COLLEGE STATION, Texas (Interstat) — The Lamar Cardinals and Southern California Trojans meet Saturday evening in an NCAA Division I Baseball Championship playoff game at Olsen Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

Lamar (34-26) enters as the seed in the College Station Regional, while seed Southern California (43-16) looks to rebound from a narrow loss to open the tournament. The winner stays alive in the double-elimination bracket; the loser is eliminated.

Right-hander Chris Olivier (7‑3, 2.81 ERA) will start for the Cardinals. The junior has been dominant of late, tossing back‑to‑back shutout innings performances. In his last four outings, Olivier has allowed only one earned run over 23 innings, striking out 18. On Friday against Texas A&M, he went six innings, yielding no hits but three earned runs and five strikeouts in a 7‑5 loss. He previously threw eight scoreless innings in a 2‑1 win at McNeese State on May 22.

Southern California counters with left-hander Grant Govel (6‑4, 3.67 ERA). Govel struggled Friday, allowing three earned runs over 5⅔ innings in a 5‑4 loss to Texas State. He has not won since May 8, when he threw six innings of two‑run ball against Nevada. In three starts since, Govel has an 8.21 ERA.

Lamar’s offense relies on shortstop A.J. Taylor, who went 2-for-4 with two RBIs against Texas A&M. The Cardinals have won six of their last nine games, including three straight before Friday’s loss. Their pitching staff owns a 4.12 team ERA.

Southern California, the Pac-12 regular‑season champion, boasts a potent lineup led by second baseman Abbrie Covarrubias, who homered Friday. The Trojans have dropped two of their last three games but still average 6.8 runs per game. Their bullpen, anchored by Andrew Johnson, has been effective.

This is the first meeting between the programs in postseason play. Lamar is seeking its first NCAA tournament win since 2019; Southern California is aiming for a return to super regionals for the first time since 2018.

Weather forecast calls for clear skies, temperatures in the low 80s at game time.