CRESTWOOD – Roosevelt allowed a pair of big innings Tuesday in a 16-5 loss to Lewis in seven innings in the Lakers' home opener at Ozinga Field.

Neither team was able to generate much offense in the first two innings, but the game opened up in the third. Lewis scored five runs in the top half of the frame before Antwan Harvey Jr. induced a ground ball to end the inning with a double play. Quinn O'Bryan led off the bottom of the third with a single, starting a parade of hits for the Lakers (9-23).

Andrew Lucas snuck a single through the left side before Ian Bagaconza's hard-hit bouncer to first base scored O'Bryan. Alejandro Munoz found room on the left side for a two-run single followed by Tyler Ruete depositing a single into center field. A wild pitch allowed Munoz to score before the rally ended with Roosevelt only trailing 5-4.

Harvey Jr. found his groove after the double play and retired the Flyers in order in the fourth then faced the minimum in the fifth. He nearly escaped trouble in the sixth, but back-to-back hits with runners in scoring position allowed Lewis to tack on two more runs.

The trouble for the Lakers staff came in the seventh inning when Lewis scored nine runs on just two hits without Roosevelt committing an error. A string of six straight walks doomed the cause as did two wild pitches and a passed ball allowing runs to score.

Roosevelt needed three runs in the bottom of the seventh to extend the game and Bagaconza got the Lakers off to the perfect start with a leadoff triple. Munoz laced a single into center field to score the runner and Ruete followed with a single of his own. However, Munoz was tagged out trying to advance to third on the infield hit after he rounded second base in an effort not to interfere with the fielder's ability to play the poor throw.

UP NEXT: The Lakers host No. 10 Grand Valley State for a four-game series starting Friday at 3 p.m. at Ozinga Field.