HOUSTON (Interstat) — Cade Pregeant hit two home runs and drove in five runs, but the visiting Lamar Cardinals fell to the Houston Christian Huskies 9-5 in the first game of a Southland doubleheader Saturday at M.O. Campbell Center.

Pregeant’s two-run homer in the third inning gave Lamar a 5-0 lead. The Huskies answered with Jackson Walker’s grand slam in the bottom half, making it 5-4. Houston Christian tied the game in the sixth on a hit-by-pitch, then took the lead on Luke Bard’s grand slam, his second homer of the season.

Lamar totaled seven hits, including Pregeant’s three-run blast in the seventh, but that was the final scoring. Houston Christian managed only four hits, grounded into two double plays, and relied on five pitchers. Starter Louis Castano struck out nine over five innings, allowing four hits and three earned runs. Relievers David Lopez, Ben Norton and Jarret Williams held the Cardinals scoreless in the final frames.

Houston Christian improved to 22-27; Lamar dropped to 28-24. The teams concluded the doubleheader later Saturday.