Jim Gilligan hinted that a shakeup may be in the Cardinals' near future.

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Coogs thump Cardinal nine

HOUSTON - Moments after Lamar University's 7-1 loss to the University of Houston Tuesday night, coach Jim Gilligan hinted that a shakeup may be in the Cardinals' near future.

"We've had two miserable offensive performances in a row," said Gilligan, who watched along with the Cougar Field crowd of 991 as the Cardinals' losing streak reached three games. "We have a couple of days to get things straightened out before we have to play Northern Colorado (on Friday night in Vincent-Beck Stadium).

"We'll find it. It's out there. We're going to find it by players changing or by changing players."

Without mentioning names, Gilligan added, "The same guys are continuing to make the same mistakes. We may have to start giving other players the chances to do better."

The Cardinals' one run and five hits were both season lows. Their only real offensive highlight came in the fifth inning when Erik Kanaby singled off starting pitcher Donnie Joseph's left leg to move within one game of Chad Bunting's school record by hitting safely in his 20th-consecutive game dating back to last season.

"They (the 8-9 Cougars) played, and we just showed up," said Gilligan, whose Cardinals dropped to 9-6. "It's time to make some adjustments. There may be a couple of different guys in the lineup by Friday night.

"We were very bland tonight. Our lack of hitting in the past two games (the Cardinals lost a 14-3 decision to St. John's on Sunday afternoon) is a point of concern."

Designated hitter Michael Ambort reached base on an error to lead off the fourth inning then came around to score the Cardinals' only run on a balk, a passed ball and a groundout by Dan Hernandez.

Right fielder Bryan Tully led Houston's offense by going 4-for-5, and shortstop Dustin Kingsbury drove in two runs. The Cougars also received a 2-for-4 performance from centerfielder Zak Presley.

Kingsbury drove in the Cougars' first run with a sacrifice fly in the first inning, and he plated their second with a groundout in the third.

Ambort's run cut the Cardinal deficit to 2-1, but the Cougars tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the fourth on a double and stolen base by Tully, an RBI single by Bryan Pounds and an RBI double by Ryan Lormand.

The Cougars made it 6-1 in the seventh inning on an RBI single by Tully and a wild pitch. The Cougars' final run crossed in the eighth on a single and stolen base by Presley, a sacrifice bunt by Lormand and an error in left field by Kanaby.