BEAUMONT – An action-packed ninth inning saw the Lamar University baseball team blow a three-run and later win it with a bases-loaded, walk off single from Cutter McDowell when the resilient Cardinals downed Central Arkansas 7-6 to win the contest and lock up the series Saturday afternoon at Vincent-Beck Stadium.
 
At the top of the ninth, all the Cardinals (12-7, 3-2 Southland Conference) needed was three outs with a 6-3 lead to clinch the win, and they brought in one their best bullpen arms in Jimmy Johnson out to try and close it. He forced the first batter he saw, Butch Rea, to fly out to center field, but a single to Michael Haun and walk to Tyler Langley put two on for Chris Townsend, who doubled to left center to score Haun and put two in scoring position.
 
Johnson struck out Brandon Montalvo swinging, but Logan Preston took advantage and singled up the middle. LU shortstop Stiijn van der Meer was able to corral it and tried to make a tough throw that flew wide of first base and allowed both runs to score and tie it up.
 
Hunter Strong took the batter's box and singled past a diving Reid Russell in left field, which gave Preston the chance to force a play at the plate. Russell got up rifled it to his cutoff in van der Meer who tossed it home to cut him down with no more damage.
 
Preston was tossed from the game after failing to slide in at home and is not eligible to play in Sunday's contest.
 
"(UCA) just scrapped and came back," said head coach Jim Gilligan. "Stijn takes a great play up the middle and can't finish it off, which tied it up. The go-ahead run we throw out at the plate.  There was plenty of action in that inning."
 
Jake Nash was first to the plate for LU, and he drew a full-count walk and advanced to third after Bryndan Arredondo singled into right center. With a base open, The Bears (9-9, 3-2) elected to intentionally walk Russell after he made them pay with two home runs in two games, the latter being hit in the fifth inning on missile that hit 17 feet up the center field wall.
 
Cutter McDowell stepped up  to the plate.  The third baseman swung at a breaking ball in the first pitch and took the second for a ball. He lined the third pitch he saw right past the third baseman into left field scored Nash for his second run batted in for the game.
 
"I was able to get a pitch up in a hitter's count and get the big hit," said McDowell. "Knowing this team, we're never down. After being down 8-0 to LSU and fighting back, we never count ourselves out."
 
Including a walk-off homer from Russell in the 10-run rule contest against Prairie View, McDowell's hit gave the Cardinals their fourth walk off of the season. The win also marks the first time that LU has been above .500 since the end of the 2014 season.
 
"Cutter just got one up and blistered it," said Gilligan. "Before that, they did a smart thing in walking Russell. I told him that there was a bag open so they were going to try and get him to chase. (Jacob Murray) made us look foolish on a couple of swings, but we adjusted and did what we needed to."
 
Much like in Friday night's game, Big Red took advantage of an error in the second inning to jump out to a 3-0 lead. Robin Adames drove a one-out double to the right field wall and Chaneng Varela rolled over a ball but reached when Rea misplayed a groundball.
 
Brendan Satran loaded the bases with a walk before van der Meer singled home Adames. Nash drew a bases-loaded walk to send home Varela and Arredondo put up a sacrifice fly to left field that allowed Satran to cross. Only one earned run was charged to UCA starter Cody Davenport.
 
After the Bears scored on Langley's RBI triple in the fifth, LU answered on Russell's seventh homer of the season, a two-run shot that scored Arredondo. Saturday's game was the fourth-straight contest that Russell has cleared a ball over the fence. 
 
"(Russell) made a change that will take away some of the holes he had in his swing," said Gilligan. "He is legit and people will start to get nervous at time when he comes up."
 
Arredondo also scored LU's sixth run in the seventh inning when he started the inning off with double down the left field line and scored two batters later when McDowell singled down the right field line.
 
Billy Love started the contest for Lamar and worked six solid innings with just one run allowed on four hits and three walks. He struck out seven of the 25 batters he faced.
 
"That was a big start from Billy Love.  We had a good bullpen and good talk," said Gilligan. "He was his old self today. He pitched well, and I was very proud of Billy's outing."
 
Brett Brown relieved him in the seventh and worked two frames. He gave up two runs (one earned) on one hit and two walks. Johnson (5-0) took the win with just the one inning of work.
 
Davenport had seven innings pitched for UCA and gave up six runs (four earned) on eight hits and five walks. Derek Beier relieved him with a perfect eighth and Jacob Murray (0-2) was tagged for the loss in the ninth.
 
Van der Meer, Arredondo and McDowell all notched two hits in the contest; van der Meer and McDowell had five at-bats while Arredondo had three. Van der Meer notched his third-straight multi-hit game, and Russell picked up his third straight multi-RBI contest (2).This week alone, the junior has nine runs driven in.
 
The Cards will go for the sweep at 1 p.m. Sunday, and Lamar Athletics will be handing out sunglasses, while supplies last.  LU will not play a midweek game and open a three-game series with New Orleans on Thursday at 6 o'clock.