BEAUMONT, Texas – Lower seeds controlled the opening day of the Beaumont Bracket as No. 6 Northwestern State and No. 7 Stephen F. Austin each earned upset victories Thursday at the 2026 Southland Baseball Championship. The Demons and Lumberjacks advanced in the winner’s bracket, while No. 2 Lamar and No. 3 UTRGV will face elimination on Friday.
Friday’s action in Beaumont begins with an elimination game between Lamar and UTRGV at 1 p.m., while Northwestern State and Stephen F. Austin will meet in the winner’s bracket matchup at 6 p.m.
Game 1 — (6) Northwestern State 6, (3) UTRGV 5
Northwestern State built an early lead and held off a late UTRGV rally to open tournament play with a one-run victory. The Demons scored five runs in the first two innings and never trailed again, using aggressive baserunning and timely extra-base hits to put pressure on the Vaqueros from the outset.
Sam Ardoin delivered one of the biggest swings of the afternoon with a two-run home run in the second inning, while Ethan Menard collected three hits and drove in two runs. Brooks Leonard added two hits and stole three bases as Northwestern State finished with 13 hits and consistently created scoring opportunities throughout the game.
UTRGV battled back behind another strong performance from Armani Raygoza, who reached base five times and recorded three doubles. Julius Ramirez drove in three runs for the Vaqueros, including a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning that cut the deficit to one, but Northwestern State escaped the final threat to secure the victory. Jacob LeBlanc earned the win in relief, while Wesley Marien recorded the save.
Game 2 — (7) Stephen F. Austin 2, (2) Lamar 0
Stephen F. Austin relied on dominant pitching and clean defense to blank Lamar and continue its late-season surge with a shutout victory in the nightcap. The Lumberjacks scored once in the second inning on Josh Ibe’s solo home run before adding an insurance run in the fifth to create enough separation behind a strong effort on the mound.
Cody Templeton set the tone for SFA, tossing six scoreless innings while working through several Lamar scoring opportunities. Reid Bowyer closed the door with three shutout innings in relief to complete the combined shutout as the Lumberjacks limited Lamar to five hits on the night.
Ibe’s solo homer provided the early spark offensively, while Ethan Pena collected two hits and scored a run for the Lumberjacks. Lamar generated traffic throughout the game with four walks and multiple baserunners in key innings but could not capitalize, stranding nine runners on base in the loss.