BEAUMONT, Texas – Winners of three straight and seven of their last eight, the Lamar University baseball team closes out an eight-game homestand with three against Southeastern Louisiana beginning Friday.
 
The Southland Conference leaders, the Cardinals enter the weekend series with a 26-6 (.812) overall record and a near perfect 5-1 (.833) mark in Southland Conference play. Big Red leads second-place Nicholls and New Orleans by two games (in the loss column) but has played one less conference series. 
 
The Cardinals are coming off a series victory over McNeese last weekend that saw the Cardinals throw one of the most unique no-hitters ever recorded. As a pitching staff, the Cardinals combined to throw an 11-inning no-hitter but starter Jacob Ellis pitched 9.0 innings of the no-no with his lone blemish being a seventh-inning walk.
 
For the day, the Cardinals struck out 11 Cowboys while surrendering only two walks. Junior Austin Neal completed the no-hitter by pitching the final 2.0 innings with two punch outs.
 
The Cardinals will be facing a Southeastern Louisiana squad that is looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2023 campaign. SLU has had a strong start to the 2024 season and enters the week 19-14 (.576) overall but 3-6 (.333) in conference games to stand 3.5 back of the Cards. 
 
Southeastern heads to the Golden Triangle with some big wins under its belt this season, but they're looking to bounce back from a stretch of four straight losses and six of its last seven. The lone loss during that stretch was a walk-off win at Southern Mississippi.
 
The three-game series is shaping up as a pitchers' duel as it will be pit the top two staffs in the Southland against each other. The Cardinals lead the league and rank fifth nationally with a 3.42 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. Big Red has struck out 261 batters to just 111 walks on the year while holding opponents to a league-low .211 batting average. Lamar has also recorded a Southland-best 11 saves. 
 
The Lions are second in the league with a 4.90 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. SLU has struck out 241 batters in 2024 and is holding opponents to a .249 batting average. 
 
Lamar leads the all-time series over Southeastern by four games, 46-42 (.523), but LU is only .500 (21-21) against the Lions in Beaumont. The Cardinals swept the season series last year which put an end to a five-game Lion win streak.
 
The first game of the series is set for 6 p.m. at Vincent-Beck Stadium, followed by game two Saturday at 5 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday's game will be televised on ESPN+ with all three games on Newstalk 560 KLVI.