University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Cajuns Return Home, Look to Snap Losing Skid
2/17/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
The Ragin' Cajuns (2-5) will be seeking to end a five-game losing streak which began in their last home outing against Southwest Texas State on Sunday, Feb. 9 and accumulated with last weekend's 0-for-3 performance at the Minute Maid Park College Classic hosted by the Houston Astros. It is the first five-game losing streak for UL Lafayette since April 27-May 4, 2001.
Louisiana-Lafayette will also be seeking revenge for an 11-2 loss at NSU last Tuesday in Natchitoches. The Cajuns were roughed up for six runs in the first inning and never recovered. The Demons' offense struck for 16 hits while the Cajuns had a season-high nine hits. Dan Reed took the loss for the Cajuns in his first Division I start on the mound.
This is the first meeting with the Demons (4-3) at Moore Field since March 31, 1999 – a game in which the Ragin' Cajuns won 9-0 which also happened to be the last time the two teams had met before the Feb. 11 meeting.
Louisiana-Lafayette leads the all-time series 61-39 and is 41-25 versus NSU since joining Division I in 1972. The Demons have won three of the last four meetings between the two schools.
Head coach Tony Robichaux is 17-20 in his 16-year career
against the Demons (6-7 at UL Lafayette). Robichaux
enters the current homestand needing just four wins to
become the all-time wins leader among coaches in UL
Lafayette baseball history. His 288 wins through
eight-plus seasons in Cajun Country are three shy of
Mike Boulanger's 291 wins from 1988-94.
The game will be broadcast over the Louisiana-Lafayette
Sports Network (KEPL-1420 AM in Lafayette), and live
Internet streaming is available at
www.weareradio.com by scrolling down to the bottom
of the screen and selecting “Click Here to Listen To
Live UL Games.” Jay Walker and Steve Peloquin will bring
all of the action live from “Tigue” Moore Field.
Louisiana-Lafayette is coming off of three straight
losses to top-notch competition at the 2003 Minute Maid
Park College Classic hosted by the Houston Astros. The
Cajuns were bested by Alabama, Texas A&M and Baylor by a
combined score of 32-8. UL Lafayette lost to Baylor 12-4
in its last outing.
The
Cajuns are 2-1 at “Tigue” Moore Field this season with a
doubleheader sweep of Southwest Texas on Saturday, Feb.
8 giving them their two wins
Northwestern State enters Tuesday's affair on a
four-game winning streak since beginning the season 0-3.
After downing the Cajuns on Feb. 11, the Demons posted a
three-game sweep of Jacksonville State this past weekend
at home.
NSU is winless on the road this young season, being swept by Louisiana State in a three-game set Feb. 8-10.
Louisiana-Lafayette will be seeking to turn around its offensive numbers during the homestand beginning Tuesday against Northwestern State. The Cajuns will bring a .198 season batting average through seven games into Tuesday's game. The offense has struggle to produce runs as well, scoring just 23 in seven games and has failed to score more than five runs in a game.
UL Lafayette hit just .182 at the Astros College Classic this past weekend while the opposition excelled with a .382 clip. The Cajuns struck out 33 times and walked just eight.
Corey Coles had a good weekend, going 5-for-12 with one home run, a double and three singles. Coles upped his season average to .259. Sophomore first baseman Phillip Hawke continues to lead the Cajuns at the plate, with a .476 batting average and a .762 slugging percentage. Hawke has homered in each of his home appearances this season.
The pitching staff has taken its lumps so far this season. The staff ERA is an abnormal 6.49 by UL Lafayette standards. All three starting pitchers ERAs are above 5.00. Opponents are hitting .322 off of Cajuns pitchers and UL Lafayette has yielded 24 extra base hits while only tallying 12.
NSU is paced offensively by Josh Boop who is hitting .467 (14-for-30) through seven games this season. As a team the Demons are hitting a collective .295.
With only 12 extra base hits this season, NSU relies heavily on its base running speed to manufacture runs. The Demons have swiped 25 bases – nearly four steals per game. Cajuns opponents are 12-for-12 in the stolen base department this season
The Demons pitching staff has fared well this season. NSU's staff sports a 2.55 ERA and has allowed just 17 earned runs through 60 innings.
Louisiana-Lafayette will continue the homestand on Wednesday against Southeastern Louisiana at 6:30 p.m. before opening a three-game series with Troy State on Friday at 6:35 p.m. in a game which will be televised on KLAF cable channel 17 in Lafayette.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
