BEAUMONT, Texas – Hoping to carry over the momentum of Saturday's comeback win at Houston Baptist, the Cardinals of Lamar University (6-22) will travel to Waco on Tuesday for a mid-week contest against Baylor (13-13). First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in Baylor Ballpark.

The Last Time Out – Houston Baptist
With the game-tying run at the plate in both Thursday's 7-4 loss and Friday's 5-2 loss, Lamar was struck with bad luck and calls by officials that could have gone either way in both games. The Cards did a terrific job of overcoming adversity on Saturday with a come-from-behind, 6-4 win at Houston Baptist in the series finale. Grant DeVore had a terrific series, hitting .500 (6-of-12) while scoring four runs and driving home two more. Tanner Driskill threw Lamar's first complete game of the year in Friday's loss.

Lamar vs. Baylor

Series Record
All-Time Series: Baylor leads 44-31-1
At Lamar: Lamar leads 18-17-1
At Baylor: Baylor leads 25-13
At Neutral Site: Baylor leads 2-0
Coach Davis against Baylor: Lamar leads 1-0
Coach Rodriguez against Lamar: Baylor leads 2-1

Scheduled Starters:

RHP Jace Campbell (0-4, 4.88 ERA) vs. LHP Tyler Thomas (0-2, 3.12 ERA)

Steve Rodriguez, in his 15th season overall and his third season at Baylor after 12 years at his alma mater Pepperdine, has the Bears at 13-13 this year and 3-6 in Big XII play. The third-year skipper is 71-65 since landing the Baylor job, and took the Bears to the Houston Regional last season.

The Bears rank second in the Big XII in double plays turned this season with 23, just two fewer than the Cardinals' stellar infield defense. Their offense averages just over five runs per game while allowing 3.55 earned runs per game, ranking in the middle of the pack for Big XII teams in both.

Andy Thomas leads the team in walks (20, eighth in Big XII) and batting average (.360, eighth in Big XII), Davis Wendzel has a team-leading nine doubles on the year (seventh in the league), and Shea Langeliers has homered six times, the fifth-most in the conference. Sac bunts have been a big part of Baylor's offense as well with Tucker Cascadden, Davion Downey, and Nick Loftin tied for third in the Big XII with four sac bunts apiece.

Troy Montemayor has been a stellar relief pitcher with six saves in 10 appearances. He has a 0.90 ERA through 10 innings with eight strikeouts. Six qualifying Bear pitchers, including Montemayor, have sub-3.00 ERAs.

News and Notes on Lamar

HAVE BATS, WILL TRAVEL
Lamar will spend a significant portion of the rest of the 2018 season away from the friendly confines of Vincent-Beck Stadium, with 17 road games to just 10 home games remaining this year. That follows a string of 17 home games in Big Red's first 21 games this year.

CARDS' SCHEDULE TOUGHEST IN SOUTHLAND
Lamar's strength of schedule ranks 70th in the country and first in the SLC according to the NCAA. Lamar's past opponents have a combined 386-304 record (.559), and the Cards' first two SLC opponents are currently first and second, respectively, in the league standings. Thankfully the schedule gets easier moving forward, with LU's opponents possessing a .442 winning percentage.

COKER LOVES MARCH
Cole Coker has been on a tear since the calendar flipped from February to March. In 18 games this month he's accounted for 20.3 percent of Lamar's total hits (26 of 128), hitting .366 with four walks and five strikeouts. His slugging percentage is .408, and he's also got a .408 OBP. The sophomore has nine RBI in March and is riding an eight-game hit streak.