BEAUMONT, Texas — Of the 29 Division I conferences that sponsor baseball across the country, the Southland Conference will be the first to open league play.

The Lamar University baseball team welcomes UT Rio Grande Valley to Vincent-Beck Stadium this weekend for a three-game series beginning Friday.
CONFERENCE OPENER: The Cardinals are 17-15 in conference openers since 2000, winning four of its last five … LU has gone 10-4 when hosting a conference opener since 2000 … This is the first time the Cardinals are opening conference play at home since 2023.

GETTING ON BASE: Beau Durbin extended his hitting streak to nine games … Durbin leads the offense with 13 hits and 12 RBIs …  A.J. Taylor also prolonged his hitting streak to nine games … Taylor leads the team with a .387 average, .645 slugging percentage, .457 on base percentage and 1.102 on base + slugging percentage … Braden Benton has reached base safely in nine straight games … Kevin Duran and Durbin have each tallied a team-best four multi-hit games this season … LU is tied for second in the Southland with 21 doubles while it is tied for 17th in Division I … Durbin and Duran both lead the team with four doubles.

LU PITCHING: The Cardinals are fourth in the conference in strikeouts (81) and tied for first in saves (3) … Chris Olivier is tied for the league-lead in strikeouts (17) and ERA (0.00) while he's third in innings pitched (11.2) … Olivier is tied for 22nd in the nation in strikeouts … Nathan Darden is tied for the conference lead in saves (2).

HOME FIELD SUCCESS: LU has posted a 73-15 record at Vincent-Beck Stadium since 2023, including a 54-7 mark since 2024.

LOCAL PLAYERS CONTRIBUTING: Ethan Oceguera (Bridge City) sports a 2-1 record in four appearances and four innings pitched … Ayden Sunday (Nederland) tallied his first career hit, lining an RBI double down the right field line vs. Texas A&M … Reagan Weiblinger (Beaumont) and Daniel Midkiff (Buna) have also seen playing time.

FOLLOWING IN HIS FATHER'S FOOTSTEPS: Jarret Williams has recorded eight strikeouts across two appearances, working five scoreless innings … He made his first career start in Game 3 against UT Arlington, striking out three batters over 2.2 innings … Jarret is the son of Randy Williams, who played at LU from 1995-97 … Randy was selected in the 12th round of the 1997 MLB Draft by the Chicago Cubs and went on to pitch five seasons in the majors with five different teams. LU VS. UTRGV: LU is 75-55 all-time vs. UTRGV since the first meeting in 1967 … The Vaqueros have won seven of the last 10 … The last time LU won a series over UTRGV was in 2016 when it took two out of three … The Cardinals last swept UTRGV in a three-game series in 2006.

• Stephen F. Austin (7-3)
• A&M Corpus Christi (6-3)
• Incarnate Word (6-3)
• Lamar (5-4)
• Northwestern State (4-4)
• Houston Christian (4-5)
• Nicholls (4-6)
• McNeese (3-5)
• New Orleans (3-5)
• UTRGV (3-5)
• Southeastern Louisiana (2-6)

 
CATCHING UP: UTRGV began the season playing eight-straight games against Big 12 and SEC opponents, including Kansas, Texas Tech, Houston and Texas … The Vaqueros took two out of three at Houston before dropping to No. 3 Texas on Tuesday by a score of 14-0.

WHO TO WATCH: UTRGV returns 10 position players, eight of which spent some time as starters … The reigning Southland Conference Player of the Year, redshirt junior Armani Raygoza, transitions from designated hitter to first base after batting .384 with 17 home runs, 17 doubles and 60 RBIs last spring … Raygoza currently leads the team with four home runs … Junior Julius Ramirez leads the offense with a .345 average, .621 slugging percentage, 1.065 OPS, 10 hits and 10 RBIs … Redshirt junior Rocco Garza Gongora has an eight-game on base streak … Sophomore righthander Harrison Thayer leads the staff with a 2-0 record, nine strikeouts, a 0.96 ERA and an opponent batting average of .147 in 9.1 innings pitched.