BEAUMONT, Texas — Chase Kemp was intentionally walked with a runner on second and two outs to get to Ryan Snell and the Cardinals’ made Binghamton pay crushing a ball to the wall in centerfield to hand Lamar University a walk-off 2-1 victory over the Bearcats in 14 innings in Friday night’s season opener.
Although he didn’t figure in the decision, Braxton Douthit got the start and pitched 6.0 scoreless innings striking out 13 without surrendering a hit or a walk. The lone baserunner reached on an error.
The Cardinals’ staff finished the night with 24 strikeouts. Big Red allowed just four hits and only two walks in the extra-inning affair.
Sophomore Zach Williams pitched the final inning striking out two to pick up the win. Binghamton’s Alex Henderson pitched 1.2 innings and was hung with the loss.
The Cardinals scored their first run in the second inning on a Josh Blankenship RBI single in the bottom half of the second. The Bearcats answered back with a solo shot in the top half of the seventh.
After Binghamton tied the game, the pitchers took back over as both teams were kept off the board until the bottom of the 14th. The Cardinals used five pitches on the night with each one recording at least two strikeouts. BU also used five arms on the night.
The Cardinals will be back in action Saturday for the second game of the series against Binghamton. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m. from Vincent-Beck Stadium.