COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M used a five-run first inning to grab an early lead and never looked back defeating Lamar University, 9-3, Tuesday evening at Blue Bell Field. After the opening inning, the Cardinals (2-2) settled down and surrendered just four runs the rest of the night.
Sophomore, and College Station native, Zach Williams, got the start (0-1) but surrendered five runs (all earned) on four hits with a walk in his lone inning of work.
The Cardinals got their leadoff man on in the first following a single from junior Ben MacNaughton, but Big Red was unable to bring him around. The Cardinals had runners aboard in each of the first four innings before finally breaking through in the top half of the sixth.
After a walk and a hit to lead off the game, Williams retired the third batter he faced in the top half of the first. The first run of the game came off the bat of Blake Bost, but the key hit in the inning came off the bat of Ryan Targac. The Aggies would go on to add two in the third and one more in the fifth, before LU answered back.
Nederland's Chase Kemp led off the sixth with a walk, but the next two batters failed to move him over. With two outs, junior Josh Blankenship took the first pitch he saw down the left field line for a double scoring Kemp from first.
After LU hung a goose egg on the Aggies in the home half of the sixth, they went back on the attack in the seventh. MacNaughton led off the inning with a single, followed by a double from sophomore Kevin Bermudez. Junior Reese Durand brought the first run of the inning home on a grounder to short. Kemp then followed suit with a grounder to third scoring Bermudez.
Unfortunately, that would be as close as the Cardinals would get as A&M tacked on an insurance run in the eighth.
Six different Cardinals collected a hit Tuesday led by multi-hit games from MacNaughton and Blankenship. MacNaughton went 2-for-4 with a run scored, while Blankenship was 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.
Big Red returns to action Friday when they kickoff a three-game series at Rice. The series is set to begin Friday with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m.