BEAUMONT, Texas – HBU pounded out 22 hits and junior Curtis Jones was solid on the mound as the Huskies claimed the rubber match with a 13-2 drubbing of Lamar in the Southland Conference series finale Sunday afternoon at Vincent-Beck Stadium.
 
Jones helped himself by going 4-for-6 with an RBI and a pair of runs scored for the Huskies (22-22, 11-13 SLC). Junior second baseman Clayton Vaughn went 3-for-5 with a triple, two RBIs and two runs, while junior rightfielder Thomas Clay went 3-for-6 with a pair of RBIs and a pair of runs. Senior shortstop CJ Jarvis extended his hitting streak to 14 games, going 3-for-6 with an RBI and a run, and junior centerfielder Zach Nehrir went 3-for-6 with an RBI and two runs. Junior catcher Samm Wiggins was 2-for-6 with a double, two RBIs and two runs, and junior third baseman Josh Martinez went 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run.
 
Jones (6-3) allowed two runs, neither of them earned, on seven hits in eight innings, then Martinez pitched a perfect ninth.
 
Seven separate players had hits for the Cardinals, with Sam Bumpers' double being the only one for extra bases. Jacoby Middleton and Justin Eckols drove in runs for Lamar, while Kevin Santana and Jude Vidrine each scored.
 
Will Hibbs (4-3) took the loss for Lamar, giving up five runs on 10 hits in 5.2 innings. The Cardinals' bullpen allowed eight runs, five earned, on 12 hits over the final 3.1 innings.
 
The Cardinals got a pair of hits from Santana and Kyle Markum to lead off the second, and Santana was able to reach third on an error. Eckols lifted a sacrifice fly to right for the first run of the game, before Mason Salazar bounced into a double play.
 
Vaughn led off the third for HBU with a triple down the leftfield line, then Clay followed with single up the middle to tie the game. Clay moved to second on a wild pitch, a single by Jones put runners on the corners, then Wiggins' groundout to short gave the Huskies a 2-1 lead.
 
Vidrine walked to lead off the bottom of the third for Lamar, then stole second. A dropped fly ball off the bat of Reed Seeley put runners in scoring position with no outs. Bumpers' fly to center was too shallow for the runners to advance, but Middleton's sacrifice fly to left tied the game 2-2.
 
Three consecutive one-out singles by senior leftfielder Jordan McCoy, Martinez and Nehrir loaded the bases for the Huskies in the sixth. Senior first baseman Bradley Brown struck out for the second out, but Vaughn's sawed-off flair into left plated two runs. Clay followed with an RBI single to put HBU ahead, 5-2.
 
Jones led off the seventh with a single for HBU, then Wiggins followed with an RBI double to the gap in leftcenter. Nehrir delivered a two-out RBI single to leftcenter, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch, then Brown smashed an RBI single to right to extend the Huskies lead to 8-2.
 
Lamar attempted to mount a rally when Eckols and Salazar led off the seventh with a back-to-back singles, but HBU nearly turned a triple play when Vidrine line out to second and Eckols was doubled off at second. Seeley then flied out to end the inning.
 
Vaughn, Clay, Jarvis and Jones strung together consecutive singles to lead off the ninth, then Wiggins reached on an error, allowing another run to score, then Nehrir singled and another error plated a run. Martinez added an RBI single to cap the Huskies' five-run rally.
 
The Huskies will play their final non-conference and road game of the regular season when they face 14^th-ranked, crosstown rival Rice Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Reckling Park. HBU has three-game conference home series remaining against Sam Houston State and Stephen F. Austin.