ABILENE, Texas - Continuing its 2,000+ mile, nine-game road trip, Lamar University (13-24, 5-13 SLC) will dip back in to Southland Conference action this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at Abilene Christian University (19-17, 6-9 SLC). The Cardinals and Wildcats will face off for the 31st time overall and 24th time in conference play this weekend.

THE LAST TIME OUT - AT TEXAS - APRIL 16

A big third inning proved the difference Tuesday in a mid-week, non-conference meeting between Lamar and #25 University of Texas (24-15). The Cards matched Texas in hits but four runs in the third inning and a solo homer in the eighth gave the Horns a 7-2 win over Big Red.

UP NEXT - AT ABILENE CHRISTIAN - APRIL 18-20

Probable Starters (Based on Assumptions by the SID):

Thursday: LHP Noah Sills (2-5, 3.46 ERA) vs. RHP Spencer Chirpich (5-2, 3.86 ERA)
Friday: LHP Jason Blanchard (3-3, 2.70 ERA) vs. RHP Brock Barger (2-4, 4.66 ERA)
Saturday: LHP Grason Wright (2-3, 3.58 ERA) vs. Jonathan Nicholson (3-4, 5.74 ERA)

Series Record
All-Time Series: Texas leads 22-8
Southland Conference: 16-7
At Vincent-Beck Stadium: Lamar leads 6-4
At Crutcher Scott Field: Lamar leads 16-4
At Neutral Site: N/A
Last 10 Years: Lamar leads 12-3
Will Davis vs. Abilene Christian: 4-2
Rick McCarty vs. Lamar: N/A
Last Meeting: April 22, 2018 (ACU wins 5-4 in 13 innings at Lamar)

In his first season at the helm of the Wildcats, Rick McCarty is 19-17 in his inaugural year as a head coach. The Wildcats are 6-9 in SLC play this year with a 2-1 series win over Northwestern State, a 1-2 series loss at A&M-Corpus Christi, an 0-3 series sweep by Southeastern Louisiana, a 2-1 win over Incarnate Word, and a 1-2 series loss at Houston Baptist.

ACU ranks second in the Southland in walks with 165 this year, trailing only New Orleans' 167. The Wildcats have a .278 batting average, fourth in the SLC, and have 343 hits this year, sixth-best in the conference. The Wildcat offense averages 6.6 runs a year, the third-most in the league. Pitching ranks near the bottom of the conference with a 5.40 staff ERA, 10th out of 13 teams, and their 7.3 strikeouts per nine innings is 11th in the Southland.

Luis Trevino has been one of the hottest bats in the Southland Conference this season with a stellar .419 batting average. He leads his team in hits (57), home runs (11), on-base percentage (.503), RBIs (47), and slugging percentage (.743), ranking first or near the top in the SLC in all of those categories. Koby Claborn (.327, 32 hits) and Dalton Dunn (.313, 36 hits) are the only other Wildcats hitting over .300 on the year.

Brennan Lewis has made 16 relief appearances for the Cats and has a 1-0 record with seven saves. He's worked a 1.50 ERA through 30 innings with a .181 opposing batting average and just five earned runs allowed with 16 strikeouts and three walks. Thursday starter Spencer Chirpich is 5-2 this year with a 3.86 ERA through 49 innings with 44 strikeouts, 21 walks, and 52 hits. Brock Barger is 2-4 this year with a 4.66 ERA through 36.2 innings, and Jonathan Nicholson is 3-4 this year with a 5.74 ERA through 42.1 innings. Other relievers include Hunter Spaeth (1-4, 6.32 ERA in 11 appearances), Logan Patterson (3.00 ERA, 1-0 in 12 appearances), and Zach Smith (0-0, 3.24 ERA in 10 appearances).

Lamar Quick Hits

• Logan Berlof has been Lamar's best bat in the last 10 games. He has 17 of his 31 hits on the year in the last 10 games and is hitting at a .515 clip. He's scored 10 runs and driven in another 10 during that time with four walks, two hits-by-pitch, two homers, and five strikeouts. He's reached base 10 games in a row.
   
• Robin Adames needs just 22 more hits to capture the LU career record. He has 235 entering Thursday's game. He also needs just 47 RBIs for the career RBI record and 15 more homers for the career home run record.
   
• JC Correa has wowed at short and at the plate. The junior transfer from Alvin Community College has a .300 batting average, second on the team among qualifying batters, and leads the team in RBIs with 25. In his last 10 games he has seven RBIs with 14 hits. He's homered four times this year.
   
• Avery George is fourth in the Southland Conference and 71st in the NCAA this year with 50 hits so far. He was riding a 20-game hit streak from Feb. 16 through March 22 and tied the school record for the reached-base streak at 32 games, and had a 13-game hitting streak snapped at Texas on April 16.
   
• In their last start each of Lamar's three weekend starters had tremendous outings. Noah Sills threw a complete game with no earned runs and eight strikeouts, Jason Blanchard allowed just one earned run in 7.2 innings with eight strikeouts, and Grason Wright allowed just two earned runs in 7.0 innings as the Cards swept Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

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