HOUSTON (Interstat) — Lamar scored seven runs in the first inning and cruised to a 10-3 victory over Houston Christian on Thursday afternoon at M.O. Campbell Center. The Cardinals, now 27-23, collected 12 hits while the Huskies managed seven. Houston Christian fell to 21-26.

Beau Durbin started the barrage with a two-run homer in the top of the first, his fifth of the season. Brayden Evans added an RBI double, and Jake Wagoner followed with a two-run single. A wild pitch brought home another run.

Lamar padded its lead in the second on a sacrifice fly by Evans and an RBI single by Taylor, then added a sacrifice fly in the third. Houston Christian scored in the fourth on a groundout by Halligan. Lamar made it 10-1 in the eighth on a fielder’s choice. The Huskies scored twice in the ninth on Jeremy Rader’s hit-by-pitch and a wild pitch.

Julius Carpio earned the win, tossing five scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Cooper Carlgren struck out six in 3 2/3 innings. Ben Smith took the loss for Houston Christian.