University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Arkansas State*
Cajuns Take on Red Wolves in Sun Belt Home Opener
3/22/2012 5:50:00 PM | Baseball
Contact: Matt Hebert
Game Notes
THE WEEKEND SERIES
Dates: Friday-Sunday, March 23-25
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: Arkansas State (11-9, 3-0 Sun Belt)
Radio: Sports Radio ESPN 1420 AM (Friday) & News Talk 96.5 KPEL-FM (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
Television: MyKLAF (Saturday)
Internet Broadcast Links: ESPN 1420-AM and 96.5 KPEL-FM
Live Stats/Video: www.RaginCajuns.com
STARTING PITCHERS
Friday: RHP Jordan Nicholson (UL) vs. RHP Jacob Lee (ASU)
Saturday: LHP Chris Griffitt (UL) vs. RHP Daniel Wright (ASU)
Sunday: TBA (UL) vs. TBA (ASU)
Sun Belt Home Opener: Louisiana hosts its first Sun Belt Conference series of the 2012 season Friday-Sunday, March 23-25 as Arkansas State visits M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field.
A Rare Midweek Off: Mother Nature washed away midweek contests with Tulane and Northwestern State, giving the Ragin' Cajuns a rare week-long break from action. The Northwestern State contest has been rescheduled for Tuesday, April 17 in Natchitoches. The UL and Tulane coaching staffs are working toward setting a makeup date for that game.
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 latest national attendance rankings UL is 26th with an average home attendance of 2,200.
Quick Reset: The Ragin' Cajuns opened Sun Belt play last weekend in Monroe and claimed 2-of-3 from the Warhawks. It marked the first series victory during the opening weekend of league play since 2007. Jordan Nicholson's four-hit, complete game shutout was the highlight on Friday. UL won an extra innings contest on Saturday when back-to-back squeeze bunts in the 10th inning broke a 3-all tie. On Sunday, La.-Monroe erased an early 3-0 Cajuns lead with a five-run second inning and held on as the Cajuns couldn't get the timely hit to fall, despite a season-high 15 hits in a 7-5 defeat.
Run Producing Machine: True freshman Dylan Butler continued his rapid pace of driving in runs for the Ragin' Cajuns, posting at least one RBI in each game last week. The freshman right fielder has now posted at least one RBI in nine of the last 10 games, upping his season total to a team-high 25 RBI which ranks third in the Sun Belt.
Nicholson Honored: Senior pitcher Jordan Nicholson who threw a complete game, four-hit shutout in the Ragin' Cajuns baseball team's Sun Belt Conference opener at La.-Monroe last Friday was named the league's Pitcher of the Week on Monday. Nicholson began the game with 10 consecutive batters retired and finished off his masterpiece by retiring the final 10 batters he faced. Nicholson became the first Cajuns pitcher to toss a nine-inning, complete game shutout in conference play since Zach Osborne fired a one-hit shutout at Troy on April 9, 2010 at “The Tigue”.
Special Company: Dylan Butler is one of only three players in the Sun Belt Conference averaging over one RBI per game (1.25 per game). UALR's Sean Bignall (1.67 RBI per game) and Troy's Boone Shear (1.44 RBI per game) are the other two players.
Model of Consistency: UL has gone 24 consecutive Sun Belt series without being swept by the opposition (dates back to April 2009). The Cajuns' Sun Belt record during the streak is 47-25.
The Arkansas State Series (UL Leads 67-34): Louisiana leads the all-time series 67-34, including a 30-12 mark at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field. The Cajuns are 35-23 vs. ASU in the Tony Robichaux Era. Louisiana is 19-10 at “The Tigue” vs. the Red Wolves in the Tony Robichaux era. ASU has won 11 of the past 15 meetings, overall. The Red Wolves have claimed the last two series at “The Tigue” (2008 & 2010). UL's last series victory at “The Tigue” came in 2007 (took 2-of-3). The two programs have met in the Sun Belt Tournament each of the past two seasons. This is the Cajuns' second-oldest series amongst all Sun Belt Conference teams, trailing only the 115 all-time meetings with La.-Monroe. The two programs were conference rivals in the Southland (1972-82), American South (1988-91) and presently the Sun Belt since 1992.
Prime Time Performers: Night and day games have provided a stark contrast for the Ragin' Cajuns – UL is 9-1 in night games and only 3-7 in day games.
The Countdown Continues: Head coach Tony Robichaux is 17 wins shy of 900 career wins (presently 883-594-1 in his 26th season as a Division I head coach).
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
