BEAUMONT, Texas – In a bit of déjà vu, Lamar University (7-25) will play host to Northwestern State University (16-14) on Tuesday at 6 p.m., just 14 days after the previous Cards versus Demons matchup in Vincent-Beck Stadium on March 27.
The Last Time Out – New Orleans
Lamar's offense was aggressive and
Tanner Driskill and
Ryan Erickson combined for a pitching gem Friday in
Big Red's 5-1 win over New Orleans, the first of three Southland Conference games last weekend.
Rain on Saturday turned Sunday into a doubleheader, and while Lamar jumped ahead in the 11 a.m. matchup, two errors by the Red Birds allowed
New Orleans to escape with a 6-2 win.
The series finale required three extra innings to determine a winner, with
Jason Blanchard and Erickson combining for 12 strikeouts, five hits, one walk, and no runs through 11. Three hits from the Privateers led to two runs for UNO, and
New Orleans again escaped with a win, 2-0, after 12 in Beaumont.
Lamar vs. New Orleans
Series Record
All-Time Series: Lamar leads 63-51
At Lamar: Lamar 33-28
At Northwestern State: Lamar leads 26-21
At Neutral Site: Lamar leads 4-2
Coach Davis against Northwestern State: Northwestern State leads 2-1
Coach Barbier against Lamar: Northwestern State leads 2-1
Scheduled Starters:
RHP
Chet Jones (0-1, 5.74 ERA) vs.
RHP Robert Burke (0-2, 5.04 ERA)
Since the two teams
last met in late March, Northwestern State has gone 4-3 and 3-3 in league play, which puts the Demons at an overall record of 16-14 and 6-6 in Southland play.
NSU's formidable infield defense still sits atop the conference in double plays with 38 for the season, an average of 1.27 per game. That average is the second-highest in the nation behind Air Force's 1.39 double plays per game. The Demons are still averaging about five runs per game (ninth in the SLC) while allowing 3.81 earned runs a game (fifth in the SLC).
David Fry leads his team in hits (42), doubles (12), batting average (.359), on-base percentage (.476), and slugging percentage (.607). He now owns the individual program record for career doubles (60), ranks fifth in career total bases (354), and is seven RBIs away from tying for fourth in career RBIs, currently at 123. His 218 hits are seventh all-time.
News and Notes on Lamar
HAVE BATS, WILL TRAVEL
Lamar has just seven games left in Vincent-Beck Stadium with the vast majority of its remaining games on the road, including a stretch of 12 consecutive away that will start April 24 at LSU and end May 13 at Stephen F. Austin.
INGRAM HEATING UP WITH THE TEMPERATURE
As the calendar flipped from February to March,
Philip Ingram improved from .000 in the opening month of the season to .288 in the second month of the 2018 campaign. In four games in April he's now hitting .438 and has drawn five walks.
Logan LeJeune has also impressed as of late, hitting .417 with two runs scored, an RBI, and six walks to just two strikeouts.
ERICKSON CONTINUES TO DAZZLE IN CROWNING CARDINAL CAMPAIGN
Ryan Erickson, who began his life at Lamar University as an outfielder, has blown away the opposition in his second full season as a pitcher. The Beaumont native has an ERA of 1.40 through 25.2 innings in 15 appearances. He's struck out 33 while allowing just 14 hits and walking five. In April he's got a 0.00 ERA and a 0.059 opposing batting average.
