| Sophomore James Keithley tied the school record by going 5-for-5 on Friday against Lamar. |
NATCHITOCHES, La. ? Redshirt freshman Tim Palincsar delivered a two-RBI double down the right-field line in the top of the ninth to break open a 5-5 game and top seeded UTSA held on for a thrilling 7-6 victory against No. 2 seed Lamar during Friday’s third day of the Southland Conference Tournament.
The Roadrunners, who improved to 36-21 with the win, moved into Friday’s 7 p.m. contest against Sam Houston State (36-22). UTSA swept a three-game series in Huntsville a month ago (April 27-29).
Junior Marshal Davis led off the game-winning frame with a double to right center and sophomore James Keithley followed with a single through the left side of the infield for his school-record-tying fifth hit of the contest. Palincsar, who was 0-for-4 coming into the at bat, took Brian Needham’s first-pitch fastball down the right-field line to bring home Davis and Keithley and give UTSA a 7-5 advantage.
However, Lamar (34-25) did not go down without a fight.
Senior Josh Blakley struck out Keith Towne to start the ninth, but Davis couldn’t come up with Travis Dunson’s routine grounder to short one batter later. Pinch hitter Jeff Vickers followed with a base hit through the right side of the infield and, after a wild pitch moved the runners up a base, leadoff hitter Erik Kanaby grounded out to Keithley to bring the Cardinals within one. Ryan Baker followed with a scorcher to freshman third baseman Ryan Rummel and he made an outstanding play to end the ballgame.
Blakley (8-0), who relieved starter Ryan Proudfoot after he walked Towne to lead off the seventh, allowed a pair of runs (one earned) on three hits and fanned four over the final three innings to pick up the victory.
Cardinals closer Tim Erickson (3-3) gave up a run on two hits in 1.2 innings and was charged with the loss.
UTSA jumped out to a 4-0 lead at the game’s midpoint with a run in the third and three more two innings later.
Lamar drew within one when Dan Hernandez clubbed a three-run homer off Proudfoot with two down in the sixth. After the Roadrunners extended the advantage to 5-3 in the seventh on Keithley’s RBI double, the Cardinals knotted the game at five with a pair of two-out tallies in the bottom of the frame.
Keithley had three singles and a pair of doubles among his five hits and he also had three RBIs. Davis, meanwhile, tied his career high by going 3-for-3 with a two-bagger and run-scoring triple and he also scored three runs.
Proudfoot had yet another solid performance, giving up four runs on just two hits, while striking out four in six-plus innings. The freshman right-hander, making his second start of the season against Lamar, gave up just two safeties in 11 innings against the Cardinals this year.