# 2023 Lamar Cardinals baseball team

The 2023 Lamar Cardinals baseball team represented Lamar University during the 2023 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Cardinals played their home games at Vincent–Beck Stadium and were led by seventh–year head coach Will Davis. They returned as members of the Southland Conference following one year as members of the Western Athletic Conference.
The Cardinals had a regular season record of 32–23 and a conference record of 13–11 finishing in third place in SLC play. They participated in the 2023 Southland Conference baseball tournament as the third seeded team. The Cardinals were 0-2 in the conference tournament losing to fourth seeded New Orleans 1–4 and first seeded Nicholls 0–4.

## Previous season

The Cardinals had a regular season record of 37–21 and a conference record of 20–10 finishing in second place in the WAC Southwest division, one game behind division winner Sam Houston. They participated in the 2022 Western Athletic Conference baseball tournament as the second seeded team from the Southwest Division. After winning their first conference tournament game against Seattle, the Cardinals' season ended after losing to West Division first seed Grand Canyon and Southwest Division fourth seed Abilene Christian.

## Preseason
### New Players

On August 25, 2022, Lamar announced that twenty-nine new players would join the team for the 2023 season.
| Player | Position | Hometown | Previous Team |
| NCAA Division I Transfers ||||
| Brooks Caple | RHP | Gunter, Texas | Stephen F. Austin |
| Kanin Dodge | Infielder | Carencro, Louisiana | Stephen F. Austin |
| Carter Sutton | Pitcher (RHP) | Vancouver, Washington | Winthrop |
| Quinn Waterhouse | Pitcher (LHP) | Bondurant, Iowa | SIU Edwardsville |
| Trevor Mott | Pitcher (LHP) | Waxahachie, Texas | Western Kentucky |
| JUCO Transfers ||||
| River Orsak | Outfielder | Mont Belvieu, Texas | Alvin CC |
| Dave Wilson | Infielder | Austin, Texas | Blinn College |
| Antonio Escano | Pitcher (RHP) | Santo Domingo Dominican Republic | State Fair CC |
| Lander Suarez | Infielder | Valencia, Venezuela | Highland CC |
| Andres Perez | Pitcher (RHP) | Cuauhtemoc, Chihuahua Mexico | El Paso CC |
| Austin Neal | Pitcher (RHP) | Claremore, Oklahoma | Fort Scott CC |
| Connor Kaiser | Outfielder | College Station, Texas | Galveston College |
| Foster Kreuzer | Pitcher (RHP) | Anahuac, Texas | Galveston College |
| Gavin Green | Pitcher (RHP) | Bridge City, Texas | Baton Rouge CC |
| Griffin Clark | Infielder | Midland, Michigan | Chattanooga State CC |
| Hunter Hessletine | Pitcher (LHP) | Topeka, Kansas | Barton CC |
| Jackson Cleveland | Pitcher (RHP) / Outfielder | Deer Park, Texas | North Central Texas College |
| Jesse Herrera | Catcher | San Antonio, Texas | New Mexico JC |
| Kole Tauzin | Pitcher (RHP) | Tomball, Texas | Wharton JC |
| Landon Roque | Infielder | Dickinson, Texas | Angelina CC |
| Luke Bumpus | Outfielder | Wylie, Texas | Midland College |
| Peyton Sanderson | Shortstop | Austin, Texas | Paris JC |
| Ryan Sosa | Catcher | Groves, Texas | Panola College |
| High School Signees ||||
| Trent Caram | Pitcher (RHP) | Houston, Texas | St. Pius X HS |
| Easton Culp | Catcher / Infielder | Salado, Texas | Harker Heights HS |
| Brett Hall | Outfielder | Leander, Texas | Leander HS |
| Ethan Ocuguera | Pitcher (RHP) | Bridge City, Texas | Bridge City HS |
| Kameryn Henderson | Outfielder | Orange, Texas | Orangefield HS |
| Tyler Hubbard | Outfielder | Austin, Texas | Vandegrift HS |

### Southland Conference Coaches Poll

The Southland Conference Coaches Poll was released on February 3, 2023. Lamar was picked to finish third in the Southland Conference with 88 votes.
Coaches poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | McNeese State | 118 (7) |
| 2 | Southeastern Louisiana | 115 (10) |
| 3 | Lamar | 88 |
| 4 | New Orleans | 87 |
| 5 | Northwestern State | 65 (1) |
| 6 | Nicholls | 59 |
| 7 | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | 55 |
| 8 | Houston Christian | 41 |
| 9 | Incarnate Word | 20 |

### Preseason All-Southland team

One Lamar player was named to the conference preseason second team.

#### First Team

* Edgar Alvarez (NICH, JR, 1st Base)
* Brad Burckel (MCNS, SR, 2nd Base)
* Josh Leslie (MCNS, SR, 3rd Base)
* Parker Coddou (NICH, JR, Shortstop)
* Bo Willis (NWST, JR, Catcher)
* Tre Jones (TAMUCC, JR, Designated Hitter)
* Payton Harden (MCNS, SR, Outfielder)
* Brendan Ryan (TAMUCC, SR, Outfielder)
* Xane Washington (NICH, R-SR, Outfielder)
* Zach Garcia (TAMUCC, SO, Starting Pitcher)
* Grant Rogers (MCNS, JR, Starting Pitcher)
* Tyler Theriot (NICH, SR, Starting Pitcher)
* Burrell Jones (MCNS, SR, Relief Pitcher)
* Alec Carr (UIW, SR, Utility)

#### Second Team

* Josh Blankenship (LU, SR, 1st Base)
* Daunte Stuart (NWST, JR, 2nd Base)
* Kasten Furr (NO, JR, 3rd Base)
* Tyler Bischke (NO, JR, Shortstop)
* Bryce Grizzaffi (SELA, SR, Catcher)
* Kade Hunter (MCNS, SR, Designated Hitter)
* Josh Caraway (TAMUCC, JR, Outfielder)
* Braden Duhon (MCNS, JR, Outfielder)
* Issac Williams (NO, JR, Outfielder)
* Cal Carver (NWST, SR, Starting Pitcher)
* Tyler LeBlanc (NO, JR, Starting Pitcher)
* Will Kinzeler (SELA, JR, Starting Pitcher)
* Dalton Aspholm (SELA, SR, Relief Pitcher)
* Tre’ Obregon III (MCNS, SR, Utility)

## Schedule and results

Legend :
| | Lamar win |
| | Lamar loss |
| | Postponement/Cancelation/Suspensions |
| Bold | Lamar team member |
| * | Non-Conference game |
| † | Make-Up Game |
2023 Lamar Cardinals baseball game log :
Regular season (32–23) :
February (9–0) :
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site/stadium | Score | Win | Loss | Save | TV | Attendance | Overall record |
| Feb. 17 | Oakland* | | Vincent–Beck Stadium • Beaumont, TX | 6–5 (10) | Cleveland, Jackson (1-0) | B. Decker (0-1) | | ESPN+ | 1,112 | 1–0 |
| Feb. 18 | Oakland* | | Vincent–Beck Stadium • Beaumont, TX | 3–2 | Tauzin, Kole (1-0) | C. Stelling (0-1) | | ESPN+ | 1,231 | 2–0 |
| Feb. 19 | Oakland* | | Vincent–Beck Stadium • Beaumont, TX | 5–4 | Hail, Patrick (1-0) | T. Ware (0-1) | Cleveland, Jackson (1) | ESPN+ | 1,279 | 3–0 |
| Feb. 21 | at Texas A&M* | 5 | Blue Bell Park • College Station, TX | 7–4 | Kreuzer, Foster (1-0) | Dillard, Matt (0-1) | Cleveland, Jackson (2) | ESPN+ | 4,889 | 4–0 |
| Feb. 22 | Kansas State* | | Vincent–Beck Stadium • Beaumont, TX | 4–3 | Rivera, Jeremy (1–0) | Fajardo, German (0–1) | Cole, Daniel (1) | ESPN+ | 1,817 | 5–0 |
| Sugar Land Classic ||||||||||||
| Feb. 24 | vs. New Mexico State* | | Constellation Field • Sugar Land, TX | 5–2 | Cleveland, Jackson (2-0) | Matthew Maloney (0-2) | | | | 6–0 |
| Feb. 25 | vs. Stephen F. Austin* | | Constellation Field • Sugar Land, TX | 2–1 | Ellis, Jacob (1-0) | Stapleton (0-2) | Cole, Daniel (2) | | 133 | 7–0 |
| Feb. 26 | vs. Houston Christian* | | Constellation Field • Sugar Land, TX | 4–3 (10 inn) | Cleveland, Jackson (3-0) | Wells, Jarek (0-2) | | | | 8–0 |
| Feb. 28 | Alcorn State* | | Vincent–Beck Stadium • Beaumont, TX | 11–2 | Waterhouse, Quinn (1-0) | Austin Guzman (0-2) | | ESPN+ | 1,472 | 9–0 |
March (7–9) :
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site/stadium | Score | Win | Loss | Save | TV | Attendance | Overall record | SLC Record |
| Mar. 3 | Penn* | | Vincent–Beck Stadium • Beaumont, TX | 1–6 | Coady, Owen (1-1) | Odom, Landon (0-1) | | ESPN+ | 2,014 | 9–1 | |
| Mar. 4 | Penn* | | Vincent–Beck Stadium • Beaumont, TX | 6–7 (10 inn) | Trop, Eli (1-0) | Cleveland, Jackson (3-1) | Sarti, Edward (1) | ESPN+ | 1,501 | 9–2 | |
| Mar. 5 | Penn* | | Vincent–Beck Stadium • Beaumont, TX | 3–1 | Tauzin, Kole (2-0) | Dromboski, Ryan (0-1) | Cleveland, Jackson (3) | ESPN+ | 1,523 | 10–2 | |
| Mar. 8 | at LSU* | 1 | Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field • Baton Rouge, LA | 2–9 | Christian Little (2-0) | Waterhouse, Quinn (1-1) | Garrett Edwards (1) | SECN+ | 10,020 | 10–3 | |
| Mar. 10 | UC Riverside* | | Vincent–Beck Stadium • Beaumont, TX | 5–0 | Ellis, Jacob (2-0) | Blake Burzell (0-3) | | ESPN+ | 1,197 | 11–3 | |
| Mar. 11 | UC Riverside* | | Vincent–Beck Stadium • Beaumont, TX | 15–3 | Morse, Trhea (1-0) | Eric Marrujo (2-1) | | ESPN+ | 1,214 | 12–3 | |
| Mar. 12 | UC Riverside* | | Vincent–Beck Stadium • Beaumont, TX | 6–2 | Kreuzer, Foster (2-0) | Jake Gebb (0-2) | | ESPN+ | 1,153 | 13–3 | |
| Mar. 15 | at Missouri* | | Taylor Stadium • Columbia, MO | 8–10 | Lunceford, Logan (2-0) | Hesseltine, Hunter (0-1) | Neubeck, Tony (1) | SECN | 1,075 | 13–4 | |
| Mar. 17 | vs. Saint Louis* | | USA Stadium • Millington, TN | 7–8 | HENDRICKSON, R. (1-0) | Cleveland, Jackson (3-2) | | | 130 | 13–5 | |
| Mar. 18 | vs. Saint Louis* | | USA Stadium • Millington, TN | 5–6 (10 inn) | BELL, E. (1-0) | Cole, Daniel (0-1) | | | 65 | 13–6 | |
| Mar. 19 | vs. Saint Louis* | | USA Stadium • Millington, TN | Cancelled due to freezing weather | Cancelled due to freezing weather | Cancelled due to freezing weather | Cancelled due to freezing weather | Cancelled due to freezing weather | Cancelled due to freezing weather | Cancelled due to freezing weather | Cancelled due to freezing weather |
| Mar. 21 | Texas Southern* | | Vincent–Beck Stadium • Beaumont, TX | 9–2 | Caple, Brooks (1-0) | Dade Hensley (2-1) | | ESPN+ | 1,104 | 14–6 | |
| Mar. 24 | New Orleans | | Vincent–Beck Stadium • Beaumont, TX | 4–2 | Kreuzer, Foster (3-0) | Blanchard, Beau (0-2) | Cleveland, Jackson (4) | ESPN+ | 1,634 | 15–6 | 1–0 |
| Mar. 25 | New Orleans | | Vincent–Beck Stadium • Beaumont, TX | 2–5 | Mitchell, Brandon (4-2) | Morse, Trhea (1-1) | | ESPN+ | 233 | 15–7 | 1–1 |
| Mar. 26 | New Orleans | | Vincent–Beck Stadium • Beaumont, TX | 9–4 | Caple, Brooks (2-0) | Horton, Collin (2-3) | Cleveland, Jackson (5) | ESPN+ | 1,198 | 16–7 | 2–1 |
| Mar. 28 | Rice* | | Vincent–Beck Stadium • Beaumont, TX | 3–9 | Cristian Cienfuegos (1-0) | Escano, Antonio (0-1) | | ESPN+ | 1,739 | 16–8 | |
| Mar. 31 | Nicholls | | Vincent–Beck Stadium • Beaumont, TX | 8–9 (19 inn) | Jordan, Harper (2-0) | Cole, Daniel (0-2) | | ESPN+ | 1,491 | 16–9 | 2–2 |
April (9–9) :
| Date | Opponent | Site/stadium | Score | Win | Loss | Save | TV | Attendance | Overall record | SLC Record |
| Apr. 1 | Nicholls | Vincent–Beck Stadium • Beaumont, TX | 9–7 | Hesseltine, Hunter (1-1) | Desandro, Devin (1-3) | Tauzin, Kole (1) | ESPN+ | 1,362 | 17–9 | 3–2 |
| Apr. 2 | Nicholls | Vincent–Beck Stadium • Beaumont, TX | 2–4 | Mayers, Jacob (4-1) | Rivera, Jeremy (1-1) | Evans, Cade (4) | ESPN+ | 1,258 | 17–10 | 3–3 |
| Apr. 4 | at UT Arlington* | Clay Gould Ballpark • Arlington, TX | 2–5 | Hackett, Bryce (1-3) | Morse, Trhea (1-2) | Bailey, Gray (1) | WAC Digital Int'l | 510 | 17–11 | |
| Apr. 6 | at Northwestern State | H. Alvin Brown–C. C. Stroud Field • Natchitoches, LA | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| Apr. 7 | at Northwestern State | H. Alvin Brown–C. C. Stroud Field • Natchitoches, LA | 5–13 | Flowers, Dawson (1-2) | Ellis, Jacob (2-1) | | ESPN+ | 621 | 17–12 | 3–4 |
| Apr. 8 | at Northwestern State | H. Alvin Brown–C. C. Stroud Field • Natchitoches, LA | 9–7 | Caple, Brooks (3-0) | Makarewich, Alex (2-3) | Cleveland, Jackson (6) | ESPN+ | | 18–12 | 4–4 |
| Apr. 8 | at Northwestern State | H. Alvin Brown–C. C. Stroud Field • Natchitoches, LA | 5–6 | Froehlich, Kyle (3-0) | Morse, Trhea (1-3) | | ESPN+ | 719 | 18–13 | 4–5 |
| Apr. 11 | at Rice* | Reckling Park • Houston, TX | 3–7 | Krishna Raj (2-1) | Tauzin, Kole (2-1) | | CUSAtv | 2,001 | 18–14 | |
| Apr. 14 | at Incarnate Word | Sullivan Field • San Antonio, TX | 7–9 | Stacey, Otto (2-0) | Cleveland, Jackson (3-3) | | ESPN+ | 191 | 18–15 | 4–6 |
| Apr. 15 | at Incarnate Word | Sullivan Field • San Antonio, TX | 1–5 | Zavala, Isaiah (6-0) | Ellis, Jacob (2-2) | Hayward, Steve (4) | ESPN+ | 230 | 18–16 | 4–7 |
| Apr. 16 | at Incarnate Word | Sullivan Field • San Antonio, TX | 6–1 | Hesseltine, Hunter (2-1) | Berens, Micah (2-1) | | ESPN+ | 202 | 19–16 | 5–7 |
| Apr. 18 | at TCU* | Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX | 9–6 | Hail, Patrick (2-0) | Sloan, Braeden (2-3) | Cleveland, Jackson (7) | ESPN+ | 3,455 | 20–16 | |
| Apr. 21 | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | Vincent–Beck Stadium • Beaumont, TX | 3–4 | Watson, Matthew (3-3) | Cleveland, Jackson (3-4) | Dean, Austin (5) | ESPN+ | 1,476 | 20–17 | 5–8 |
| Apr. 22 | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | Vincent–Beck Stadium • Beaumont, TX | 10–8 (8 inn) | Ellis, Jacob (3-2) | Purcell, Colin (3-4) | | ESPN+ | 1,366 | 21–17 | 6–8 |
| Apr. 23 | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | Vincent–Beck Stadium • Beaumont, TX | 5–7 (11 inn) | Garcia, Zach (2-2) | Tauzin, Kole (2-2) | Dickey, Kyle (1) | ESPN+ | 1,668 | 21–18 | 6–9 |
| Apr. 25 | at Houston* | Schroeder Park • Houston, TX | 4–2 | Green, Gavin (1-0) | AYERS, Kyle (1-1) | Tauzin, Kole (2) | ESPN+ | 1,130 | 22–18 | |
| Apr. 28 | at Southeastern Louisiana | Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field • Hammond, LA | 5–4 | Caple, Brooks (4-0) | Lauve, Lance (2-2) | | ESPN+ | 1,212 | 23–18 | 7–9 |
| Apr. 29 | at Southeastern Louisiana | Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field • Hammond, LA | 7–1 | Hesseltine, Hunter (3-1) | Landry, Andrew (2-6) | | ESPN+ | 1,178 | 24–18 | 8–9 |
| Apr. 30 | at Southeastern Louisiana | Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field • Hammond, LA | 12–4 | Hail, Patrick (3-0) | Stuprich, Brennan (3-4) | | ESPN+ | 1,098 | 25–18 | 9–9 |
May (7–3) :
| Date | Opponent | Site/stadium | Score | Win | Loss | Save | TV | Attendance | Overall record | SLC Record |
| May 2 | Prairie View A&M* | Vincent–Beck Stadium • Beaumont, TX | 13–1 | Cole, Daniel (1-2) | Elijah Breeden (3-4) | | ESPN+ | 1,298 | 26–18 | |
| Battle of the Border ||||||||||||
| May 5 | at McNeese | Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA | 4–6 | Rogers, Grant (10-0) | Ellis, Jacob (3-3) | Abraham, Ty (4) | ESPN+ | 1,674 | 26–19 | 9–10 |
| May 6 | at McNeese | Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA | 3–4 | Jones, Burrell (4-2) | Tauzin, Kole (0-2) | Abraham, Ty (5) | ESPN+ | 1,172 | 26–20 | 9–11 |
| May 7 | at McNeese | Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA | 10–9 | Cleveland, Jackson (1-2) | Abraham, Ty (1-2) | Morse, Trhea (1) | ESPN+ | 1,099 | 27–20 | 10–11 |
| May 10 | at Baylor* | Baylor Ballpark • Waco, TX | 9–2 | Morse, Trhea (2-3) | Muirhead, Adam (0-1) | | ESPN+ | 1,666 | 28–20 | |
| May 12 | at Stephen F. Austin* | Jaycees Field • Nacogdoches, TX | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| May 13 | at Stephen F. Austin* | Jaycees Field • Nacogdoches, TX | 2–9 | R. Boyett (1-1) | Ellis, Jacob (3-4) | | ESPN+ | 125 | 28–21 | |
| May 14 | at Stephen F. Austin* | Jaycees Field • Nacogdoches, TX | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| May 16 | Texas–Rio Grande Valley* | Vincent–Beck Stadium • Beaumont, TX | 10–4 | Waterhouse, Quinn (2-1) | Garza, Randy (2-3) | | ESPN+ | 986 | 29–21 | |
| May 18 | Houston Christian | Vincent–Beck Stadium • Beaumont, TX | 11–1 (7 inn) | Ellis, Jacob (4-4) | Gunter, Rye (1-5) | Waterhouse, Quinn (1) | ESPN+ | 1,098 | 30–21 | 11–11 |
| May 19 | Houston Christian | Vincent–Beck Stadium • Beaumont, TX | 10–3 | Hesseltine, Hunter (4-1) | Baumann, Baylor (1-4) | | ESPN+ | 1,614 | 31–21 | 12–11 |
| May 20 | Houston Christian | Vincent–Beck Stadium • Beaumont, TX | 9–5 | Caple, Brooks (5-0) | Ewald, Tim (0-3) | Cole, Daniel (3) | ESPN+ | | 32–21 | 13–11 |
Postseason ( 0–2 ) :
Southland Conference Tournament ( 0–2 ) :
| Date | Opponent | (Seed)/Rank | Site/stadium | Score | Win | Loss | Save | TV | Attendance | Overall record | Tournament record |
| May 24 | vs (4) New Orleans | (3) | Joe Miller Ballpark Lake Charles, LA | 1–4 | Mitchell, Brandon (11-3) | Ellis, Jacob (4-5) | Mead, Jacob (5) | ESPN+ | | 32–22 | 0–1 |
| May 25 | vs (1) Nicholls | (3) | Joe Miller Ballpark Lake Charles, LA | 0–4 | Mayers, Jacob (9-1) | Hesseltine, Hunter (4-2) | | ESPN+ | | 32–23 | 0–2 |
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Canceled Bold = Lamar team member Rankings are based on the team's current ranking in the D1Baseball poll. :