BEAUMONT, Texas – After playing its last nine games on the road, the Lamar University softball team returns home as they open a seven-game home stand. LU faces Northwestern State to open the home stand. The three-game SLC series starts on Friday, April 19 with a doubleheader starting at 4 p.m. and concludes Saturday with a single game at 1 p.m.

This weekend, Head Coach Amy Hooks faces her former team, Northwestern State, where she spent six years as an assistant coach. 
 
PROMOTIONS
Friday
- Jr. Cardinals get in FREE with membership badge
- $1 Hotdogs + $2 Popcorn tubs all season long
- By one ticket get one free
 
Saturday
- Jr. Cardinals get in FREE with membership badge
- $1 Hotdogs + $2 Popcorn tubs all season long
- Kids 12 and under are FREE
- Post-Game Egg Hunt
- Blood Drive (11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. at LU Softball Complex)

ABOUT NORTHWESTERN STATE
Series Record: 12-22 (35th, 36th and 37th Meetings)
Last Meeting: March 10, 2018 (7-0, Northwestern State)
Northwestern State enters the Southland Conference series with Lamar coming off an 8-0 victory to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on April 14. The Lady Demons have won four straight and its last loss came to Nicholls on April 6.

At the plate, the Lady Demons are led by Cayla Jones, who leads the team with a .336 batting average. The Lady Demons have two players hitting over .300. Alexis Perry is second on the team hitting .307. Jones leads the team with seven home runs, while Riley Cantrell leads the team with 30 RBIs on the season.

In the circle, Samantha Guile leads the team with 89.2 innings pitched. Opponents are hitting .224 off her. She leads the team with eight wins and has an ERA of 2.58. Four different Lady Demons have a win this season. Besides Guile, Bronte Rhoden has thrown 69.0 innings and E.C. Delafield has pitched 59.1 innings. Rhoden has an ERA of 3.45 while Delafield has a 2.60 ERA.

As a team, the Lady Demons are hitting .261 with 29 home runs and 42 doubles. They have an on-base percentage of .350 and are 44-for-48 in stolen bases. In the circle, Northwestern State has a team ERA of 2.86. Opponents are hitting .256 against the Lady Demons with 81 extra base hits.
 
LAST TIME OUT: BAYLOR (April 16)
The last time the Cards took to the field was on April 16 when they played a doubleheader at Baylor. The Lady Bears struck early in the first game as they scored six runs in the first two innings and limited the Cardinals to four hits in the contest. LU was defeated in game one, 6-0.
 
Pitching dominated the second game of the doubleheader as the teams combined for two runs and 10 hits. For the second straight game, LU was limited to four hits. Baylor scored two runs in the bottom of the second inning, which would be the only runs of the game and LU was defeated, 2-0.

What's Next
Following the SLC series, Big Red hosts Houston Baptist in a midweek non-conference contest on Tuesday, April 23. First-pitch is set for 5 p.m.
 
Tickets
For tickets for LU home games, please call 409-880-1715, or CLICK HERE. The Montagne Center ticket office is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. LU students receive free admission to home games with their Cardinal One card.
 
Fans can stay tuned to LamarCardinals.com or @LamarAthletics on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram all season long for updates on softball and all other LU teams competing in the 2018-19 season.