BEAUMONT, Texas – Lamar University has released its 55-game 2024 baseball schedule that will include 31 non-conference dates in addition to the eight Southland Conference series, announced head coach Will Davis Monday morning. The upcoming slate also includes 28 home dates for the Red and White.
 
"Scheduling has been a little bit of a challenge with all of the conference realignment, but we feel like we did pretty good," said Davis. "We are fortunate to have a lot of good regional opponents to choose from and feel like the schedule shaped up very nicely."
 
The Cardinals will open the campaign with eight-straight games away from Beaumont before hosting their home opener Friday, Mar. 1 against UTA. The 2024 campaign marks the first time since the 2011 season that Big Red has opened a season away from home (Lamar was scheduled to open the 2021 season at UT Rio Grande Valley before COVID canceled the series.
 
The Cardinals officially open the season Friday, Feb. 16^th in Mobile, Ala., against Southern Indiana. LU will follow that up with a contest against host South Alabama the next day and close out the opening weekend with a Sunday contest against North Alabama.
 
The Cardinals will then travel to Waco, Texas to face the Baylor Bears (Feb. 20). The contest against the Bears will serve as one of 11 midweek contests. Those games will come against Texas A&M (Feb. 27^th), Stephen F. Austin (Mar. 5 and April 9), Texas Southern (Mar. 12 and April 24), Prairie View A&M (Mar. 19), Houston (Mar. 26), Sam Houston (April 1), UT Rio Grande Valley (April 22), Rice (May 1 and 8) and Alcorn State (May 14).
 
The Cardinals second weekend of the season will have them travel to Sugar Land, Texas to compete in the Sugar Land Tournament for a second-straight season. The Cardinals will open the tournament against Illinois-Chicago (Feb. 23). The Cardinals will return to the diamond Saturday to face SFA for what will be the first of three individual games. The Red and White will close out the weekend Sunday, Feb. 25 against UTSA.
 
The Cardinals will open the home portion of their schedule Friday, Mar. 1 with a three-game series against UTA. The series opener against the Mavericks will kick off a stretch that will have the Cardinals home for 11 of their next 12 games. Lamar will host UMBC (Mar. 8-10) the following weekend.
 
The final series of the season-opening homestand will see three games against the University of the Pacific (Mar. 15-17).
 
Big Red opens Southland Conference play Friday, Mar. 22^nd with a three-game series at Houston Christian. The Cardinals will then play five consecutive non-conference games – including midweeks at Houston and Sam Houston and a three-game series at Oklahoma (Mar. 28-30).
 
The Cardinals SLC series home opener with be Friday, April 5^th against rival McNeese. The three-game Battle of the Border series will run through Sunday at Vincent-Beck Stadium. The series against the Cowboys will be one of four home conference series (April 12-14 vs. Southeastern Louisiana, April 26-28 vs. UIW and May 3-5 vs. Northwestern State).
 
All home games will be played at Vincent-Beck Stadium. Home game times have not yet been released.