BEAUMONT, Texas – The Lamar University Cardinals welcome a nationally ranked opponent to the LU Softball Complex for the first time ever as the 13^th-ranked Baylor Bears come to Beaumont for a non-conference game at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
 
"We're excited to have a team like Baylor come here," LU coach Holly Bruder said. "Getting quality teams to come here is a huge deal. We are proud of our facility, and I think they will be impressed with what we have."
 
Tuesday's game is the final non-conference game of the regular season for the Cardinals (23-23 overall, 13-8 Southland Conference). LU, which currently holds the No. 3 seed in next month's conference tournament, is at Incarnate Word this weekend for a three-game conference series before hosting Nicholls for three games on May 5-6 to wrap up the regular season.
 
"We want to play the best teams we can to get ready for the conference tournament," Bruder said. "We want to be pushed in order to get better."
 
Baylor (36-9, 9-3 Big 12), has lost three of its last four. The Bears lost a non-conference game at Texas State before dropping two of three conference games at No. 8 Oklahoma over the weekend.
 
"I'm sure they're going to be looking to get back on track," Bruder said of the Bears. "They have good pitching and a perfect combination of speed and power. This should be a fun game."
 
Tuesday's game is the second meeting of the season between the teams. Baylor was a 5-3 winner over LU on Feb. 18 in the Getterman Classic at Baylor.
 
The Cardinals come in to the game after dropping two of three at conference-leading at McNeese. Despite dropping the series, Bruder is upbeat about the way her team played.
 
"We hit .300 against some of the best pitching in the conference," Bruder said. "The series could have gone either way. I'm not disappointed at all in the way we played. We took a step up from the previous two weeks. I don't think we've peaked yet."
 
Center fielder Brittany Rodriguez leads the Cardinals with a .393 batting average. Brynn Baca (.318), Ashley McDowell (.315) and Sable Hankins (.306) are also hitting better than .300 for the Cardinals.
 
Senior right-hander Ciara Luna (10-13, 2.42) is expected to get the start for LU. Luna has 220 career strikeouts, six shy of the school record of 226 set by Shannon Millman.
 
Baylor is led offensively by Lindsey Cargill, who is hitting .463, good for sixth in the nation. As a team, the Bears are hitting .330, which ranks ninth nationally. The Bears have stolen 95 bases in 122 attempts. Their average of 2.11 stolen bases per game is 11^th in the nation.
 
The Baylor pitching staff is led by senior right-hander Kelsee Selman (18-6, 1.48). Sophomore right-hander Gia Rodoni (12-1, 1.94) and freshman righty Shelby McGlaun (6-2, 2.06) give the Bears a solid trio of pitchers.
 
"We're going to have to avoid making some of the mistakes that cost us this weekend," Bruder said. "We're making some adjustments to avoid those mistakes."
 
PROMOTIONS: Tuesday is Military Appreciation Day. In addition, fans will receive a free LU snapback cap while supplies last.
 
SERIES RECORD: Baylor leads the all-time series 6-0. The Bears are 3-0 vs. the Cardinals since LU revived the program in 2013. Baylor went 3-0 against LU in 1984.
 
TICKETS: For tickets to all LU home games, call 409-880-1715, or CLICK HERE. Tickets are also available at the LU ticket office, located in the Montagne Center, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Tickets will be available at the ticket window at the LU Softball Complex starting one hour prior to first pitch.