Some of his teammates asked William Delage what he had for breakfast Sunday morning. Others asked him what he did differently in the bullpen as Lamar prepared to face Texas-Pan American.

There was no secret, really. Just a bit of advice from Delage's catcher, C.J. Ebarb.

"Don't think about anything today," Ebarb told him. "Just focus on your mechanics, and everything will happen for you."

It was good advice for both of them.

Delage fired a one-hit shutout and Ebarb drove in five runs as the Cardinals ripped UTPA 10-0 on a clear, sunny afternoon at Vincent-Beck Stadium - a place everyone vacated early because of a seven-inning, 10-run mercy rule agreed upon by both teams.

In a game that barely eclipsed the two-hour mark, Delage was a left-handed lawn mower who had the Broncs waving, missing and guessing for most of the 96 pitches he threw.

Delage put away the first nine men he faced and took a no-hitter into the fifth, when he peered toward the plate and delivered a 2-2 changeup to Dan Calabro, the No. 6 hitter, with one out.

Calabro connected for a line drive between second and first. It was the only thing that stood between Delage and a seven-inning no-no. The Nederland product had nine strikeouts and one walk en route to his second career shutout.

"He pitched a great game today," Ebarb said of Delage. "He had command of every pitch - changeup, slider, curveball, fastball. That's what was so easy for me as a catcher. He was just hitting his spots."

Asked if Delage had ever been so much in control, Lamar coach Gilligan just shook his head.

"Never. Mechanics-wise, pitching-wise, it's the best he's ever been," Gilligan said of the senior. "The only thing I could possibly say was that he was missing (targets) sometimes on 0-2 pitches. Other than that, everything was on."

It was the second straight day in which a Lamar pitcher rebounded from a rough debut. On Saturday, Steve Macfarland threw five scoreless innings in the Cardinals' 6-1, series-opening win over UTPA, erasing the memory of Macfarland's two-inning, five-run effort in a wild win over Oklahoma.

Delage, similarly, had been roughed up in Lamar's season opener against Gonzaga, giving up four runs in 32/3 innings on Feb. 3.

He bounced back in fine fashion Sunday, picking up his first win of the season.

Lamar and Texas-Pan Am wrap up their three-game series at 1 p.m. today.

"The first game of the year, my motion wasn't what I wanted to be," Delage said. "I worked hard in the bullpen and got it smoothed out, and everything felt good today."

No kidding.

The Cardinals' offense, meanwhile, made sure everyone left early - especially Broncs starter Ray Silva. Lamar chased the right-hander after two innings, five runs and a severe case of whiplash.

The Cardinals scored three runs in the first on a pair of opposite-field singles by Ebarb and second baseman Ryan Baker, who went 2-for-3 on the day. Lamar added another run when Silva, perhaps shell-shocked by the early barrage, made a mental mistake on a routine play.

With runners on first and third, Silva fielded Matt Lambeth's grounder and probably could have started a double play at second base. But he merely glanced at the runner going home and tossed to first instead, allowing Baker to score for a 4-0 lead.

Collin DeLome, who went 3-for-3, added a solo homer to right-center in the second inning.

Relief pitcher Dane Mason, who kept the Cardinals quiet for the next four innings, came unglued in the seventh.

He gave up a leadoff triple to DeLome and an RBI single to designated hitter Michael Ambort, then plunked Dan Hernandez with a pitch.

Baker followed with a seeing-eye single, and after Ambort scored on a wild pitch, Ebarb smashed a three-run homer to the opposite field.

"It was a 3-0 count, a fastball middle away," Ebarb said. "I looked at coach (Gilligan). I figured he'd give me the green light, and he did. ... It wasn't a typical pitch I'd hit out. But I put the barrel on the ball and with the wind here today, it left the ballpark."