BEAUMONT, Texas – Second baseman Joe Provenzano's RBI-double at the beginning of the game was enough to give the McNeese baseball team the early advantage it needed while starting pitcher Ethan Stremmel's standout performance on the mound protected the lead as the Cowboys took down No. 25 Lamar, 1-0, Sunday afternoon to secure the Southland Conference series at Vincent-Beck Stadium.
 
It seemed as though the Cowboys (22-12, 12-6 SLC) have enjoyed the task of making big plays with two outs in an inning this season. The case was made so again on Sunday for Provenzano who smashed an RBI-double with two outs in the top of the first to send home junior Ricky Ramirez, who singled to lead off, and give McNeese a 1-0 lead.
 
The Pokes would go on to record two more hits with two outs in an inning but would only advance a runner to third base just once the rest of the way.
 
It was the arm of Stremmel that took care of McNeese the rest of the way as he fired off 8.1 innings without giving up a run and only six hits. He struck out four and walk one batter. The outing was Stremmel's longest of the season as he improved his record to a 3-1 mark.
 
"Anytime you go on the road, especially when you lose on Friday night and come back and get two one-run ballgames, the elements were tough on both teams but we were just one-run better than them today," said McNeese head coach Justin Hill. "Can't say enough about Ethan Stremmel and what he did last weekend then came back this week against a very offensive club and played great defense all day long."
 
There was no doubt left on the field as the Pokes proved to be a force to be reckoned with after collecting its third straight SLC road series while snapping Lamar's (26-10, 11-4 SLC) string of four-consecutive weeks of series wins.
 
The win also gave McNeese its fifth victory over a ranked opponent this season and third within the last week.
 
Collin Kober recorded his seventh save of the season after having tossed the last two outs of the ballgame. Kober now sits second all-time in career save and will have the chance to tie former Cowboy skipper and player Chad Clement for first place in the McNeese record books.
 
The Cowboys were able to take Lamar out of its element, as the Cardinals were only able to get three runners into scoring position while only moving one to third. One of the top hitting teams in the conference; LU entered the series scoring almost seven runs per game and were held to nine on the weekend.
 
Senior Connor Crane led the offensive effort, batting 2-for-3 on Sunday. Crane now has 14 multiple-hit efforts this season. Seven total batters collected a hit in the contest.
 
McNeese left 10 runners stranded on base while Lamar left five along the way. The Cowboys recorded eight hits while limiting Lamar to six in the game.
 
The Pokes will continue its stretch of challenges this week with a road game at UL-Lafayette followed by an SLC series at home against league-leading Southeastern Louisiana.
 
McNeese 1, Lamar University 0 (Apr 17, 2016 at Beaumont, Texas)
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McNeese............. 100 000 000  -  1  8  0      (22-12, 12-6 SLC)
Lamar University.... 000 000 000  -  0  6  0      (26-10, 11-4 SLC)
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Pitchers: McNeese - Stremmel, Ethan; Kober, Collin(9) and Toole, Cameron. Lamar University -
McKinley, J.; Moore, T.(5); Johnson, J.(8) and Arredondo, B.
Win-Stremmel, Ethan(3-1)  Save-Kober, Collin(7)  Loss-McKinley, J.(2-1)  T-2:16  A-722
Weather: 75 degrees and cloudy