BEAUMONT, Texas – After an impressive blowout victory over Texas Southern, the Lamar University baseball team returns to Southland Conference action Friday when they host UIW. A battle between the Southland's two Cardinals, the three-game series is slated for a 5 p.m. first pitch Friday.
 
Winners in eight of the previous 10 games, Lamar currently sits atop the conference standings with a 9-3 (.750) record. Big Red currently holds a half-game lead over Nicholls and sits a game up on New Orleans and UIW in the standings.
 
To this point in the season, Lamar has won seven of eight series and has not yet lost consecutive games. With Wednesday's win over Texas Southern, the Cardinals are just nine games shy of a 40-win season.
 
UIW comes to the Golden Triangle riding a similar wave. The league's other Cardinals have also won eight of their last 10 games and are coming off sweeps of McNeese and Northwestern State but dropped 10-0 decision at Texas State Tuesday.
 
Lamar continues to field one of the nation's top pitching staffs. The Cardinals lead the Southland and rank second nationally in earned run average (3.36) and WHIP (1.16). LU is second to only No. 2 Arkansas in both categories. Big Red also leads the league with a .214 opponent's batting average and 14 saves.  
 
Offensively, the team's batting average has climbed to .280 with 65 doubles, 36 home runs and 220 runs driven in. The Cardinals also lead the Southland with a .979 fielding percentage.
 
UIW enters the showdown with the Southland's second-best batting average. San Antonio's version of the Cardinals are hitting .305 with 83 doubles, 51 home runs and 300 runs driven in. They're also the league's second-best fielding team posting a .974 fielding percentage.
 
The UIW pitching staff ranked sixth in the Southland with a 6.16 earned run average. Opponents are hitting .288 against UIW, but the Cardinals' staff has struck out 294 batters on the season.
 
All three games will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Friday and Saturday slated for a 5 p.m. start. The three-game series closes Sunday with a 1 p.m. first pitch. All three games will be played at Vincent-Beck Stadium.