University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
UL & LSU Square Off at "The Box"
3/21/2011 8:33:00 PM | Baseball
THE MIDWEEK GAME
Date: Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Location: Baton Rouge, La.
Site: Alex Box Stadium (10,150)
Time: 6:30 p.m
Opponent: LSU (16-4)
Radio: SportsRadio ESPN 1420 AM (KPEL)
Live Stats: www.RaginCajuns.com
Live Video: www.LSUsports.net
STARTING PITCHERS
RHP Joe Zimmermann (UL) vs. RHP Tyler Jones (LSU)
Headed East on I-10: Louisiana makes the short trip down Interstate 10 on Tuesday to face LSU at Alex Box Stadium. This will be the Cajuns' lone midweek game this week.
We Meet Again: The Ragin' Cajuns and Tigers square off at The New Alex Box Stadium for the third straight season. The two squads have split the previous two meetings in the facility (UL won 10-9 in 2009; LSU won 4-3 in 2010).
An Encore???: Joe Zimmermann will start for the Cajuns on Tuesday at LSU. Last season, Zimmermann, who played at UNO, started for the Privateers on April 27 at Alex Box and held the Tigers to three runs on five hits in 6 1/3 innings. UNO went on to win 7-4.
The LSU Series (LSU leads 46-22): This is the fourth straight season the two programs meet. LSU holds a 46-22 advantage, overall. After a 2002 meeting in the NCAA Regional at Baton Rouge, the teams did not meet for five years. LSU owns a 10-5 advantage in the Robichaux Era. Teams meet for just the third time at The New Alex Box Stadium. The series is tied 1-1 in The New Alex Box. The Cajuns and Tigers met in NCAA Regional play in 1990, 1991, 1998 and 2002.
Quick Reset: The Cajuns dropped their Sun Belt opening series to in-state rival La.-Monroe last weekend. The Warhawks rode the arm of Drew Granier who carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning for a 2-1 win on Friday. On Saturday, Joey Rapp spoiled Matt Hicks' first career save opportunity with a two-run, go-ahead home run in the ninth to lift La.-Monroe to a 6-3 victory which claimed the series. On Sunday, T.J. Geith tossed a complete game, two-hit shutout. The offense, guided by five players with multi-hit games exploded for 11 runs on 16 hits to avoid the sweep.
The Sun Belt's Best: To no one's surprise the Ragin' Cajuns rank nationally and lead the Sun Belt in home average attendance. In the most current national attendance rankings UL ranks 15th with an average home attendance of 3,323.
Another Top Weekend Attendance Figure: The total attendance for the series with La.-Monroe was 10,279 which marked the second largest attended series ever at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field and the second of 10,000-plus this season (10,603 vs. SEMO).
Pitching is the Name of the Game: Cajuns pitching has held the opponent below five runs 14 times in 19 games.
Pitching is the Name of the Game, Part 2: Last week's results increased the Ragin' Cajuns string of holding the opposition to single digit runs to 51 consecutive games.
Tough as Nails: In 69 innings of work this season the Cajuns bullpen has allowed just 17 runs and 54 hits. The pen's ERA is 2.22 and WHIP is 1.09.
Offensive Explosion: Of the 41 hits posted by the Cajuns last week, a total of 17 (16 doubles, 1 triple) went for extra bases.
Clutch Hits:The Cajuns offense posted a base hit in 19 of 44 chances with runners in scoring position last week (.432). Jordan Bourque, Greg Fontenot, Tyler Frederick and Jordan Poirrier each posted three hits with runners in scoring position.
Quality Pitching: All three Cajuns starting pitchers worked through the sixth inning during the La.-Monroe series. It marked the first time this season Louisiana's starters went at least six innings in back-to-back games. Taylor Hubbell, Jordan Nicholson and T.J. Geith combined to work 19 innings and held the Warhawks to three runs and 12 base hits.
Take at Least One Each Weekend: Louisiana's win over La.-Monroe on Sunday helped the squad avoid being swept by the Warhawks. UL has now gone 14 consecutive Sun Belt series without being swept by the opposition (dates back to Troy 2009 series). The Cajuns Sun Belt record during the stretch is 28-14.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
