AUSTIN, Texas – In its first road trip of the season and its first midweek game of 2018, Lamar University (1-2) will head towards the state capital Wednesday with its sights set on the second win of this young season, playing the University of Texas (2-1) at 7:30 p.m.

The Cardinals haven't had the best success rate at Texas's UFCU Disch-Falk Field, but have won there as recently as 2016.

Tickets are still available for any Big Red fans able to make the trip, and for those who can't, the game can be seen on the Longhorn Network. The LHN broadcast can be found on channel 667 on DirecTV, 383 on Spectrum, 407 on Dish, and on ESPN3 or the Watch ESPN app. Lowell Galindo, Keith Moreland, and Greg Swindell will have the call.

The Last Time Out – The Cardinal Classic
LU opened the 2018 season the same way it has in eight of the last nine seasons, with the Cardinal Classic. It was also the seventh consecutive season that Big Red had played its season opener in the friendly confines of Vincent-Beck Stadium, where LU holds an impressive 66.1% win rate.

After inclement weather across the country forced several reschedules of the tournament and the eventual cancellation of Illinois's flights to Texas, Lamar found itself opening the season with #22 Missouri State. The Cardinals largely held their own in the first game, but a tough second inning eventually led to an 11-2 win for the Bears.

LU bounced back in dominant fashion Saturday, shutting out the 22nd-ranked team in the nation 8-0 on the strength of the pitching from Noah Sills and Tanner Driskill and the bat of Cole Secrest, who was three-of-three on the day with a home run and three RBI.

The finale of the Classic was played against Texas Southern, a team that made the 2017 NCAA Regionals and returned the majority of its squad. Jack Dallas and the Tigers' Aron Solis fought in a pitchers' duel through three innings, but TSU was able to draw first blood with a solo dinger and a two-run homer in the fourth. Lamar initially tied the game at 3-3 on a three-run bomb by Secrest in the bottom of the fourth, but the Tigers retook the lead just one inning later on an RBI single down the right field line that proved to be the winning run.

Lamar vs. Texas

Series Record
Lamar vs. Texas: Texas leads 32-7
Lamar vs. Texas at Lamar: Lamar leads 2-0
Lamar vs. Texas at Texas: Texas leads 31-5
Lamar vs. Texas at Neutral Site: Texas leads 1-0

Scheduled Starters: LHP #12 Taylor Rich (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP #17 Nico O'Donnell (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Texas, in its second season under David Pierce, is 2-1 on the year after winning its opening series against Louisiana (formerly Louisiana-Lafayette). The Longhorns shut out the Ragin' Cajuns on Friday, 3-0, then took a 5-3 decision Saturday before dropping the finale 2-1 on Sunday. UT is predicted to finish third in the Big 12 this season after taking second in the conference tourney in 2017.

Pierce guided his 2017 Horns to the NCAA Long Beach Regional, its first regional appearance since 2015. His squad won 39 games, a 14-game improvement on 2016, the final season of legendary Texas coach Augie Garrido.

Two members of the Horns' pitching staff, closer Beau Ridgeway and starter Nolan Kingham, picked up pre-season All-American honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Kingham also drew Perfect Game All-American honors and Collegiate Baseball All-American honors, and Ridgeway, a member of the Stopper of the Year watch list, earned the All-American nod after collecting 12 saves with a 1.89 ERA.

Statistically the Longhorns have one of the best pitching staffs in the nation with a combined ERA of 1.00 (sixth-best in the NCAA) while allowing an average of just 4.33 hits per nine innings, the third-best rate in the country. Their strikeout-to-walk ratio of 6.25 also leads the Big 12, and their WHIP of 0.63 trails only Florida State (0.59) nationally. Offensively the Horns have been less consistent, scoring an average of 3.0 runs per game, 223rd in the NCAA.