BEAUMONT, Texas – A longstanding rivalry that spans all the way back to the 1994, the Lamar University baseball team will host nearby rival Rice for its first home midweek contest of the season Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. at Vincent-Beck Stadium in non-conference action.
 
For 23 years, the two programs have faced off at least once a season, and each will look to use the midweek contest to vault them back into the win column after they suffered weekend series losses. Lamar (7-5) fell in two games at UT Rio Grande Valley while Rice (4-8) suffered two home losses to Pepperdine.
 
The game will be streamed live for free at BigRedSN.com. The Voice of the Cardinals Harold Mann will have the call.
 
Last season, rain forced the cancellation of the Beaumont contest, but the Cardinals traveled to then-14^th ranked Rice and fell in the season's only meeting. All-time, the Owls hold a 79-47 advantage, and LU's last win was the home contest in 2014.
 
The Cardinals come in after a late inning loss to UTRGV. Reid Russell dropped a three-run home run in the seventh inning that gave LU a 5-3 lead, but the Vaqueros regained the lead in the bottom of the frame and held on to it. All five runs in the game work scored by three homers from Russell, Trey Silvers and Payton Robertson.
 
Russell has been hot in his last six games. The reigning league hitter of the year is 10-of-24 (.419) with six runs batted in and four runs scored. Of his 10 base hits, three are for extra bases, and he also has two walks added in.
 
As a team, Lamar averages 6.1 runs per game, led by 13 total runs from Trey Silvers and Cutter McDowell. Russell sits atop the team with .400 batting average, followed by .341 from Robin Adames and .302 from Bryndan Arredondo. The offense as a unit is hitting .260.
 
Dominic DiCaprio leads the Owls with a .455 batting average, followed by Beaumont native Ford Proctor's .333 mark. They lead a squad that is hitting .277 and scores at a 5.1 runs per game clip. DiCaprio is tied with Ryan Chandler for 10 runs batted in, and Proctor is the tops in runs (10).
 
The Cardinal pitching staff has a 3.24 earned run average, and LU is expected to toss several pitchers in Tuesday's contest. The group has a .242 batting average against and 96 strikeouts in 107 total innings. Brett Brown (0-0, 1.08 ERA) – who got work in Sunday's first contest – will be the starter in Tuesday's game, and started last week's matchup at Texas.
 
Zach Esquivel (1-2, 3.60) is slated to be Rice's starter. He's pitched 10 innings in four appearances (one start). He was the starter in last season's contest against LU, and pitched 5.2 frames with one run allowed on five hits. The right-hander struck out six last year, and has eight in total this season.
 
Lamar hits the road again for another weekend series away from The Beck after the Tuesday's game. It opens Southland Conference play at Sam Houston Friday at 6:30 p.m. That series is the second of three-straight the Cardinals had on the road.