs and a run batted in. Russell was 2-for-4 with a run and two RBI while Arredondo was 2-of-3 and knocked two in.
 
Lamar pitching had another good day on the mound. Fernando Martinez took his first Division I win with five innings of work and two runs allowed on five hits, two walks and seven strikeouts.  Billy Love closed out the game and earned his first career save on four innings of shutout work. He allowed one hit, walked one and struck out five.
 
"I was pleased with our pitching.  Our starting pitching was great, and we looked good in the late innings," said Gilligan. "Martinez is usually a guy that is 86-87 (miles per hours), but today he was up to 91. We had some physical development taking place there. We know he can pitch."
 
"Having Billy Love come in and do what he did was big. That gives us another starting-type pitcher.  It was a really good weekend confidence wise for our staff," he said.
 
Through the first three games, Lamar pitching accounts for 12.3 strikeouts per game.
 
After LU took the lead in the fourth, SEMO tried to rally for another in the top of the fifth with a walk and single to lead off the frame, but Martinez was able to undo the threat with a strikeout, fly out to left and groundout.  From there, Love allowed a single to the first batter he faced, rolled him up in a double play and sat down seven in a row.
 
Robert Beltran took the loss Sunday afternoon in five innings of work and four runs allowed. He, nor any other SEMO pitcher, did not walk a batter. Jake Busiek took over in the sixth and pitched two frames before Adam Pennington entered in the eighth. Pennington gave up the RBI-double to McDowell that scored Jake Nash, who reached on a double, in the eight.
 
Matthew Wade finished the game for the Redhawks and allowed hit.
 
Chaneng Varela and Stijn van der Meer added hits to Cardinals' 11-hit performance, more than LU produced in the first two games combined (10).
 
After the midweek contests with LSU and Arizona, Lamar will continue its 14-game homestand to start the season with a four-contest tilt with North Dakota State starting Friday.  For ticket information, contact the ticket office at 409-880-1715.