Nov. 11, 2009

BEAUMONT - Lamar University's 2009 Fall World Series ended in dramatic fashion Tuesday night as a herd of players stampeded out of Vincent-Beck Stadium's first base dugout to mob relief pitcher Garrett Steward as he trudged off the mound.

Steward, a senior right-hander from La Porte, had just struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth inning to preserve the White Team's 4-3 victory over the Red Team. Steward, who had picked up a no-decision in his Game 3 start last week, earned a save and finished the series with a 0.00 earned run average and nine strikeouts in six innings.

Despite the White Team's 3-2 edge in the five-game event that ended Lamar's fall workouts, Ryan Meade and Michael Padgett of the Red Team emerged as the series' leading hitters. Meade, a junior first baseman from Temple College, collected 11 hits in 17 at-bats for a hefty .647 average, and Padgett, a junior outfielder from Angelina College, batted .467 with seven hits on 16 at-bats.

Junior first baseman Jeffrey Abt of Spring, who blasted a solo home run in the sixth inning of the finale, and junior catcher/designated hitter Michael Schwartz of Thousand Oaks, Calif., shared the White Team's batting lead with identical .333 averages.

Senior reliefer Brandon Chambers of Silsbee picked up his second victory of the series in the clincher, but both starters - Matison Smith of the Red Team and Eric Harrington of the White Team - turned in impressive performances. Smith yielded two runs (one earned) on two hits and struck out seven in 6 1/3 innings, while Harrington struck out eight and gave up three runs and five hits. Harrington walked one, while Smith did not walk a single batter.

Meade, who slugged a grand slam home run in the Red Team's 9-6 Game 4 victory, led the series in runs batted in with eight, and shortstop V.J. Bunner was the White Team's RBI leader with five. Red Team outfielder Anthony Moore hit a two-run homer in Game 1 and repeated the feat in Tuesday's finale.

Third baseman Michael De La Rosa of the Red Team and outfielder Ted Zentek of the White Team, had the series' other homers.

LAMAR