Lamar State sports information

GALVESTON – A tough third inning unraveled a nice offensive performance by Lamar State College Port Arthur as Odessa College scored three runs in the inning to claim an eventual 5-3 win over the Seahawks in the second day of the Galveston College Invitational on Saturday.

And with an almost certain victory over Game 2 opponent Snead State College in hand, Mother Nature decided to dump a bucket of disappointment on the Seahawks’ heads, ending the game in the third inning, two innings short of making the 7-3 LSCPA advantage official.

The Hawks, who are now 1-2 for the season, split in the first day of the annual get-together, beating Kilgore College to earn LSCPA coach Vance Edwards his 200th career win, then losing to nationally-ranked Chipola (Florida) College.

LSCPA hoped to get its season back on track Saturday morning against Odessa College before the miserably cold day could get worse, as predicted, with the onset of rain.

The Seahawks went toe-to-toe with Odessa College through the top of the third, leading Odessa 3-2. LSCPA scored a run in the first after Kaitlyn Stebelton reached on a walk and then went to second on a stolen base. A single by Brianna White put runners at the corners and Ashley May slapped a run-scoring shot to second base as Stebelton scored on the fielder’s choice.

Odessa evened the score at 1 apiece in the bottom half of the first but LSCPA responded to go up 2-1 in the top of the second when Julie French singled home Taylor Frederick, who had reached on a walk.

Again, Odessa answered with a run in the bottom of the second and again, LSCPA, answered in the top of the next inning. White doubled to left and May singled to put runners at the corners. Olivia Rivera grounded into a double-play at shortstop but White managed to make her way to the plate for the 3-2 advantage for the Seahawks.

Odessa came out big in the bottom of the third, scoring three runs to go up 5-3, going single-double-double before putting starting pitcher May on the bench. Jessi Saenz came on in relief and shut down the Odessa offense 1-2-3 to end the inning.

The Seahawks managed just one more single over the next four innings.

White and Frederick each had two hits, each with a single, with May and French representing the other hits in the game of the Seahawks. May took the loss on the mound, giving up four earned runs on seven hits with a walk and two strikeouts. Saenz allowed just three hits with two strikeouts and a walk in four innings of relief work.

In the afternoon game, the Seahawks scored three runs in the first and four in the second with White, Stebelton, French, and Frederick each with two hits. Stebelton and Hallie Boudreaux each had a double in an offensive showing that defied the nasty weather. But when the rain began to fall, it would put an end to the game as well as LSCPA’s hopes for evening its record. The game was stopped in the third inning, two short of being enough to call it complete.

The Seahawks are back in action on Friday, Feb. 9, and Saturday, Feb. 10, when they host their annual home tournament. The tourney this year features visiting teams Alvin Junior College, Angelina College, and North Central Texas College. Find the full schedule at http://athletics.lamarpa.edu.