BEAUMONT, Texas – Trying to get its three-game skid snapped, the Lamar University baseball team will host the first of two double midweek sets when the Cardinals host both Prairie View and Texas Southern in consecutive days at Vincent-Beck Stadium in non-conference action.
The Panthers (4-15) will visit at 4 p.m. Tuesday afternoon and the Tigers (4-11) will be in town at 4 p.m. Wednesday afternoon. The two programs played each other over the weekend in Southwestern Athletic Conference action, Texas Southern took two of three.
The Cardinals (8-8) enter after a tough series battle at Sam Houston State, where they dropped their first Southland Conference series in a sweep. The second double midweek series is at Northwestern State in two weeks.
Right-hander
Nathan Gabryszwski (0-1, 3.72 earned run average) will make his second start of the season against Prairie View. His last start was against Fairfield, and the freshman worked 3.2 innings with two earned runs allowed. He's seen action in five games and totaled 9.2 frames.
LU is expected to start
Brent Janak (1-0, 3.27) on Wednesday against the Tigers. The senior has not had a start in the 2017 campaign, and had two last season. He's pitched in six contests on the year and has the most relief innings in 2017, only behind
Galen Andrews. Janak pitched in relief in the series opener at SHSU, and saved the rest of the bullpen with 3.1 innings.
Robin Adames – who is on a career best 24-game reached base streak – leads the LU offense along with cleanup hitter
Reid Russell. The duo lead LU in hitting, on-base percentage, runs batted in and slugging. Adames has a team high .383 batting average, followed by Russell's .379 mark. Russell tops the team with a .500 on-base and .586 slugging marks. Adames is second with a .457 on-base mark and is third in slugging (.483). Russell and
Trey Silvers are tied atop the RBI leader board at 14, and Adames has 12.
The Cardinals have a .256 team batting average and score at a 5.75 runs per game clip. They've totaled 41 extra base hits (26 doubles, three triple and 11 home runs). The LU pitching staff has an ERA of 3.92 in 16 contests and 140 total innings.
Prairie View A&M enters with a .202 team batting average, led by Nathan Carter (.356) and Corbin Jamison (.348). Between the two, they account for 14 RBI and 12 runs combined. The Panthers have scored 49 runs on the year – led by 10 from Cody Den Beste – and have faced Southland programs in New Orleans and McNeese.
The PVAMU pitching staff holds a 7.31 ERA on the season. It will start righty Jordan Johnson, who is 1-1 with a 7.53 ERA. He's started two games and appeared in six, and has totaled 14.1 innings with 12 earned runs, 13 walks and 13 strikeouts.
Texas Southern has a team ERA of 7.65 on the season. Much like Prairie View, the Tigers have faced two league schools in Incarnate Word and Stephen F. Austin. They fell in a heartbreaking walk-off at UIW. The TSU offense has a .215 batting average, led by Gerrek Jimenez's .300 mark. Olajide Olorumtimilehin has 14 of the Tigers' 44 runs batted in – team lead – and has scored six runs. Richard Alamo had the team best in runs (10). TSU scores at a 3.73 runs per game clip.
The Cardinals wrap up their three weekend series road swing with a three-game Southland Conference set at Southeastern Louisiana. The first pitch of that slate is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday evening.
