BEAUMONT, Texas – After a successful homestand, Lamar University softball will begin conference play as they travel west for a series with Houston Christian. The series will start Saturday with a doubleheader featuring games at 2 and 4 p.m. with the finale on Sunday at 2 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Lamar capitalized on three SFA errors Tuesday night to take home a 4-3 win and finish out their homestand with a 6-1 mark. Karyana Mitchell stayed undefeated on the mound while Emma Wardlaw picked up her first save as a Cardinal.

KEY STORYLINES
The Cardinals have been building momentum as of late having now won nine of their last ten games en route to their best start since the program was brought back in 2013. The team has been getting done on the mound with experience and youth but will need the bats to catch up to find success during their conference slate.
 
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Emma Wardlaw has been exceptional in her debut season on the mound for the Cardinals and is making some noise statistically. She currently ranks second nationally in both strikeout-to-walk ratio and walks allowed per seven innings having allowed just two in 49 innings of work. This coupled with her 1.43 ERA have played a big part in Big Red's early season success.
 
Shenita Tucker hit two singles on Tuesday to increase her team high batting average to .417. She also stole two more bases to push her season total to 15 which puts her tied for fourth nationally and atop the conference leaderboard.
 
OPPONENT INFO: Houston Christian
Time: Saturday at 2 and 4 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m.
Series Record: 20-8 LU
Last Meeting: 4-3 LU (4/22/23)
 
The Cardinals will look to turn their hot start into conference success as they travel to face the Huskies of Houston Christian. HCU currently sits at 13-6 on the year and has won seven straight games. The Huskies feature one of the longest tenured head coaches in the country with Mary-Ellen Hall now in her 33^rd year in the role.
 
Jasie Roberts has done it all for the Huskies on offense leading the team in batting average (.377) while adding two doubles, two triples, two home runs and 11 RBI. Preseason All-SLC first team selection Haylie Savage has also made an impact with team highs in OPS (1.075), doubles (7), home runs (3) and walks (15). Lyndie Swanson is off to a solid start on the mound with a 4-1 record and 2.21 ERA while Addy Prasifka has been impressive as a reliever with a 1.02 ERA over 13.2 innings pitched.