BEAUMONT, Texas – Lamar University currently sits in fifth place in the Southland Conference standings, but remains in the hunt to finish second in the league and host one bracket of the upcoming conference tournament. It all comes down to the last regular-season road series as the Cardinals head west to take on Houston Christian. Friday's doubleheader starts at 4 p.m. while Saturday begins at noon.
PREVIOUSLY
Big Red (28-21, 14-10 SLC) clinched the series against UIW by sweeping the doubleheader with scores of 3-2 and 4-3.
Reagan Smith pitched a complete-game victory in game one, while
Ava Prejean pitched 5.1 shutout relief innings in game two.
NO. 1 MEANS YOU'RE THE BEST, CIMARA
Cimara-lei Wessling was named the SLC Hitter of the Week after recording nine hits, a .563 batting average, six RBI, two doubles, a triple and a home run. She becomes the third Cardinal this season to be named for this honor, joining
Cala Wilson and
Isabella Flores.
28 GOING ON 30???
The Cardinals are two wins away from reaching the 30-win plateau. It would mark the first time in nine seasons that LU would have won 30 games in a season. The 2017 team won 34 games, one fewer than the school record held by the 2016 team.
SOUTHLAND SCENARIO
LU remains in the hunt to finish second in the league and host one bracket of the Southland Conference tournament, despite being two games behind UIW. For this to occur, the following scenarios must take place.
- LU sweeps Houston Christian
- UIW is swept by Southeastern Louisiana
- Nicholls wins no more than two games against Northwestern State, which would mean LU is the higher seed due to holding the tiebreaker.
- East Texas A&M clinches the series against McNeese.
OPPONENT INFO: HCU
Time: Friday (4/6 p.m.); Saturday at Noon
Series Record: LU leads, 24-10
Last Meeting: HCU, 9-4 (Apr. 18, 2025)
LAST TIME VS. HCU
The Cardinals lost two games to HCU by scores of 11-10 and 9-4 in nine innings last season. LU won the first game, 7-1, behind Smith's complete game performance in which she allowed three hits and struck out three batters.
ABOUT HCU
The Huskies (10-34, 7-17) are one game behind Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for the eighth and final seed in the SLC tournament after sweeping East Texas A&M. Maddy Bailey leads the program in hits (33), batting average (.306) and doubles, while Chloe Foster is the top RBI-producer with 26. Cara Pittman (5.93 ERA, 3-13, 87.1 IP, 33 Ks) and Leah Hammack (6.50 ERA, 4-9, 78.2 IP, 27 Ks) each have thrown six complete games in the circle.
UP NEXT
The Cardinals will turn their attention to the SLC tournament, beginning Thursday, Apr. 30. The location, opponent and game times have yet to be determined.
#PeckEmCards
