BEAUMONT, Texas — Southland Conference play begins this weekend for the Lamar University Cardinals.

LU travels to Edinburg for a three-game series against the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

VAQUEROS AT A GLANCE

UTRGV enters the contest 4-2.

The Vaqueros opened the season taking two wins over Southern Illinois in a three-game series.

UTRGV then pulled off the upset of No. 19 Dallas Baptist by a score of 15-5 at Globe Life Field in Arlington.

Most recently, the Vaqueros split a weather-shortened series with North Dakota State. UTRGV took Game 2 by a score of 10-3 before losing the final game, 7-5.

Infielder and graduate student Isaac Lopez has a .583 average with seven hits in 12 at-bats and three games played.

Redshirt junior infielder Thomas Williams along with sophomore infielder Easton Moomau led the team with eight hits.

Moomau enters the weekend with a four-game hitting streak, going 6 for 17 (.353) with four singles and two doubles during that span.

UTRGV is hitting a collective .251 with 47 hits, four home runs and 38 RBIs.

Senior pitcher Jacob Limas leads the staff with eight strikeouts and an ERA of 1.00. Limas tossed a two-hitter with four strikeouts in five innings against North Dakota State in Game 3.

Redshirt junior pitcher Victor Loa ranks second on the staff with seven strikeouts and a 1.29 ERA.

The staff has a 3.98 ERA in 52 innings pitched with 53 strikeouts.

UTRGV was predicted to finish fourth in the Southland Conference. The Vaqueros boasted the most preseason all-conference players (6).

The list includes graduate student pitcher Angelo Cabral, fifth-year infielder Martin Vasquez, senior catcher Steven Lancia as well as Moomau, Raygoza and Lopez.

This is the first year of competition in the Southland Conference for UTRGV after being a member of the Western Athletic Conference from 2013-2024.

UTRGV had made four-straight trips to the WAC tournament from 2021-2024. The Vaqueros played for the WAC tournament title in 2021.

The Vaqueros finished the 2024 season 29-25 overall and 15-15 in league play.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Lamar University is 75-52 all-time against UTRGV since the first meeting in 1967.

The Cardinals are 28-30 when playing in Edinburg.

LU won the last meeting back on May 16, 2023, by a score 10-4.

This will be the Cardinals' first trip to Edinburg since March 2022.

LEADING THE NATION

Damian Ruiz leads NCAA Division I with nine doubles, 20 hits and 19 runs scored.

Ruiz is also tied for fourth in total bases (34) alongside Marek Houston of Wake Forest.

The Cardinals are second in the nation in runs scored (108), four behind by Alabama.

LU is also sporting the sixth-best batting average in the nation (.361) while the program is 10th with 62 drawn walks.

HITTING STREAK

Ruiz is riding a 10-game hitting streak that features seven multi-hit games.

He has doubled in his last six straight plate appearances and during that stretch he has tallied eight doubles.

Ruiz had a monster performance last week, going 12 for 18 (.667) with one home run, five doubles, one triple, five singles and seven RBIs in five games.

HOT HITTERS

Heladio Moreno is leading the Cards with a .516 batting average.

He is riding an eight-game hitting streak as he is 16 for 30 (.533) during that span with two doubles, a triple and nine RBIs.

Brayden Evans became the first Cardinal of the season to tally four hits in a game.

Evans went 4 for 5 with three singles, a home run and two RBIs in the win over Louisiana Tech.

He is 6 for 9 (.667) in his last two plate appearances with a double, triple, home run and four RBIs
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Zak Skinner is 5 for 11 (.455) in his last three games, tallying a double, home run and three RBIs.

Zane Spinn has reached base safely in his last 10 plate appearances. He currently leads the team with nine walks.

STELLAR PITCHING

LU leads the Southland Conference with 89 strikeouts while its third in the league with a 2.71 ERA.

As a whole, the staff ranks 26th in the nation in ERA while it leads the country in innings pitched (83).