ALBANY, N.Y. (Interstat) — Jae’dan Carter’s three-run home run in the top of the fourth inning turned a deficit into a lead and Jaxon Lloyd pitched six scoreless, hitless innings as the Longwood Lancers defeated the Binghamton Bearcats 7-3 on Friday in the first game of a doubleheader at Varsity Field.

Longwood improved to 25-16 overall, while Binghamton fell to 21-15.

Binghamton struck first in the bottom of the first inning. Braylen Gonzalez led off with a solo home run to right field. After two strikeouts, Caden Albright singled and Tommy Popoff followed with a two-run homer to right center, giving the Bearcats a 3-0 lead.

Longwood’s offense struggled against starter Conner Griffin through the first three innings, managing only a single from Brogan Jones and no runs. But the Lancers broke through in the fourth.

Jones singled again to lead off, then moved to second on a wild pitch. Jon Howard walked, putting runners on first and second. After Ben Pulliam struck out, Carter launched a 3-2 pitch over the right-field wall for his third home run of the season, scoring Jones and Howard and tying the game 3-3.

The rally continued. Lucas Johnson lined out, but Jack McMullan walked. Jayson Nash singled and Bentley Yeatts walked to load the bases. Tre Keels then cleared the bases with a double to center field, scoring Nash and McMullan and giving Longwood a 6-3 lead.

Jake Dally replaced Griffin on the mound after Keels’ double and ended the inning by getting Jones to fly out.

Lloyd, who entered with a 2-3 record and a 4.50 ERA, baffled Binghamton hitters after the first inning. He retired 10 straight batters at one point, allowing no hits over six innings while striking out six. He walked three and hit a batter but did not allow a hit, a statistical oddity given the Bearcats’ two first-inning homers. His line: six innings, zero hits, three earned runs, six strikeouts.

Longwood added insurance in the ninth. Howard led off with a solo home run to right field, and Ben Pulliam followed with a solo shot to right center, his first of the season. Jae’dan Carter added a single, but the Lancers left two runners stranded.

Callen Travers pitched two perfect innings of relief, striking out two. JR Fordham closed the game with a 1-2-3 ninth, striking out three.

For Binghamton, Popoff finished 2 for 3 with the two-run homer and a single, accounting for two RBIs. Gonzalez had the solo homer and struck out three times. Dally pitched 3.1 innings of relief, allowing one hit and striking out six without an earned run.

The turning point was clearly Longwood’s five-run fourth inning, which erased a three-run deficit and gave the Lancers control. Carter’s three-run homer was the pivotal blow, and Keels’ two-run double provided separation.

Defensively, Longwood turned two double plays, including one in the eighth inning that ended a Binghamton threat. The Bearcats stranded seven runners and struck out 13 times as a team.

The win snapped a two-game losing streak for Longwood, which had dropped a series to Presbyterian earlier in the week. Binghamton had won three of its previous four games.

The two teams were scheduled to play the second game of the doubleheader later Friday. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Binghamton 7, Longwood 6, and its ELO system had given the Bearcats a 66.60 percent probability to win.