BEAUMONT, Texas – The Lamar University Cardinals control their own destiny for earning a spot in next weekend's Southland Conference Tournament as they travel to Thibodaux, Louisiana, to face the first-place Nicholls Colonels in a three-game SLC series.
 
The Cardinals and Colonels play a doubleheader at 5 p.m. Friday and a single game at 3 p.m. Saturday. There will be no live video of the games.
 
The Cardinals (28-25 overall, 11-13 Southland) hold a one-game lead over Sam Houston State for the final berth with three games remaining. The Cardinals would clinch a berth with two wins over Nicholls. Winning one game at Nicholls means Sam Houston State would have to lose one of three games vs. visiting Houston Baptist. Should LU be swept at Nicholls, the Cardinals would still get in if HBU takes two from the Bearkats.
 
The Cardinals know it won't be an easy task against Nicholls (35-13, 18-6), which holds a one-game lead over Southeastern Louisiana and Stephen F. Austin in the chase for the regular-season championship. The Colonels lead the Southland Conference with a 2.12 ERA overall, and a 2.01 ERA in SLC games. Junior right-hander Megan Landry (20-7, 1.71) is the ace of the staff, posting an 11-4 record with a 1.56 ERA in SLC play. Freshman right-hander Alexis LaBure (11-4, 2.43) is 6-1 with a 2.17 ERA vs. Southland foes.
 
The Cardinals, who are batting .282 overall, and .285 in SLC play, saw their four-game winning streak come to an end with a 5-3 loss to Incarnate Word in the final game of a three-game SLC series last weekend. Junior second baseman Kelly Meeuwsen is hitting .416 in conference games, the second-best mark in the SLC. Meanwhile sophomore catcher Shelby Henderson is tied for the conference lead with 24 RBIs in SLC games. Henderson's 42 RBIs this season equaled the school mark set by Meeuwsen in 2016. Meeuwsen enters the weekend with 103 career RBIs, four shy of the school mark of 107 held by Ashley McDowell.
 
Overall, junior shortstop Savana Guidry leads LU with a .358 batting average, while Meeuwsen is hitting .345, freshman left fielder Kendall Talley is hitting .344, while Henderson is batting .315. Henderson and Meeuwsen are tied for the team lead in home runs with eight apiece.
 
Senior right-hander Laura Napoli (13-14, 3.17), freshman righty Taylor Gruell (9-7, 3.67) and senior righty Amie Cisneros (4-2, 3.72) are all likely to see time in the circle this weekend for the Cardinals. They will face a Nicholls lineup that is hitting a conference-best .310 this season. The Colonels are batting .315 in SLC play, second-best in the league.
 
Junior Kasey Frederick leads the Nicholls regulars with a .373 batting average to go along with team-best totals of six home runs and 36 RBIs. Freshman Jewel Lara is batting .397 in SLC play.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES: LU has a 9-8 lead in the all-time series, including a 9-7 mark since reviving the softball program in 2013.
 
FORECAST: Friday is expected to be cloudy, with a temperature of 83 at game time. Winds will be light and variable. The chance of rain is 5 percent. Saturday will be mostly cloudy with a high of 84. Winds will be out of the north-northwest at less than 10 mph. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. The chance of rain is 20 percent.
 
ON DECK: The Southland Conference Tournament is scheduled for May 8-11 on the campus of McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana.