In 1954, the Lake Charles Lakers returned to the league that they had called home for almost a decade. The Evangeline League welcomed the Lakers back, as they expanded from 6 to 8 teams (Port Arthur joined as well). Attendance rose back to 71,000 and the Lakers played mediocre baseball. Surprisingly, their mediocrity was better than most other teams. Even though they were 5 games under .500, they still made the playoffs. They would lose in the first round to New Iberia. In 1955, attendance dropped all over the Evangeline League as two teams called it quits. The Lakers would draw only 33,000 fans, as they became the cellar dwellers of the Evangeline League.