BEAUMONT, Texas — Lamar University is back at home for a three-game series against Stephen F. Austin this weekend, beginning a five-game homestand.

The Cardinals are coming off a bounce back 11-7 road win over Rice on Tuesday.

LUMBERJACKS AT A GLANCE

SFA defeated NAIA program Huston-Tillotson, 10-3, on Wednesday to improve to 6-7 overall.

The Lumberjacks opened Southland Conference play by taking one of three from New Orleans.

SFA got off to an 0-4 start after suffering a sweep to Purdue before breaking even with a four-game sweep of Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Junior infielder Josh Ibe is riding a four-game hitting streak while he leads the team with a .448 batting average, three home runs and 16 RBIs in 12 games played.

Ibe has gone 6 for 13 during the hit streak with two doubles, a triple, home run and six RBIs.

He was a triple shy of the cycle, finishing 3 for 4 with three RBIs in a 14-4 win over New Orleans.

Junior infielder Julian Swift leads the offense with 15 hits. He has four doubles and 12 RBIs to go along with a .341 average.

Sophomore pitcher Dylan Mulcahy is sporting a 1.93 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 14 innings pitched. He tossed a one-hitter in five innings of work with eight strikeouts in a 7-6 win over Arkansas Pine-Bluff.

Junior pitcher Cody Templeton leads the staff with 19 strikeouts in 20.1 innings.

SFA was picked to finish 11th in the SLC preseason poll.

Last season, the Lumberjacks finished 10-44 overall and 5-22 in Western Athletic Conference play.

The Lumberjacks were in the WAC from 2021 to 2024.

SFA's last trip to the conference tournament was in 2019 when the program finished 16-14 in the SLC.

The Lumberjacks are led by first-year head coach Matt Vanderburg who spent 16 years at the NCAA Division II level guiding West Texas A&M to three Lone Star Conference titles in 2015, 2018 and 2021.

Vanderburg accumulated an overall record of 516-293 during his time in Canyon.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Since the first meeting in 1979, the Cardinals are 78-28 all-time against SFA.

LU is 46-10 against the Lumberjacks at home. The Cardinals went 32-2 from 1979-2008.

Since 2021, LU is 12-2 overall against SFA.

THE CARDS

Damian Ruiz is tied for third in NCAA Division I with 26 hits, three behind the nation's leader, Mason Lytle of UTSA.

Ruiz is also currently tied for the most doubles in the nation with 10 alongside Georgia State's Kaleb Freeman.

He is also tied for second in the nation with 24 runs scored, one behind the nation's leader, Steven Meier of Troy.

In the SLC, Ruiz is fourth in batting average (.464), seventh in slugging percentage (.786), first in runs scored, first in hits, 10th in RBIs (14) and first in doubles.

He is the only player in the SLC to tally 10 doubles.

Ruiz has tallied a team-high nine multi-hit games. He had his sixth two-hit game of the season with a 2 for 5 performance that included a double, home run and two RBIs at Rice.

Ruiz and Zane Spinn have both reached base safely in 14 straight games.

Spinn is fourth in the SLC with an on base percentage of .567 while he ranks eighth in walks (12), tied for seventh in batting average (.432) and six in hits (19).

The Cardinals have three hitters in the top 10 of the SLC in batting average with Heladio Moreno tied for seventh (.432).

LU ranks fourth in the country with 160 hits.

In the SLC, the Cards are second in batting average (.335), first in hits, second in doubles (26), second in runs scored (124), second in RBIs (111) and third in on base percentage (.438).

Riely Hunsaker is ranked seventh in the SLC with a 1.26 ERA while Peyton Havard is tied for eighth in batters struck out (18).

The pitching staff ranks fourth in total strikeouts (107) in the SLC while it is fourth in ERA (3.95).