BEAUMONT, Texas —
Travis Lutz earned his first win of the season, tossing four shutout innings without allowing a hit to help lift Lamar University to a 5-2 series-opening victory over Incarnate Word on Friday night at Vincent‑Beck Stadium.
A.J. Taylor put Lamar University ahead 2-0 with a two-out, two-run home run that traveled 360 feet to left field in the bottom of the third inning.
Beau Durbin set the stage by drawing a walk and advancing to second on a wild pitch.
UIW cut the deficit to one run in the top of the fourth inning on Cole Tabor's leadoff solo home run that traveled 385 feet to right field.
The score was evened up at 2-2 in the fifth when Drake Anderson delivered a two-out RBI single through the left side.
LU reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the sixth.
Braden Benton sparked the inning with an infield single, and
Lane Sparks entered as a pinch runner before stealing second base.
Jake Wagoner moved Sparks to third with a sacrifice bunt, setting up
Theo Kummer's pinch-hit RBI single to right center.
LU added two insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh inning when Sparks delivered a two-out, two-RBI triple to right field.
Hector Rodriguez drew a walk and
Kevin Duran followed with a single through the left side to set the table for the big hit.
Lutz retired 12 of the 14 batters he faced while he tallied five strikeouts.
RECORDS: LU (16-10, 9-4); UIW (13-13, 5-8)
GAME NOTES
- LU has won four straight games and improved to 10-4 at home.
- Taylor finished 1 for 5 with a home run and two RBIs, giving him three homers on the season.
- Rodriguez went 1 for 3 with a single and a walk.
- Duran was walked twice and went 1 for 2 with a single.
- Benton added a single and a walk, finishing 1 for 2.
- Sparks recorded his second triple of the season, going 1 for 1 with a stolen base and two RBIs.
- Kummer went 1 for 1 with a single and an RBI.
- Tab Tracy extended his on-base streak to 17 games, drawing two walks and stealing his ninth base of the season.
- Jarret Williams earned the start, allowing two earned runs over 4.2 innings while striking out four.
- Nathan Darden worked 0.1 innings of relief, allowing one hit and striking out one.
UP NEXT
The series continues with Game 2 at 5:05 p.m. Saturday, March 28.
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