BEAUMONT, Texas - Returning to action quickly, Lamar University (5-6) heads west Tuesday for a non-conference tussle with Southland Conference rival Houston Baptist University (4-7). The Cards and Huskies will play at 2 p.m. on Tuesday at HBU Husky Field.

THE LAST TIME OUT - CARDINAL CLASSIC
The Cougars of Brigham Young University (7-3) came to Vincent-Beck Stadium last week for a three-game series against Lamar, meeting for the first time since the 1979 NCAA Regional. LU led for most of Thursday's series opener before BYU tied the game in the fifth and won the game in extras, and Friday's pitching duel was won by Lamar thanks to home runs from Cole Coker and Robin Adames. Walks of the Cougars and inconsistent hitting plagued Lamar in the series finale on Saturday as BYU won the game 4-0 and the series 2-1.

Avery George and Adames each had four hits in the series with George's hit streak reaching 10 games and his on-base streak extending to 21 games (including the last 10 games of 2018). JC Correa had a hit in each game of the series, Jorge Gutierrez, Reese Durand, and Cole Coker each had two, and Anthony Quirion hit one as well. Lamar's pitching staff threw a 2.57 ERA through 28 innings with 23 strikeouts to just 18 walks and held BYU to a .240 opposing batting average.

Houston Baptist

Starters:
LHP Grason Wright (1-1, 7.72 ERA) vs. LHP Taylor Franzman (0-1, 6.48 ERA)

Series Record
All-Time Series: Lamar leads 27-20 (HBU leads 8-7 in SLC play)
At Vincent-Beck Stadium: Lamar leads 18-13
At Husky Field: Lamar leads 9-6
At Neutral Site: HBU leads 1-0
Will Davis vs. HBU: 2-4
Moon vs. Lamar: 13-10
Last Meeting: March 31, 2018 (Lamar wins 6-4)

Jared Moon is in his 14th season as the head coach of his alma mater and holds a 363-370-2 mark there including a 74-76 record in SLC play. He's 13-10 against Lamar which includes a 4-3 mark against LU before Houston Baptist joined the SLC in 2014. This season HBU is 4-7 after earning series wins against Northeastern University and the University of Cincinnati and losing the last five games.

HBU leads the SLC and is fourth in the nation in pitchers with a hit-by-pitch (26 batters beaned). Their team ERA of 5.12 is 10th in the league and their strikeout-to-walk ratio is ninth at 1.88 strikeouts to every one walk. Offensively the Huskies are last in the Southland in runs scored (42), and scoring (3.8 runs a game) with a .311 SLUG (13th in the SLC).

Taylor Franzman gets his first start this season and fourth of his career on Tuesday. He's got a 6.48 ERA and an 0-1 record in three relief appearances in 2019.

Johnny Gonzales has a .375 batting average with four doubles, a homer, and eight RBIs in 2019 and he's joined in the .300 club by Anthony Jones who has a double, a triple, five RBIs, and five runs and a .300 average. Other HBU bats to watch include Chase Talbot (.265), Trent Franson (.222), and Brandon Bena (.212).

Lamar Quick Hits

• Homers have been a big part of LU's offense this season with an average of one per game. Last season LU hit just 12 all year - an average of one homer every 4.67 games. The Cards need just two more homers this year to match last year's total. If the Cards hold their one per game average that would rank seventh all-time.
• Between D1Baseball, Perfect Game, and the SLC, seven Cardinals have received all-conference preseason honors. Robin Adames, JC Correa, Cole Coker, Ryan Erickson, Jason Blanchard, Jorge Gutierrez, and Dylan Johnson were picked by those organizations as either All-Conference players or Top MLB Prospects in the SLC.
• Avery George has started every game this season and is hitting extremely well with a .368 batting average. He's collected 14 hits with three RBIs and eight runs scored and he's drawn eight walks while striking out just six times. The sophomore from Humble, Texas, has reached base in 21 consecutive games dating back to last season and is also riding a 10-game hit streak.
• Adames comes into the season with 195 career hits, just 62 hits away from breaking the Lamar University career hits record. The senior from The Bronx, N.Y., has averaged 65 hits a season in his three previous years at LU. He currently has 209 hits, needing just 48 more.