BEAUMONT – The lack of timely hitting cost the Cardinals as they tried to mount a late-inning push Tuesday night when the Lamar University baseball team fell to 19^th-ranked Houston, 4-3, in non-conference action at Vincent-Beck Field.
 
Houston (9-6) jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, capped off by a bases-clearing, three-run double from Corey Jurks in the third inning, and Cardinal (10-7) relief pitching gave LU several chances to get back into it. But it was never able to string a couple of key hits together and completely rally to take a lead.
 
Heading into the contest, LU had been hitting an impressive .301 with runners in scoring position. Tuesday night the Cardinals were 1-of-7 with runners in position.
 
"That was the difference," said head coach Jim Gilligan. "We had some key misses in some at-bats, and it really broke our backs. On the flip side, I feel like we could've gotten out of the game without allowing any runs."
 
LU was able to get on the board in the fifth inning when Reid Russell popped his fifth home run of the season that flew over the right center field wall. The home run already matches last season's leader, Kevin Santana, with a little more than two-thirds of the 2016 campaign to go.
 
Russell was also the man that drove in the two final runs for Big Red in the eighth when his single up the middle scored Byrndan Arredondo from third and Jacoby Middleton from second, with only one out. Arredondo led off the inning with a single to left and took second when Middleton was walked. Both moved up on a passed ball in the next at-bat, which ended in a strikeout.
 
The batters after Russell in the frame flied out and struck out to end the inning without any more damage. LU put men in scoring position in the first, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth innings, and four of those threats were ended on a strikeout and one a double play.
 
After the third inning Lamar went through four pitchers, and combined they gave up no runs on two hits one walk and struck out six. Joe Farley toed the rubber to start the fourth inning and took it through the sixth. He allowed only one hit and punched out three in 10 batters faced. The Carrollton native ended his night with seven-straight batters sat down.
 
"Farley went in and did a good job, which was huge, and (Enrique) Oquendo got back on track tonight," said Gilligan. "Tonight we had a good session in the pen and [Oquendo] brought it out there on the field."
 
Matt White took the mound in the seventh and surrendered a leadoff single to Colton Wong, but was pulled after he stole second base and he forced Michael Pyeatt to fly out. Oquendo sat down the next two batters in the inning and then retired the next side in order to be perfect.
 
Josh Crain worked the ninth and gave up a two-out walk to Wong, but he was caught stealing to end the inning.
 
Brent Janak (0-1) started on the mound for LU, and gave up a run on two hits and a walk. Pyeatt reached on a single up the middle in the first and took second on a wild pitch before Joe Davis grounded out, or so everyone thought. Pyeatt was awarded third base on a balk and Davis was allowed to get back into the box and made good of his new life with a single to left.
 
Two walks before LU even got the first out in the third frame put Julks in position to put the game out of reach. Fernando Martinez walked the first batter in his second inning of work, and promptly gave up a double to left center. After his second walk, Julks cleaned them off.
 
"We walked two guys in that inning and he then strikes two guys out with the bases loaded and nobody out,"  said Gilligan. 
 
After his second walk, Martinez sat down Clay Casey swinging and Jacob Campbell looking. Julks took a rip at the first pitch he saw.
 
"That at-bat was the game," said Gilligan. "You can talk about the pitch or whether or not the ball should've been caught. That at-bat was the ball game."
 
Marshall Kasowksi (2-1) earned the win with five-plus innings of work and one run allowed on six hits and two walks. The junior also struck out seven.  Nick Hernandez earned the save, his fourth, on two innings of work with just one hit allowed.
 
Stijn van der Meer helped his average Tuesday with a 3-for-5 day, while Jake Nash (2-5), Arredondo (2-3) and Russell (2-4) all chipped in two hits apiece. The top seven hitters in the LU lineup were 9-of-29 (.310). Russell's three RBI was the team-leading fourth multi-RBI game and second three-RBI contest.
 
The Cardinals get back into Southland Conference play on Friday when it opens a three-game series at 6 p.m. against Central Arkansas. For tickets or information visit the athletics ticket office in the Montagne Center or call 409-880-1715.