University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Towson
Baseball Opens Home Slate This Weekend
2/23/2012 3:00:00 PM | Baseball
Game Notes
THE WEEKEND SERIES
Dates: Friday-Sunday, Feb. 24-26
Location: Lafayette, La.
Site: M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field (3,755)
Times: 6:00 p.m. (Fri) | 2:00 p.m. (Sat) | 1:00 p.m. (Sun)
Opponent: Towson (1-2)
Radio: Sports Radio ESPN 1420 AM (Friday & Sunday) & News Talk 96.5 KPEL-FM (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
Television: MyKLAF (Friday)
Internet Broadcast Links: ESPN 1420-AM and 96.5 KPEL-FM
Live Stats/Video: www.RaginCajuns.com
STARTING PITCHERS
Friday: RHP Joe Zimmermann (UL) vs. RHP Michael Trionfo (TOWSON)
Saturday: RHP Jordan Nicholson (UL) vs. RHP Taylor Clarke (TOWSON)
Sunday: RHP Austin Robichaux (UL) vs. RHP Chris Acker (TOWSON)
Home, Sweet Home: The Ragin' Cajuns are set to open the home portion of the 2012 schedule Friday-Saturday, Feb. 24-26 as they host Towson at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field. The Towson series marks the first of 28 home games this season and opens the 35th season of action at “The Tigue” for UL baseball.
Home Field Advantage: Louisiana has enjoyed success throughout the years at “The Tigue”. UL carries a string of 16 consecutive winning seasons at the park into 2012. The all-time record at “The Tigue” stands at 753-290-2 (.722) and the Cajuns sport a 361-135-1 (.727) record at home in the Tony Robichaux era.
Quick Reset: The Cajuns dropped their third straight outing falling 6-5 at Southeastern Louisiana on Wednesday closing out a season-opening, four-game road swing. Five unearned runs allowed in the fourth inning proved to be the difference. UL battled back, cutting the SLU lead to 6-5 with a Michael Strentz sacrifice fly in the seventh and had the tying run at second in the ninth before Lions closer Stefan Lopez closed the door on SLU's eighth straight win over the Cajuns.
Last Weekend: Louisiana returned home Monday night from the CenturyLink Bobcat Invitational in San Marcos, Texas. The return was a day later than expected as rain showers in the San Marcos area delayed the start of the tournament until Saturday. Joe Zimmermann gave the Cajuns a strong start on the mound vs. Wichita State on Saturday, tossing five scoreless innings of three-hit baseball and Daniel Nichols provided the winning run in the bottom of the eighth in a 1-0 victory. On Sunday, Santa Clara scored six runs in the eighth inning to spoil a quality start by Jordan Nicholson (6.0 IP, 2 R, 6K). Texas State out-hit the Cajuns 15-10 on Monday, scored in all but two innings to post a 9-5 victory spoiling the debut of junior college transfer Chris Griffitt. The Bobcats used a three-run outburst in the sixth inning to break open a 4-2 contest.
Hello, My Name Is: This weekend's series marks the first-ever meeting between Louisiana and Towson on the baseball diamond.
Faithful Fans: The final attendance number for the 2011 season at “The Tigue” was 92,784 over 28 dates for an average of 3,313 which was tops in the Sun Belt Conference and Top 20 nationally (No. 18 overall). UL averaged 1,000-plus for the 12th consecutive season.
Record Draw: The total attendance figure of 92,784 for the 2011 home schedule at “The Tigue” set a new facility record (previous best was 70,267 in 2003).
Home Openers: UL's record in home openers during the Division I era (since 1972) is 31-9 (25-9 at “The Tigue”).
Where Did You Go Mike?: Last season's starting catcher Michael Strentz got reps in preseason practice in the outfield. During opening weekend in San Marcos and Wednesday at Southeastern Louisiana, the sophomore out of Lafayette started in left field.
Solid Starts: Through the first four games, Chase Compton (.462), Ryan Leonards (.412) and Daniel Nichols (.400) carry a .400 or above batting average.
Robichaux Among Baseball's Elite: UL head coach Tony Robichaux entered the 2012 season in the Top 25 amongst winningest active Division I baseball coaches. Robichaux's 871 career victories stood 22nd on the list.
Robe Nearing Another Milestone: Head coach Tony Robichaux needs 28 wins to reach 900 career wins. His career record currently stands at 872-589-1.
Like Father, Like Son Part 2: The 2012 roster features Austin Robichaux, the youngest of head coach Tony Robichaux's three children. Austin is the second of coach Robichaux's children to play at UL (older brother Justin wore the Cajuns uniform from 2007-10).
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
