Box Score April 2, 2010
Box Score
BEAUMONT - Eric Harrington and Brandon Chambers combined to shut down No. 21-ranked Southeastern Louisiana on six hits Friday night, and the Cardinals' hitters responded with 14 of their own in capturing an 8-1 victory.
Braving intermittent rain and a blustery wind for most the evening, Harrington yielded a first inning run a single by Justin Boudreau, a stolen base and an RBI double by Chad Gougler, then settled down to hold the Lions in check until they managed a mini-threat in the eighth inning.
In improving to 4-1 on the season, Harrington struck out five batters and walked three. Chambers replaced him with runners on first and second with two outs in the eighth inning. He hit the first batter he faced to load the bases but got out of the jam by striking out Chris Ernest on four pitches.
Chambers struck out two more batters in pitching a hitless ninth inning.
The Cardinals tied the score at one in the third inning when second baseman Andy Mena led off with his first of three singles on the evening. He came around to score on a groundout, a balk and Quentin Luquette's single to left field.
Centerfielder Ted Zentek's two-out single up the middle in the fifth inning plated Aaron Buchanan with the go-ahead run. The Cardinals gained separation in the sixth inning, scoring three runs with Mena contributing an RBI single and Farhat driving a two-run double down the left field line.
The Cardinals, who improved to 17-10 on the season and 4-7 in the Southland Conference, finished their scoring by adding two runs in the seventh inning and another in the eighth.
Buchanan, who turned in a couple of defensive gems at shortstop, matched Mena's three hits in increasing his team-leading batting average to .343. Luquette and Wade Mathis, who ran his hitting streak to nine games, added to hits each to the Cards' 14-hit attack.
The loss dropped the Lions to 23-5 on the season and 7-4 in the SLC. The teams will complete the three-game with Saturday's finale that will begin at 1 p.m., also in Vincent-Beck Stadium.
