BEAUMONT, Texas — Lamar University enters the final week of the regular season in a three-way tie for fourth place in the Southland Conference standings.
The Cardinals host Houston Christian for a three-game series beginning Thursday, May 8 at 6 p.m.
HUSKIES AT A GLANCE
Houston Christian enters the game with a 26-20 overall record and 17-10 mark in conference play.
This is Houston Christian's first winning record since going 29-25 in 2017.
The Huskies have won three of their last four games, which most recently included taking two of three from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Senior outfielder Kenneth Dutka leads the offense with 59 hits.
Rhett Hendricks, a junior outfielder, is riding an 11-game hitting streak while he leads the team with a .342 average and a .550 slugging percentage.
Hendricks has gone 14 for 40 (.350) during the 11 games with four doubles, two home runs and eight RBIs.
Senior utility player Parker Edwards leads the Huskies with nine home runs and 43 RBIs.
On the mound, Edwards sports a team-high 60 strikeouts in 65.1 innings pitched while he has a 4.27 ERA.
Houston Christian ranks seventh in the Southland Conference in offense with a .276 average, 413 average, 26 home runs and 245 RBIs.
Senior pitcher Joshua Caravalho has an 8-3 record with a 4.69 ERA in a team-high 71.0 innings pitched with 52 strikeouts.
The Husky pitching staff sports a collective 5.13 ERA with 339 strikeouts to rank eighth in the conference in strikeouts.
Houston Christian is led by head coach Clayton VanderLaan who is in his first season at the helm after spending two years at Division III St. Thomas (Texas).
HEAD-TO-HEAD
This is the 63rd meeting between both programs since the first meeting on April 4, 1967.
The Cards lead the all-time series 39-23 while they are 22-14 against the Huskies at Vincent-Beck Stadium.
LU has won the last seven meetings.
MIDWEEK SUCCESS
LU wrapped up the 2025 season going 13-3 in midweek contests (8-0 at home and 5-3 on the road).
The Cards outscored their midweek opponents, 159-95.
Breakdown by conference:
- 4-0 vs. Conference USA
- 3-0 vs. American Athletic Conference
- 2-0 vs. The Summit League
- 2-0 vs. Southwestern Athletic Conference
- 1-0 vs. Horizon League
- 1-0 vs. Western Athletic Conference
- 0-1 vs. Big 12
- 0-2 vs. Southeastern Conference
SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE STANDINGS
- Southeastern (35-13, 20-7)
- UTRGV (33-16, 22-8)
- McNeese (31-13, 18-9)
- Lamar (37-15, 17-10)
- Northwestern State (31-18, 17-10)
- Houston Christian (26-20, 17-10)
- New Orleans (25-21, 12-15)
- A&M-Corpus Christi (17-29, 9-18)
- Nicholls (16-30, 9-18)
- Stephen F. Austin (15-31, 6-21)
- UIW (17-30, 3-24)
WINNING AT HOME
LU currently has the third best home record in NCAA Division I.
The Cards have won their last eight games, which ties them for the fifth longest home win streak in the nation alongside Miami (Fla.).
LU's 24-2 (.923) record at The Beck is, so far, the best in program history since going 25-3 in 1993.
Top 10 best home records:
- Western Kentucky (29-1)
- Northeastern (19-1)
- Lamar (24-2)
- UTSA (22-2)
- Columbia (10-1)
- Arkansas (30-3)
- Georgia (27-3)
- Texas (25-3)
- Kansas State (16-2)
- Wright State (15-2)
WALK IT OFF
The Cardinals have six walk-off wins this season, five happening in the month of April.
Zak Skinner has delivered three of the six walk-off victories.
List of walk-off wins:
- March 11: 5-4 (10 inn.) vs. New Mexico State (Zak Skinner fielder's choice to second)
- April 4: 3-2 vs. UT Arlington (Brayden Evans RBI single to right)
- April 6: 6-5 vs. UT Arlington (Zak Skinner RBI double down the right field line)
- April 11: 5-4 (10 inn.) vs. Nicholls (Hector Rodriguez RBI infield single)
- April 12: 9-8 vs. Nicholls (Zak Skinner RBI single to right center)
- April 25: 4-3 vs. New Orleans (Zane Spinn RBI single down the left field line)
CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
LU has had four players named a Southland Conference Baseball Player of the Week.
Here's a list:
NATION'S BEST SHORTSTOP
Zane Spinn was named to the 2025 watch list for the Brooks Wallace Award on April 18, which honors the nation's top shortstop.
Spinn is batting .312 with 64 hits, 12 doubles, four home runs and 43 RBIs to go along with a .439 slugging percentage.
Defensively, he has a team-high 136 assists to go along with a .957 fielding percentage. He has also helped turn a team-best 18 double plays.
SOLID PITCHING
LU leads the Southland Conference with 460 strikeouts, 447.1 innings pitched and an opponent batting average of .248.
The Cards sport the second-best ERA in the conference (4.18) while they are also tied for second in saves (12).
Riely Hunsaker ranks second in the conference with a 2.33 ERA while he is ninth in opposing batting average (.242), tied for eighth in innings pitched (65.2), tied for fifth in strikeouts (62) and ninth in batters struck out looking (14).
Peyton Havard is fourth in the conference with a 2.96 ERA, fourth in opposing batting average (.223), third in strikeouts (72), 10th in batters struck out looking (13), tied for third in wins (7) and tied for fifth in saves (4).
Chris Olivier is sixth in the Southland Conference in ERA (3.34), sixth in opposing batting average (.233), tied for fourth in batters struck out looking (19) and tied for fifth in wins (6).
The LU pitching staff has struck out 10 or more batters in 21 games. The game-high of 17 strikeouts came against Nicholls on April 11.
RECORD-BREAKER
Damian Ruiz is two runs away from tying the single-season program record for runs scored.
Ruiz has scored 71 runs. Tyler Link set the program record of 73 runs in 2009.
He has also tallied 20 doubles this season, which is currently tied for eighth all-time in the single season record book alongside C.J. Ebard (2006), John Allen (2004), Adrian Cantu (2004) and
Zak Skinner (2024).
Ruiz is batting .404, which is currently third in the single season record book. Jordan Foster's average of .417 set in 2003 is the program record.
Ruiz has already broken the single season record for the longest hitting streak (32 games), a record that was held by Sam Bumpers (28 games in 2014).
Since 2010, the program's highest on base streak was 33 games set by
Kanin Dodge in 2024. Ruiz shattered that mark with a 49-game streak.
CONFERENCE'S BEST HITTER
Ruiz leads the Southland Conference in batting average (.404), on base percentage (.526), runs scored (71), hits (78), doubles (20) and walks (47).
He is also seventh in slugging percentage (.637), fourth in on base + slugging percentage (1.163), sixth in at bats (193), tied for eighth in triples (2) and tied for seventh in stolen bases (12).
Ruiz is tied for 12th in NCAA Division I in doubles, tied for 12th in walks, tied for ninth in hits, 15th in on base percentage and tied for second in runs scored.
He has a team-high 24 multi-hit games (18 two-hit games and six three-hit performances).
LU'S POTENT OFFENSE
The Cardinals rank sixth in the nation in walks (304) and ninth in hits (528).
LU leads the Southland Conference in runs scored (397), at bats (1,774), hits, RBIs (355), walks and on base percentage (.413).
The Cards are also tied for second in batting average (.298), third in doubles (96) and second in total bases (766).
Matt Ryan is ranked seventh in the conference in on base percentage (.464) and third in hit by pitch (17).
Brayden Evans is eighth in the Southland Conference in runs scored (47), tied for sixth in hits (64), tied for fourth in RBIs (50), tied for fourth in triples (3), first in at bats (212) and tied for sixth in walks (32).
Zak Skinner is tied for fourth in RBIs (50), tied for seventh in doubles (14), third in at bats (203) and fifth in walks (35).
Skinner has reached base safely in his last 11 games.
Zane Spinn is tied for sixth in the conference in hits (64) and second in at bats (205).
Tab Tracy is 10th in the conference in walks (30) and sixth in stolen bases (13).
Heladio Moreno is tied for ninth in hits (63), tied for seventh in at bats (192) and 10th in stolen bases (11).
