BEAUMONT, Texas (Interstat) — Chris Olivier delivered a masterful performance on the mound, striking out 12 over 7 2/3 dominant innings to lead the Lamar Cardinals to a 5-0 victory over the McNeese State Cowboys in Southland Conference baseball action Saturday at Vincent-Beck Stadium.

The right-hander was nearly untouchable, allowing just two hits and two walks while keeping the Cowboys off the scoreboard. He set the tone early, striking out the side in the first inning and retiring the first seven batters he faced. Olivier’s command was precise, and McNeese State struggled to make solid contact throughout his outing. The performance marked a sharp turnaround for Olivier, who allowed three earned runs in a relief appearance against Stephen F. Austin just six days prior.

Lamar provided Olivier with an early lead, manufacturing a run in the bottom of the first inning without a hit. Tab Tracy led off with an infield single, stole second, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on Braden Benton’s sacrifice fly to left field.

The game remained a tight 1-0 pitchers’ duel until the bottom of the fifth, when McNeese State’s defense faltered. Two costly errors by the Cowboys’ infield extended the inning for Lamar. With runners on second and third after the miscues, AJ Taylor lifted another sacrifice fly, this time to second base, to plate Lane Sparks and give the Cardinals a 2-0 advantage. Both runs charged to McNeese State starter Eric Nachtsheim were unearned.

Nachtsheim was effective despite the defensive lapses behind him, holding Lamar hitless through five innings. However, the Cardinals finally broke through against him in the sixth. Hector Rodriguez, Theo Kummer and Kevin Duran strung together three consecutive singles to load the bases with one out, ending Nachtsheim’s day. Reliever Paul Coppinger entered but was greeted by a run-scoring single from Sparks and an RBI single from Balin Valentine, stretching Lamar’s lead to 4-0.

The most important sequence of the game solidified Lamar’s control. After Nachtsheim’s no-hit bid and shutout were spoiled by the singles, the Cardinals’ timely hitting with the bases loaded against a fresh reliever turned a narrow lead into a commanding one, effectively putting the game out of reach given Olivier’s dominance.

Lamar added an unearned insurance run in the eighth. Pinch-runner Ayden Sunday advanced to third on a throwing error by reliever Adrian Najar and scored on Sparks’ second RBI of the day, a sacrifice fly to center.

McNeese State’s offense never threatened. The Cowboys managed only four singles, two of which came in the eighth inning after Olivier had exited. Travis Lutz recorded the final four outs for Lamar to preserve the shutout. Matt Stancliff and Danny Barbero each had two hits for McNeese State.

Olivier was the clear star, but Valentine contributed two hits and an RBI for Lamar, which improved to 11-8 overall. McNeese State fell to 8-9. The Cardinals’ eight hits all came in the final four innings.

The win allowed Lamar to even the weekend series after dropping the opener 3-1 on Friday. The teams conclude the three-game conference set Sunday afternoon.

According to pregame projections, Interstat’s game simulator had predicted a 6-4 Lamar victory, while its ELO system gave the Cardinals a 56.2% probability to win. Olivier’s sterling outing ensured the result was never in doubt, outperforming both forecasts with the shutout performance.