BEAUMONT, Texas – Fresh off their most successful season since 2013, the Lamar University Cardinals enter 2023 looking for even more success on the field. Entering his seventh season as head coach, Will Davis' squad will open the year Friday with a three-game series against Oakland. The series will mark a stretch that will have LU at home for four of their first five games.
 
The Cardinals won 37 games last season – the most since 2013 – and finished second in the Western Athletic Conference's Southwest Division just a game off the pace. The Cardinals also advanced to the winner's bracket of the WAC tournament recording their first postseason victory since the 2013 season. During the offseason, LU made the decision to come back home to the Southland Conference and enter the new campaign in the league it helped form.
 
A preseason third-place pick in the preseason polls, the Cardinals will play host to Oakland University out of the Horizon League. The Golden Grizzlies are also looking to improve upon a strong 2022 campaign. After a slow start to the season, Oakland – which is located in Rochester, Mich. – won 10 of its final 13 games heading into the conference tournament where it went 2-2.
 
Friday's first pitch will mark the first time these two schools have met on the baseball diamond, but the series will take place at Vincent-Beck Stadium a place where the Cardinals were dominant last season. Big Red posted a 19-8 (.704) record in front of the hometown fans in 2022. The Cardinals have won their season-opening series in each of the past four years.
 
All three games will be played at Vincent-Beck Stadium with Friday's first pitch slated for 6 p.m. and Saturday set for 2 p.m. The two schools will close out the series Sunday with a 1 p.m. first pitch. All three games will be televised on ESPN+.