BEAUMONT, Texas – Lamar University sophomore right-hander Laura Napoli was named the Southland Conference Softball Pitcher of the Week, the conference office announced Monday. The award is sponsored by Universal Coin and Bullion.
 
Napoli earned the accolades after a pair of dominating performances over the weekend, as she fired back-to-back two-hit shutouts against Incarnate Word.
 
Napoli (6-5, 2.38) walked just one batter while striking out five over the two games as the Cardinals (18-11 overall, 6-3 Southland) swept the three-game series from UIW.
 
"Laura definitely deserved the honor," LU coach Holly Bruder said. "Throwing two straight two-hitters is pretty special. We needed solid pitching efforts, and we got them. Hopefully, this was a big boost of confidence for Laura."
 
Bruder, Napoli and the rest of the Cardinals don't have much time to savor the award, as LU hosts the Houston Cougars (15-15) in a non-conference doubleheader at 3 p.m. Tuesday at the LU Softball Complex. The twin bill was moved up one day because of the forecast of inclement weather in Beaumont on Wednesday.
 
"These will be good midweek games for us," Bruder said. "Houston is a good offensive team. We're going to have to match them hitter of hitter, and rely on our pitching and defense to come through."
 
The Cardinals lead the Southland Conference in batting average at .327 and on-base percentage at .436, improving those numbers by hitting .351 with a .443 on-base percentage against UIW, but LU scored just 13 runs over those three games, stranding 22 runners on the weekend.
 
"We did get a good job of getting runners on base, but we have to do a better job of timely hitting," Bruder said. "You have to make the most of your opportunities."
 
LU sophomore right fielder Brittany Rodriguez leads the Southland Conference in hitting at .440. Rodriguez, who went 7-for-10 over the weekend, has reached base safely in a school record 25 straight games.
 
Jenna Holland (.356), Sable Hankins (.352), Ashley McDowell (.341), Kelly Meeuwsen (.333) and Brynn Baca (.325) are all hitting better than .300 for LU.
 
Napoli and junior right-hander Ciara Luna (8-2, 2.34) are the projected starters for the Cardinals.
 
Houston enters the game hitting .299 as a team. The Cougars, a member of the American Athletic Conference, are led by Maya Thomas, who is hitting .434, and Katie St. Pierre, who is batting .400. Courtney Klinger has seven of the Cougars' 21 home runs.
 
Juliana Shrum (5-4, 2.73) leads a four-pitcher rotation that has a combined 3.96 ERA.
 
All Lamar University students attending Tuesday's game will receive free pizza while supplies last. The Kona Ice truck will be on site, with the first 100 fans receiving a free serving. For ticket information, call 409-880-1715, or CLICK HERE.
 
Following Tuesday's doubleheader, the Cardinals return to action when they travel to Northwestern State for a three-game Southland Conference series. The teams will play a doubleheader at 3 p.m. Friday and a single game at 1 p.m. Saturday. All three Northwestern State games will be broadcast online.