KFDM COOP Posted March 21, 2008 Report Posted March 21, 2008 Pitching changes pay off for Gilligan, Lamar By Tom Halliburton The Port Arthur News BEAUMONT -- Late into Wednesday evening, Jim Gilligan considered his options and decided he needed to make a significant change in his pitching staff. No doubt Lamar's 30-year head baseball coach has learned and studied as much about pitchers and how to handle a pitching staff as virtually anyone in his sport at any level. Yet each group of individuals presents a new challenge. Gilligan decided this week to move his very effective closer Tim Erickson into a starter's role. That would work if and only if Nederland junior lefthander Justin Walker and Dulles righthander Brian Needham would adapt to new bullpen chores. Walker and Needham answered necessity's call Friday night at Vincent-Beck Stadium, preserving a one-run lead as Lamar defeated Stephen F. Austin 7-4 in an important come-from-behind victory. The Cardinals (13-7, 4-1) are set up with Erickson on the hill for the 1 o'clock series finale today just exactly in line with Gilligan's preference. Perhaps the warmer afternoon conditions may bring LU's bats out of the deep freeze. Lufkin-area product Kevin Thomas had a lot to do with keep Lamar's bats cool, too. A hard-luck loser, Thomas (2-2) carried a 4-2 lead into the seventh-inning stretch when Lamar awakened with a three-run seventh and a two-run eighth. Every topped grounder or shallow fly ball off Travis Dunson's bat turned into gold and did a lot to account for LU's first five runs. Dunson's one-hopper to third was booted to open the door in LU's two-run third inning. Then in the seventh, Dunson's lob to shallow center landed just between the outstretched glove of SFA second baseman Noel Trevino and center fielder Zach Gardner for a two-run single. Two wild pitches chased Dunson to third before Cardinals' first baseman Steven Tucker laced a tie-breaking liner to right, scoring Dunson. That's when Gilligan's new bullpen either had to fish or cut bait. Walker pitched a scoreless eighth. Needham followed with a scoreless ninth, collecting his season's first save. Erickson never vanished to the bullpen. Gilligan never had to second-guess his revised bullpen, either. "I made my commitment the other night," Gilligan explained. "He (Erickson) was in the dugout and he knew he wasn't going to throw." This juggling of Lamar's mound staff definitely had to have unfolded with great anxiety between Jim's right and left ear. His Hardin-Jefferson senior had led the Southland Conference with five saves in 10 appearances. But Erickson also had compiled a league-best .175 batting average. Gilligan realized he had to have Erickson gobble up more innings. "It would have been very tempting to bring Tim in (with LU's 5-4 lead in the eighth). If this were the last game of the season, Tim would have been in. On the other hand, I don't Tim sitting there not knowing what his role is going to be... And the big thing tonight was that Walker and Needham did the job like we needed." At one point in this game, the pitching matchup was Nederland against Nederland. Walker worked the eighth as LU's first reliever for starter and winning pitcher Matt Morgal (3-1). SFA's first reliever for Thomas was freshman righthander Alex Moshier, who allowed three hits and two runs. Lamar did not bring a very impressive bat-swinging display on this night. None of the Cardinals' batters collected more than one hit and the Lumberjacks (9-10, 1-4) owned the upper hand in the hit column, 11-7. SFA also led in extra-base hits, 3-0, thanks to Noel Trevino's solo home run off Morgal and two doubles. Yet the Cardinals have done a better job of fielding this spring than in recent years. They lead the Southland Conference with a sterling .972 fielding percentage. They had no errors while SFA committed two big ones. That can go a long way to making a pitching staff look good, too.
Guest abovetherim Posted March 21, 2008 Report Posted March 21, 2008 When it comes to baseball Nederland really puts out some good players.
AJ25 Posted March 22, 2008 Report Posted March 22, 2008 it was a pretty good game lastnight. 3rd basemen for lamar, dunson i believe? played very good.
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