STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Senior Chase Kemp and junior Deric LaMontagne homered Friday night, and the Lamar University pitching staff kept Tarleton State off balance as the Cardinals defeated TSU, 4-1. Junior Braxton Douthit (4-1) picked up the win and senior Jack Dallas added to his school record career saves total with his sixth of the season.
 
The Cardinals (19-12/8-5 WAC) never trailed as they will remain in at least a tie for the WAC Southwest Division lead. Big Red scored its four runs on nine hits led by multi-hit efforts from Kemp (2-for-5, 1 home run, 2 RBIs), Kelby Weyler (2-for-3 with a double) and Matt McDonald (2-for-3 with an RBI).
 
Douthit pitched 5.1 innings to pick up the victory allowing just one run on seven hits with two strikeouts. He was one of five Cardinals to take the mound Friday. LU's bullpen pitched the 3.2 allowing just two hits and no runs despite working their way through traffic in the latter stages of the game. Dallas pitched a scoreless ninth for the save.
 
The Cardinals got the scoring started in the top half of the fourth when Kemp led off the inning with a homer to right field. It was the third pitch of the inning and Kemp's fourth blast of the season. Unfortunately, Tarleton State responded in kind in the next half inning. The Texans loaded the bases but came away with only a run.
 
Big Red had an answer in the fifth when Kemp drove in his second run of the game when he grounded out to first.
 
After the Cardinals jumped back out in front, LU's pitching staff became simply annoying to the hometown team. The Texans loaded the bases in the fourth, had first and third in the fifth, second and third in the sixth and loaded again in the seventh and during that stretch came away with a total of one run.
 
In the seventh, the Cardinals went looking for insurance and that came in the form of LaMontagne. The Quebec native took the second pitch of the inning over the wall in right field to give LU a two-run lead. After the Cardinal bullpen worked its magic again in the home half of the inning, the Cardinals were back on the attack again in the eighth plating one run on two hits – the RBI coming on a single off the bat of McDonald.
 
The Cardinals return to the field Saturday for game two of the series. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m. from the Tarleton Baseball Complex.