University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Southern
Baseball Battles Southern in Final Test Before Sun Belt Play
3/12/2012 8:57:00 PM | Baseball
Contact: Matt Hebert
Game Notes
THE MIDWEEK GAME
Date: Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Location: Lafayette, La.
Site: M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field (3,755)
Time: 6:00 p.m
Opponent: Southern (8-7)
Radio: SportsRadio ESPN 1420 AM (KPEL)
Internet Broadcast Link: www.espn1420.com
Live Stats/Video: www.RaginCajuns.com
STARTING PITCHERS
RHP Kendall Mayer (UL) vs. TBA (SOUTHERN)
What's On Tap: The Ragin' Cajuns close out a four-game homestand on Tuesday, March 13 hosting Southern University at “The Tigue” with a 6 p.m. first pitch. It's the squad's lone midweek contest before traveling to Monroe to begin Sun Belt Conference play Friday-Sunday, March 16-18 against the Warhawks.
Looking To Bounce Back: The Ragin' Cajuns are seeking to end a two-game losing streak after dropping the final two games of the Southern Miss series last weekend which brought an end to a 6-0 start at “The Tigue”.
Midweek Magic: UL has won its last three midweek games and sports a 3-1 record in such contests this season.
Season Ticket Redemption: The Ragin' Cajuns baseball team will hold the first of three "Season Ticket Redemption" games set for the 2012 season at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field on Tuesday. Unused season tickets from home games 1-8 may be redeemed for additional tickets to Tuesday's game vs. Southern at no charge on a first-come, first-served basis, at the ticket office at "The Tigue" on gameday or at the Cajundome Box Office in advance.
Quick Reset: Louisiana went 3-2 last week posting midweek victories against Houston and McNeese State and taking the series opener from Southern Miss. The Cajuns topped Houston 3-1 on Tuesday at “The Tigue” as Dylan Butler produced all three runs and 5 2/3 innings of combined scoreless relief from Cord Cockrell and Caleb Kellogg shut the door on the Cougars. On Wednesday, five players posted a multiple RBI night and the Cajuns rapped out a season-high 14 base hits en route to an easy 14-8 win over McNeese State. Jordan Nicholson rebounded from a three-run first inning to toss five scoreless frames and the Cajuns exploded for 11 runs from the third through fifth inning to defeat USM 12-5 on Friday. Southern Miss used three home runs to produce all of its runs with the last one coming in the 11th inning to lift the visiting Golden Eagles to a 4-3 victory on Saturday. On Sunday, the Golden Eagles used two big scoring innings to get their runs in an 11-3 victory that claimed the weekend series. Aided by a pair of Cajuns errors in the fifth inning, the Golden Eagles scored six runs, five of them unearned, to erase a 2-0 deficit which had existed since a two-out, two RBI double by the Cajuns' Dylan Butler in the first inning.
The Southern Series (UL Leads 46-22-1): It's an old series – 69 games old – but only 10 meetings have taken place since 1988. A total of 59 meetings were played from 1988 and before. The programs wouldn't meet again until 2001. The Cajuns hold an 9-1 edge in games played in the Tony Robichaux Era. After a brief hiatus from 2006-08, the series resumed in 2009 at “The Tigue”. Louisiana has won the last seven meetings. The Cajuns are 6-0 vs. Southern at “The Tigue” under Tony Robichaux.
Butler in A Groove: Dylan Butler upped his season-high hitting streak to seven games and led the squad with five extra base hits (four doubles, one triple) and seven RBI last week. Butler collected a hit in each contest and posted at least one RBI in four of the five games.
Bringing Them Home: Dylan Butler has posted at least one RBI in six of the last seven games, increasing his team-leading total to 17.
Bowman On The Basepath: Brian Bowman picked up a stolen base in the second inning of Sunday's game vs. USM, increasing his season total to 12 which is just shy of his personal single-season best 17 set in 2010. Bowman ranks second in the Sun Belt Conference in stolen bases, one of only four players in the league to reach double figures thus far.
Quick Start: Louisiana has scored first, 11 times in 16 outings this season. The Cajuns have scored 15 runs in the first inning, outscoring opponents 15-5.
On The Mend: Head coach Tony Robichaux mentioned at his Monday media luncheon that he'd like to align his pitching staff as Sun Belt Conference play nears. That would include having Joe Zimmermann (senior transfer from UNO) and Chris Griffitt (JUCO transfer from Bossier Parish CC) return to the weekend rotation to join Jordan Nicholson. Both bothered by hamstring injuries, they've missed a weekend start recently. Robichaux mentioned the possibility of each throwing an inning Tuesday vs. Southern to see how their body would react to live action.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
