BEAUMONT, Texas – Winners in five of their last seven, the Lamar University (8-4) baseball team returns to action Friday to kick off a three-game series against UMBC. The Cardinals are in the midst of a favorable portion of the schedule. After opening the season with eight consecutive away from home, the Cardinals are now in the midst of stretch that will see them play in front of their home fans for 11 of 12.
 
The Cardinals kicked off the homestand by taking two of three from UT Arlington last week before going on the road and defeating Stephen F. Austin Wednesday evening.
 
Representing the America East Conference, UMBC has had a tough start to the season  posting a 1-7 (.125) overall record. The Retrievers have split their last two games with a win at home over Monmouth followed by a one-run loss at Navy. Friday's contest will mark the sixth road contest for UMBC this season.
 
Offensively, the Retrievers have struggled in the early part of the season hitting .201 with 23 runs batted in, but Derek Paris is one of the league's top hitters with a .308 average through eight games.
 
The Retrievers have posted a 6.46 earned run average with a 1.82 WHIP, led by Samuel Downs who has already been named league pitcher of the week twice on the year. He is 1-0 in 2024 and has not yet surrendered an earned run in two starts. He is also holding opponents to a .190 earned run average.
 
The Cardinals are hitting .256 through 12 games with nine home runs, 19 doubles and 54 runs batted in. Senior River Orsak leads the Cardinals offense with a .405 batting average. He has three home runs and nine RBIs to his credit. He is one of four Cardinals hitting at least .293 at this early stage of the season.
 
Lamar pitching staff has posted a 4.41 earned run average and his holding opponents to a .224 batting average. The starters and the bullpen have combined for 104 strikeouts, and similar to UMBC the Cardinals have also had a pitcher earn conference player of the week honors.
 
The series kicks off Friday at 6 p.m. followed by a 5 p.m. contest on Saturday. The series will close out with a 1 p.m. first pitch Sunday. All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+.