Sophomore outfielder Jacob Seward broke a school record hitting streak during the series against Lamar.
The Lion’s Roar / Elizabeth Brown

The Lions baseball team took on the Lamar University Cardinals this past weekend with a three-game series. This series continued the winning streak for the Lions to 11 consecutive victories in the Southland Conference. Southeastern also swept Lamar for the first time in the university’s history. 

In the opening game of the series, the Lions and the Cardinals had a slow start. The score remained 0-0 until the fifth inning when sophomore shortstop Kennon Menard singled to right field, followed by a single by junior right-fielder Julian Service, which allowed Menard to advance to second base. Junior catcher Chris Eades made a home run, allowing Menard, Service and himself to advance to home plate and giving the team the advantage of 3-0. In the seventh inning, Brett Hoffman, senior third baseman, singled, trailed by a single by Menard, advancing Hoffman to second base. Then Service doubled to right center, advancing Menard to third base and Hoffman to home plate, adding another run to the score, 4-0. Menard got out, but Eades and Service scored, even further advancing the score by two more runs. The defense held out until the end of the top of the ninth inning, finishing at 6-0. 

In the second game, the Lions started off strong early on in the game. In the second inning, the Lions scored four runs, giving them an advantage. Both Menard and Service walked, followed by a single by Eades, advancing Menard to third and Service to second. Sophomore left-fielder Ryan Byers followed with a single, advancing Eades to second, Service to third and Menard to home plate, making the first run scored in the game, 1-0. In the next play, sophomore center fielder Jacob Seward was grounded out, but in the process, Byers advanced to second, Eades to third and Service to home, adding another run to the score, 2-0. The scoring continued when sophomore second baseman Carson Crites made his second triple of the season to right center, advancing Eades and Byers to home plate, adding two more runs to the score, 4-0. 

The score remained the same until the top of the seventh inning when Lamar scored a run, changing the score to 4-1. In the bottom of the eighth, Hoffman singled followed by a single by Menard. Hoffman advanced to third. Up next was Service, who singled and Hoffman scored, changing the score to 5-1. Seward walked and he had his 24-game hitting streak record broken, but his 36-game reached-base streak remained unharmed. In the top of the ninth, Lamar scored a point, changing the score to 5-2, but the Cardinals’ efforts were not enough to top the Lions who finished at 5-2.

In the last game of the three-game series, the Lions started off with an advantage over the Cardinals. In the second inning, Menard singled and advanced to second. Service walked to first then Eades singled, advancing Service to second and Menard to third. Eades advanced to second, Service to third and Menard scored the first run of the game. Byers flew out, but Eades advanced to third and Service to home plate, putting the Lions ahead, 2-0, by another run. 

Menard, who began the advance for the Lions, talked about his driving outlook for the game.

“I advanced to third and I was just staying hungry, always looking to score a run or an extra base and just staying relentless,” said Menard. 

In the sixth inning, senior first baseman Kevin Carr hit his third home run of the season into left field, putting the Lions up 3-0. From this point on, the Lions only continued to advance. 

“It always feels good when you carry out the ball like that,” said Carr. “It was at the point in the game where we needed a big hit and I just tried to go out there with a good plan and good things happen.” 

Following Carr’s home run, Menard scored another run for the Lions, advancing them to 4-0. In the seventh inning, Seward tripled, then scored for the Lions following Crites being flied out, adding another run to the score, 5-0. The last run scored for the team was made by Service at the end of the bottom of the eighth inning. The team held out until the end and finished on top at 6-0. 

Head coach Matt Riser was satisfied with the team’s performance in the last game of the three-game series and looks forward to their next game.

“It was a different way of winning,” said Riser. “The biggest thing is we just have to keep it going and stay consistent.” 

Up next for the Lions is a game on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For more information on the Lions, visit lionsports.net.