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HOUSTON – HBU received strong starting pitching in both games of Saturday's doubleheader against Binghamton, rallying back for a 4-3 victory in the first game to clinch the series, but the bullpen faltered in an 11-9 loss in the series finale.
 
Binghamton jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the opener, but HBU scored three runs of their own in the sixth to claim a one-run victory.
 
Junior righthander Julian Griego (1-0) allowed three runs on eight hits with four strikeouts and a walk in seven innings to pick up the win in his first career start at HBU. Junior Christian Thames tossed a perfect eighth, then senior Dylan Zarosky closed out the ninth for his second save of the series and 11^th of his career, tying Danny Henry for fourth all-time at HBU, four behind leader J.D. Sellers.
 
Junior catcher Blake Thomas went 1-for-4 with a triple and a pair of RBIs. Junior third baseman Austin Zillweger doubled, drove in a run and scored, while senior first baseman Andrew Alvarez singled, drove in a run and scored for the Huskies (3-1).
 
Dylan Stock (0-1) took the loss for the Bearcats (1-3), allowing one run on two hits in 2.2 innings. Starter Jake Cryts gave up three runs on four hits in 5.1 innings.
 
Brendan Skidmore went 1-for-4 and drove in two and Pat Britt was 2-for-3 with a triple and an RBI.
 
David Schanz singled with one out in the fourth for the Bearcats, but Reed Gamache flied out for the second out. Jason Agresti doubled down the left field line, then Skidmore delivered a two-run single to center. Britt followed with an RBI triple to put Binghamton up, 3-0.
 
HBU answered in the bottom of the inning as Alvarez drew a two-out walk and scored when Zillweger ripped a double down the left-field line.
 
In the sixth, senior shortstop Louie Payetta, senior designated hitter Austin Saenz and Alvarez strung together consecutive singles to cut the deficit to one, then Thomas blasted a two-run triple to left center to put the Huskies ahead, 4-3.
 
Junior righthander JT Jakubik had allowed only an unearned run when he exited with a 5-1 lead after six, but HBU's bullpen surrendered 10 runs over the final three innings in a two-run loss.
 
Alvarez went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run, three RBIs and scored twice, while senior leftfielder Brandon Morones made his first start of the year and went 3-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and two runs. Senior second baseman Greg Espinosa was 4-for-6 with a pair of RBIs.
 
Jakubik took a no-decision, giving up just the one unearned run on five hits with a strikeout and two walks in six innings. Zarosky (0-1) was going for his third save in four games, but gave up five runs on three hits in the ninth.
 
Darian Herncane went 2-for-5 with a grand slam and five RBIs for the Bearcats, while Gamache went 1-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs. David Schanz was 2-for-4 with two runs, Daniel Franchi was 2-for-5 and drove in a pair and Luke Tevlin tripled and scored twice.
 
Alvarez led off the second with a double, then senior third baseman Justin Monsour and Thomas were hit by pitches to load the bases. Morones rocked a two-run double to the gap in right-center, then Espinosa's two-run single staked the Huskies to a 4-0 lead.
 
After Binghamton scored an unearned run in the fourth, Alvarez got it back with a solo homer to left in the fifth.
 
Tevlin led off the seventh with a triple, the Franchi singled to make the score 5-2. After Schanz walked, Gamache unloaded a three-run shot to left off redshirt freshman righthander Zach Carter to tie the game, 5-5. The Bearcats then took the lead on Franchi's RBI single in the eighth.
 
HBU again loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth and junior rightfielder Brandon Brintz walked to tie the game, 6-6. The Huskies took the lead on Payetta's sacrifice fly, then a two-run single by Alvarez extended HBU's lead to 9-6.
 
Schanz singled to center to lead off the ninth and Skidmore was later hit by a pitch. Jason Agresti delivered an RBI single to cut the Bearcats' deficit to two, then Tevlin walked to load the bases with two outs. Herncane swung at the first pitch he saw and his grand slam to left to put Binghamton up, 11-9.
 
The Huskies return to action in a non-conference game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Tuesday at 3 p.m. at Chapman Field in Corpus Christi. The Legacy Sports Network audio broadcast with Russ Reneau will be available on HBUHuskies.com, beginning at 2:45 with the pregame show.