BEAUMONT, Texas – After a successful eight-game homestand, the Lamar University baseball team now hits the road for seven consecutive, including the Southland Conference opener with a three-game series beginning Friday at Houston Christian. 
 
Winners of 10 straight and 11 of their last 12, the Cardinals hit the road sporting a 16-4 (.800) overall record having already surpassed their nine-game win streak to open play last season. Despite opening 2023 with a nine-game win streak, the Cardinals are off to a better start this season (through 20 games) than they were at this last year. 
 
The Huskies enter Southland play headed in the opposite direction after a strong start to the season. HCU took three of four from Eastern Michigan to move to 7-6 on the season but has struggled since dropping seven straight. The consecutive losses have come against some tough competition as the Huskies traveled to Southern Illinois, Texas State and Rice (for two) before having the Owls travel to Husky Field for one. 
 
The Cardinals enter conference play with the best winning percentage among all league school's and trail only Nicholls (17) for overall wins. Lamar brings the Southland's best pitching staff into Friday's league opener. The Cardinals lead the league in earned run average, opponent's batting average, home runs allowed and saves, are second in shutouts and third in strikeouts. 
 
While the pitching staff has taken a majority of the headlines, Lamar's offense has continued to get stronger each week. Big Red is currently fourth in the conference with a .275 batting average, has belted 15 home runs with 35 doubles and leads the Southland in stolen base percentage. The Cardinals are averaging better than seven runs per game during the current win streak.  
 
The series between the two programs dates back to the 1967 season with Lamar holding a 36-23 (.610) overall record. The Cardinals have found a good deal of success in Houston posting a 13-8 (.619) record in front in HCU's fans. Lamar heads to Houston riding a four-game win streak in the series. 
 
Friday's series opener will be broadcast live on ESPN+. It is slated for a 2 p.m. first pitch, with Saturday set for 1 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.