BEAUMONT, Texas – It took all nine innings to secure it, but Chad Fleischman's walk-off home run clinched Jimmy Johnson's win in a gem of a performance when Lamar University baseball defeated Incarnate Word 3-1 Saturday afternoon at Vincent-Beck Stadium in Southland Conference action.
 
Johnson (2-2) tossed LU's (14-10, 3-5 Southland) first complete game in 40 contests and gave up only one run on seven hits, no walks and five strikeouts. Four of the hits he allowed came in the final three innings after he'd already crossed the 75-pitch threshold.
 
"He went out there and gave us nine inning with no walks and tossed a complete game in his first start. He really stepped up for us," said head coach Will Davis. "We really needed someone to step up for us, and the two pitching performances we've had out of him and Carson Lance have been huge. He's a warrior out there, and that's what we needed."
 
Between Johnson and Lance, Lamar has only had to use one relief pitcher in the first two games of the three-game set, and only for 13 pitches.
 
The senior only allowed only one hit through the first three innings, but rolled him up in a double play. He was one over the minimum heading into the fourth, but that was due to an error. Johnson gave up two singles in the fourth, but used two strikeouts to get out of that jam.
 
He tossed perfect fifth and sixth frames and squashed a single in the seventh and left the runner stranded on first. It took a double in the eighth – only the second batter of three to reach scoring position on him – to scratch across a run.
 
Both team's found it hard to score in a game that turned out to be a pitcher's duel, but Fleischman - who has been LU's hottest hitter in the last three games – took care of Johnson with a first-pitch blast to left field that walked off UIW (13-11, 4-4) in the ninth inning.
 
Fleischman is 8-for-13 (.615) with two runs and seven RBI in the last three games. He was 3-for-4 Saturday with two RBI and a run scored, following a perfect 4-of-4 contest Friday.
 
Arredondo led off the ninth inning with a single through the right side to put a man on for Fleischman's two-run shot.
 
"Chad is swinging a hot bat, which is great to see," said Davis. "The back of our lineup really seems to be coming around, and he is a big part of that."
 
Trey Silvers finally found a way to score a run in the pitcher's duel in the sixth inning, which put LU up 1-0 at the time. He turned a two-out, full-count pitch around and blasted it just inside the left field foul pole.
 
"Trey put a good swing on a couple of balls today," said Davis. "He hit one pretty good in the second inning that sent the outfielder to the wall, but the wind knocked it down. Fortunately it shifted some late in the game and he used it to his advantage."
 
UIW's Bernie Martinez held the Cardinals to just one run in seven innings. He gave up six hits and struck out five, and the Cardinal ace didn't allow a walk.  Neither team walked a batter until Lance Moszkowicz (2-1) opened the eighth inning with a leadoff walk issued to Cutter McDowell. He loaded the bases with three walks in that inning, but a fly out and play at the plate ended that LU threat.
 
Moszkowicz pitched one-plus innings and gave up two runs on Fleischman's long ball.
 
LU accounted for eight hits, three from Fleischman. McDowell led off the game with a double and was 1-for-3 with a walk. Reid Russell had a single in the fourth and Ingram had the same in the fifth. All seven hits for UIW came from three batters, led by David Anaya's three base knocks.
 
Saturday's win locked up LU's first conference series win of the season, and it will go for the sweep at 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon. Galen Andrews was originally slated to start the game, but was scratched due to an injury. Jace Campbell (1-1, 4.09 earned run average) will start for Lamar and be faced by John Shull (2-2, 5.40).