BEAUMONT, Texas – The Lamar University Cardinals play their final non-conference games of the season when they head to Louisiana-Monroe for a doubleheader at 4 p.m. Wednesday in a rematch of last year's National Invitational Softball Championship regional finals.
 
The Cardinals rallied from an early 2-0 deficit to claim a 3-2 win in the championship game on Shelby Henderson's walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh. That win came after ULM scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh earlier in the day for a 2-1 win over LU to set up the winner-take-all game.
 
The Cardinals advanced to the NISC final round at Liberty University, where they would reach the championship game only to lose in a controversial manner.
 
This season, both the Cardinals (24-24) and the Warhawks (23-21) are looking to get back on track heading into the final weeks of the regular season. LU has dropped five straight, while the Warhawks have lost four in a row. Both teams have 9-12 records in their respective conferences. LU is in ninth place in the Southland Conference, one game behind eighth-place Sam Houston State in the chase for the final spot in the conference tourney. ULM is in seventh place in the 10-team Sun Belt Conference.
 
"These should be two very good games," LU coach Holly Bruder said. "I'm sure they're looking for a little revenge. These games are good mid-week games to get us ready for our final two weekends of conference play."
 
The Warhawks are 21^st in the nation with a .315 batting average. Sydney McKay leads ULM with a .406 batting average, while Jayden Mount is batting .397. Senior Paige Murray (12-9, 4.49) anchors a pitching staff that has a collective 4.55 ERA. Murray has surrendered 24 home runs this season. Overall, ULM pitchers have given up 45 home runs.
 
The Cardinals bring a .274 team batting average into the twin bill. Junior second baseman Kelly Meeuwsen leads LU with a .351 batting average, eight home runs and a .497 slugging percentage. Meeuwsen's 29 RBIs are second to Shelby Henderson's 33 RBIs. Kendall Talley (.338), Savana Guidry (.335) and Henderson (.301) are the other LU starters batting better than .300.
 
Senior right-hander Laura Napoli (12-13, 3.26) will start one of Wednesday's games. Bruder was undecided as to who would start the other game.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES: ULM holds a 17-8 lead in the series, including games played from 1984-87. Since LU revived its softball program in 2013, the Cardinals are 3-4 against the Warhawks. Last season, LU went 2-1 against ULM in the NISC regionals.
 
FORECAST: The doubleheader is expected to start under cloudy conditions, with a temperature of 79 degrees. Winds will be variable at about 5 mph. Showers are expected to move into the area at about 9 p.m.
 
ON DECK: The Cardinals host Incarnate Word in a three-game conference series with a doubleheader at 5 p.m. Friday and a single game at 3 p.m. Saturday. LU wraps up the regular season with a three-game set at Nicholls on the weekend of May 4-5.
 
TICKETS: For tickets to this weekend's home series, please call 409-880-1715, or CLICK HERE. The Montagne Center ticket office is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. The ticket window at the LU Softball Complex will open one hour prior to first pitch on game days. LU students receive free admission to home games with their Cardinal One card, while Junior Cardinal Club members are admitted for free when they present their membership badge.