BEAUMONT, Texas — It all comes down to two rivals battling for the Southland Conference tournament championship.

Lamar University hosts McNeese in a best-of-three series beginning Thursday, May 21.

The No. 2 seed Cardinals advanced out of the loser's bracket with an 11-0, seven-inning win over Stephen F. Austin in Game 7.
GETTING HOT: The LU pitching staff has posted a 1.05 ERA during the tournament, recording 32 strikeouts over 43 innings while allowing just five earned runs … Julius Carpio recorded two saves in three appearances, tossing six scoreless innings … Jake Wagoner led the offense, batting .500 over five games with eight hits, including a double and two RBIs … Beau Durbin hit .444 with eight hits, including three doubles and three RBIs.

POSTSEASON PLAY: The Cardinals improve to 40-37 all-time in Southland Conference tournament play since 1967 … LU is now 58-51 all-time in conference play … LU has won five conference tournament titles in program history, including three Southland Conference tournament championships (2010, 2004, 2002) and two Sun Belt tournament titles (1995, 1993) … LU has won 12 Southland Conference regular-season titles (1971, 1975-77, 1979, 1981, 1984-85, 2003-04, 2021, 2024) ... This is the 22nd appearance in the Southland Conference tournament (1967-1968, 2001-2011, 2013-2014, 2016-2017, 2021, 2023-2026) ... The Cardinals have hosted the Southland Conference tournament four times (2006, 2002, 2001, 1967) and the Sun Belt tournament twice (1992, 1993).

ALL-CONFERENCE: Four Cardinals were named to the Southland's All-Conference team: Chris Olivier (First team/Pitcher of the Year), A.J. Taylor (First team/All-Defensive team), Tab Tracy (Second team) and Travis Lutz (Second team/Newcomer of the Year).

KEEPING TABS ON TAB: Tracy leads the offense with 71 hits, a .336 average, 20 stolen bases, 20 multi-hit games and a .437 on-base percentage … Tracy has a five-game hitting streak with seven hits including a double and three RBIs … Tracy is the first Cardinal to record 20 or more stolen bases in a season since Ben MacNaughton in 2023.

OFFENSIVE LEADER: Durbin leads the Cardinals with 19 doubles, 41 RBIs, 45 runs scored, 106 total bases, 12 multi-RBI games and a .459 slugging percentage … Durbin has reached base safely in his last 10 games.

BEST DEFENSIVE SHORTSTOP: Taylor leads the team with six home runs and is second with 11 doubles and 19 multi-hit games … Taylor also ranks third in hits (64), RBIs (29) and stolen bases (11) … Taylor ranked third nationally among shortstops in defensive runs saved, according to 6-4-3 Charts.

THIS AND THAT: Wagoner has a four-game hitting streak while he's reached base safely in his last nine games … Balin Valentine sports a four-game hitting streak going 5 for 10 (.500) during the span with three RBIs … Hector Rodriguez has reached base safely in his last five games, collecting six hits and four RBIs during the stretch.

OFFENSIVE HIGHLIGHTS: Taylor's five-hit game against New Orleans marked the first by a Cardinal since Zak Skinner in 2024 … LU's 20-1 victory in Game 3 at New Orleans was the fourth time since 2024 that the Cardinals have scored 20 or more runs in a game … Earlier this season, Tracy recorded a 20-game on-base streak, marking the 12th time since 2010 that an LU hitter has reached base safely in 20 or more consecutive games … Durbin became the first Cardinal hitter to hit three doubles in a game during Game 3 against Southeastern Louisiana since Kirkland Banks in 2022.

HOME RUN TRACKER: LU has hit 36 home runs, with 28 coming on the road … LU has eight home runs at home for the season … The Cardinals hit four home runs against Sam Houston, marking the fifth time since 2022 the program has hit four or more home runs in a game.

EXTRA INNINGS: The Cardinals have played in nine extra-inning games this season, posting a 6-3 record … Six of the nine contests went 10 innings.

WALK IT OFF: LU has recorded three walk-off wins this season: a single by Durbin in Game 3 against UTRGV, a two-run home run by Brayden Evans against Tarleton State and a walk-off wild pitch in Game 3 against Northwestern State.

RUN-RULE: The Cardinals have also recorded three 10-run rule wins, both coming in Game 3 road contests at Nicholls and New Orleans and during Game 7 of the conference tournament against Stephen F. Austin.

HOME SWEET HOME: LU has gone 17-12 at home, compiling a 68-18 record at Vincent-Beck Stadium over the past three seasons ... The Cardinals are 1,084-521-6 (.673) all-time at Vincent-Beck Stadium since 1969.

WINNING: The Cardinals are the only Southland Conference team with 30 or more Division I wins in each of the past five seasons.

ATTENDANCE: LU ranked fourth in the Southland Conference in attendance, drawing 27,579 fans during the regular season for an average of 1,021 per game.

TOP 10 PLAY: For the first time since 2023, an LU baseball player earned a spot on ESPN's SportsCenter Top 10 plays reel … Evans checked in at No. 3 after robbing a home run Saturday in Game 2 against Houston Christian … Kirkland Banks was the last Cardinal to make the list, also ranking No. 3.

ACE OF THE STAFF: Olivier leads the staff in strikeouts (96) and innings pitched (80) … Olivier is 6-4 with a 2.81 ERA in 14 starts with an opponent batting average of .182 … Olivier is a four-time Southland Conference Pitcher of the Week and College Baseball Foundation National Pitcher of the Year semifinalist  … Olivier's complete-game win in Game 1 against Northwestern State marked LU's first complete-game shutout since Trevin Michael in 2021 … Olivier's 14 strikeouts against Oakland are tied for the third most in a single game in program history, matching Will Hibbs' total in 2016 … He is four strikeouts shy of 100 for the season … Since 2010, only two LU pitchers have reached the 100‑strikeout milestone: Brooks Caple, who finished with 102 in 2024, and Jonathan Dziedzic, who accomplished the feat twice with 114 strikeouts in 2010 and 106 in 2013.

SOLID FRESHMAN: Jarret Williams, a midseason first team Perfect Game Freshman All-American, is fourth on the staff with 49 strikeouts … Williams is 2-3 with a 3.17 ERA and 1.15 WHIP in 15 appearances and 12 starts across 54 innings … He has seven appearances without allowing an earned run.

STRIKEOUTS: The LU pitching staff has recorded 480 strikeouts this season, ranking third in program history and surpassing the previous mark of 466 set in 2022 ... The staff is 11 strikeouts away from tying the single season program record for strikeouts (491, 2025).

PITCHING HIGHLIGHTS: Lutz ranks second on the staff with 57 strikeouts and is 3-2 with a staff-best 2.06 ERA and 0.96 WHIP over 52.1 innings in 14 appearances … Cooper Carlgren ranks third on the staff with 50 strikeouts, including 32 over his last six outings … Carpio leads the staff with four saves while Nathan Darden has three … Fabian Ramirez has a 2.45 ERA in 15 appearances across 18.1 innings … Ethan Oceguera is 4-1 in 20 appearances and 23.1 innings.

TAKING ON THE TOP 25: The Cardinals have played five teams that are or were ranked in the top 25, including No. 5 Texas, No. 7 Oregon State, No. 10 Texas A&M, No. 13 Kansas and TCU … The last time LU played three or more ranked opponents in a season was in 2016.

MIDWEEK CONTESTS: LU finishes the season going 5-8 in midweek contests, highlighted by a 4-1 victory over Big 12 opponent and now No. 13 Kansas.
    LU vs. McNeese: The Cardinals lead the all-time series with McNeese 123-96-2 since the first meeting in 1954 … LU took two out of three from the Cowboys back in mid-March in Beaumont … LU is 6-3 against McNeese in the Southland Conference tournament. SCHEDULE OUTLOOK: McNeese is 31-24 overall and has won eight of its last 10 games … The Cowboys captured five conference series, including a sweep of Northwestern State to close the regular season … McNeese also earned a 7-6 victory over then-nationally ranked LSU.

POSTSEASON HISTORY: This is McNeese's first appearance in the tournament championship game since 2024 ... The Cowboys won back-to-back Southland Conference tournament titles in 2019 and 2021, giving them four in program history since 1993.

OFFENSIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH:

• Senior infielder Danny Barbero: Batting .313 with 61 hits, 11 home runs and 52 RBIs … Currently on a 14-game on-base streak.
• Senior infielder Matt Stancliff: Leads the offense with 62 hits and 22 stolen bases while he has a .294 average with 10 doubles, seven home runs and 33 RBIs.
• Graduate student outfielder Isaiah Keller: Leads the offense with 12 home runs … Batting .327 with 33 hits and 28 RBIs.
• Junior infielder Hayden Stringfellow: Tied for the team lead with 62 hits … Batting .291 with 11 doubles, five home runs and 43 RBIs.

PITCHERS TO WATCH:

• Senior righthander Eric Nachtsheim: Sports an 8-3 record with a 3.60 ERA in 19 appearances and eight starts across 85 innings … He has three saves and 125 strikeouts … Ranks second in NCAA Division I in strikeouts.
• Senior lefthander Cooper Golden: Ranks second on the staff with 58 strikeouts across 68.1 innings … Sports a 2-4 record with a 5.40 ERA in 14 starts.
• Junior righthander Jaden Bahl: Leads the staff with a 2.50 ERA … Sports a 2-1 record in 24 appearances with one save in 39.2 innings … Ranks third on the staff with 47 strikeouts.