Quirion, Lamontagne lead Lamar to three wins in four-game series

Anthony Quirion (Dixville, Que.), left, and 3B Déric Lamontagne (Sainte-Julie, Que.) led the Lamar Cardinals to taking three games of four from University of Texas-Arlington Mavericks.

March 13, 2021

Déric Lamontagne’s first homer in NCAA propels Lamar to victory!

By Jacques Lanciault

Quebec’s Mr. Baseball

Déric Lamontagne (Sainte-Julie, Que.) opened Thursday’s game at third base for the Texas Lamar University Cardinals.

In his first at-bat, in the second inning, the 21-year-old belted a 3-2 pitch over the right field fence for his first NCAA homer. It gave his team a 2-0 lead over the University of Texas-Arlington Mavericks. Lamar ultimately won 3-0.

Lamontagne’s Quebec teammate, C Anthony Quirion (Dixville, Que.) didn’t have a hit in the game, but he knocked in a run on a ground out in the eighth.

Quirion had an RBI in each of his team’s first six games. He had registered RBIs in the last two games of the 2020 season, giving him a streak of eight consecutive games with at least one RBI.

A former Clarendon College Chaparall (NJCAA), Quirion finished the game with a walk in four plate appearances.

In Friday’s game, Quirion went 2-for-4, with a single and a double, and scored a run in Lamar’s 2-0 win over Arlington. Lamontagne was brought in as pinch hitter late in the game, but was unable to reach base.

Two days after hitting his first home run in the NCAA, Lamontagne added a second in an 11-3 loss to Arlington on Saturday. Lamontagne belted his home run to right centre field in the eighth inning.

He also hit a ground ball to second base in the first inning that was booted, allowing Quirion to score giving Lamar a 2-0 lead.

Lamontagne, a Dukes of Longueuil of the Quebec Elite Junior League alum, finished 1-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Quirion went 0-for-3, but scored a run.

In the finale of the four-game series on Sunday, Lamar won 4-0. In the third inning, Quirion slammed his first home run of the season, a solo shot that made the score 2-0.

Then in the eighth inning, he singled to left, stole a base and then scored the team’s fourth run. He finished the game 2-for-4 with a home run, a stolen base, two runs and an RBI.

In the same contest, Lamontagne enjoyed his first three-hit game at the collegiate level. He delivered a single in the second, a double in the third and a single up the middle in the sixth.

In the series, LaMontagne had five hits - including a double and two homers - with three RBIs, while Quirion had four hits, including a double and a homer, with two RBIs.