FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
BEAUMONT – Lamar University will play a 54-game baseball schedule next spring highlighted by visits to Vincent-Beck Stadium by Rice University, San Francisco, New Mexico State, Cal State-Northridge and the University of Houston.
For the fourth time in the past five seasons, the Cardinals will open their slate in an away tournament when they take on Akron University on Feb. 18 in a first-round matchup of the Mississippi State Tournament in Starkville, Miss. They will play another game against Akron and two against host Mississippi State in the three-day event.
When the Cardinals return to Texas, they’ll play a 4 p.m. game at perennial national power Rice University on Feb. 22, before opening a four-game series against North Dakota State in Vincent-Beck Stadium on Feb. 25.
Coach Jim Gilligan’s Cardinals, who won the 2010 Southland Conference Tournament and participated in the NCAA Fort Worth Regional, will host their own tournament when they entertain San Francisco, Cal State-Northridge and New Mexico State in the YMBL Cardinal Classic on March 3-5.
The Cardinals, who split their season series with Rice last year, will host coach Wayne Graham’s Owls in a 6:30 p.m. game on March 22, and they’ll also play their traditional home-and-home series against Houston. The Cards will play at Cougar Field at 6:30 p.m. on April 6, and the Cougars will come to Beaumont for a 6:30 p.m. game on April 27.
The Cardinals’ non-conference schedule also features a March 30 game at Baylor. The Bears defeated the Cardinals 6-4 last season to eliminate them from the NCAA Tournament.
The Cardinals, who went 35-26 last season, will open their 33-game Southland Conference slate with a three-game home series against Nicholls on March 11-13. The Cardinals’ first SLC road series will be March 18-20, at Central Arkansas.
If the Cardinals can again finish in the top eight of the 12-team league, they will advance to San Marcos where Texas State will serve as host for the 2011 SLC Tournament on May 25-28. Last year’s tournament championship victory was 17-7 over Texas State’s Bobcats, who were the league’s regular-season champions.
Full 2011 Schedule (Word File)
