University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Cajuns in Miami to Face FIU in SBC Series
4/14/2011 9:00:00 PM | Baseball
THE WEEKEND SERIES
Dates: Friday-Sunday, April 15-17
Location: Miami, Fla.
Site: FIU Stadium (2,000)
Times: 6:00 p.m. CT (Fri) | 5:00 p.m. CT (Sat) | 12:00 p.m. CT (Sun)
Opponent: FIU (20-15, 5-7 Sun Belt)
Radio: News Radio 96.5 FM (KPEL)
Live Stats: www.RaginCajuns.com
STARTING PITCHERS
Friday: LHP Taylor Hubbell (UL) vs. LHP Phil Haig (FIU)
Saturday: RHP Joe Zimmermann (UL) vs. LHP R.J. Fondon (FIU)
Sunday: LHP T.J. Geith (UL) vs. RHP Daniel DeSimone (FIU)
A Familiar Scene: Louisiana visits Miami for a Sun Belt series with FIU for the third straight season and fifth time in the past six seasons. The Ragin' Cajuns last series win over the Golden Panthers in Miami came in 2007.
On the Road, Again: Louisiana is on the road for a Sun Belt series for the second straight weekend. The Cajuns are 3-3 on the road in league play.
Raising the Bar: The Ragin' Cajuns enter the weekend with a Sun Belt-best .309 batting average in league games. Leading the charge in league play is Lance Marvel (.415) and Alex Fuselier (.370).
Robe Watch: Head coach Tony Robichaux is four wins shy of No. 600 as Cajuns skipper.
Finding a Groove: Louisiana has won 11 of its past 15 games after falling a season-high, two games below .500 following the loss to La.-Monroe on March 19.
Model of Consistency: UL has gone 17 consecutive Sun Belt series without being swept by the opposition (dates back to April 2009).
The FIU Series (UL leads 22-21): Series began when FIU joined the Sun Belt in 1999. This is the ninth (9th) series held at FIU Stadium. The Golden Panthers hold a 13-11 edge in their home park. FIU has won the past three season series (2008-2010). UL's last series win came in 2007 in Miami. From 2005-07, UL posted a seven-game win streak to reclaim the series lead. Tony Robichaux has been UL's skipper for all series meetings.
Exceptional Defense: UL sports the nation's 10th-ranked defense, statistically. The Cajuns current fielding percentage is .979. The squad has committed just 27 errors through 1,272 chances covering a 33-game span.
Exceptional Defense, Part 2: Louisiana leads the Sun Belt in fielding percentage with a .984 clip in league play. The Cajuns have committed only 7 errors through 443 chances.
Pitching is the Name of the Game: Cajuns pitching has held the opponent below five runs 22 times in 33 games. The shutout at Rice (April 5) was the staff's third of the season.
Following Fontenot: Senior Greg Fontenot is tops in batting average (.371), base hits (43) and multiple-hit games (12). Fontenot has reached four hits three times this season.
Light the Fuse: Alex Fuselier brings a seven-game hitting streak into the FIU series. Fuselier went 9-for-17 (.529) last week with three runs scored and only one strikeout in 19 plate appearances. At WKU, Fuselier led the squad with a .583 average (7-of-12).
The Marvel of It All: Since becoming a full-time starter on Sunday, March 20 vs. La.-Monroe, Lance Marvel is hitting .340 (17-of-50) with 10 runs scored, 10 RBI a double and three triples. He's slugging .480 and has a .444 on-base percentage since entering the lineup.
More is Better: In Sun Belt play, Lance Marvel is tops with six multiple-hit games while Greg Fontenot, Jordan Poirrier and Mike Petello have each posted five multi-hit games.
Hubbell Sits 'Em Down: Taylor Hubbell, the Cajuns Friday night starter, has posted at least five strikeouts in his last four starts
Zim's in the Zone: In three appearances and two starts in Sun Belt play, UNO transfer Joe Zimmerman has tossed 14 innings, allowed 11 hits and just three earned runs. Zimmermann's Sun Belt ERA was lowered to 1.93 following Saturday's outing at WKU.
The Sun Belt's Best: To no one's surprise the Ragin' Cajuns rank nationally and lead the Sun Belt in average home attendance. In the Week 9 national attendance rankings UL ranked 17th with an average home attendance of 3,300.
