University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Southern Miss
UL and Southern Miss Renew Rivalry This Weekend at "The Tigue"
3/8/2012 8:10:00 PM | Baseball
Contact: Matt Hebert
Game Notes
THE WEEKEND SERIES
Dates: Friday-Sunday, March 9-11
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: Southern Miss (8-5)
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 Jay Myrick (USM)
Saturday: LHP Chris Griffitt (UL) vs. LHP Jake Drehoff (USM)
Sunday: RHP Austin Robichaux (UL) vs. TBA
What's On Tap: The Ragin' Cajuns baseball team is set for their final non-conference weekend of the 2012 season as they welcome Southern Miss to M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field Friday-Sunday, March 9-11. The Cajuns and Golden Eagles are squaring off for the sixth consecutive season (played at least twice each season since 2007).
Perfect at Home: Louisiana is off to a 5-0 start at “The Tigue” which is the best at the facility since beginning the 2007 home slate with the exact same mark. The 2007 squad started 15-0 at “The Tigue”.
Leonards Remains Hot: Ryan Leonards is off to a fast start, leading the team with a .429 overall average, seven multi-hit games and eight extra base hits. The Cajuns shortstop finished 4-for-5 with two doubles in Wednesday's contest at McNeese State.
Quick Reset: Louisiana enters the USM series coming off a pair of midweek victories which moved the team to a season-high, three games above .500. 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. UL scored six runs over the first 2 ½ innings of action and the Cowboys would get no closer than five runs the rest of the way.
The Southern Miss Series (UL leads 18-16): The series dates back to 1981 and is 34 meetings old. The two schools have increased their meetings as of late, having played 19 games since 2000 and at least twice in every season dating back to 2007. The Cajuns are 8-11 vs. USM under Tony Robichaux. UL holds an 11-3 edge in meetings at “The Tigue”. The last series at “The Tigue” came in 2010 with USM claiming 2-of-3 the weekend of March 5-7, 2010. The two schools first met with a three-game series in Hattiesburg in April 1981.
Similar Scene as Last Season: The two teams split a doubleheader last season at Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg after the first two days of the series were washed away due to rainy weather. As fate would have it, rain is in the forecast for this weekend's series.
The Countdown Continues: Head coach Tony Robichaux needs 21 wins to reach 900 career wins. His career record currently stands at 879-591-1.
Good Eye: Chase Compton has struck out only three times in 56 plate appearances.
Hometown Hero: Freshman Jace Conrad, who prepped at Lafayette High School, has started all but one game at second base (Alcorn State). Conrad played on the very first Lafayette Little League team to play in Williamsport, Pa. (August 2005).
The Show Stopper: Sophomore pitcher Caleb Kellogg is settling into his role as the Cajuns closer. Last week, he tossed two innings of scoreless relief vs. Alcorn State to allow the Cajuns to rally for a 6-4 win. Against Kansas at the UTSA Classic, Kellogg ended the Jayhawks' rally in the eighth with a strikeout and induced a double play in the ninth to lock up the save. On Tuesday vs. Houston, he picked up his second save by registering the final six outs to preserve a 3-1 triumph. In 8 2/3 innings of work so far this season, Kellogg has given up only six hits and struck out 13.
Defense Shines: The Cajuns are coming off their best week defensively, committing only two errors through 153 chances. The squad had committed 13 errors over the season's first two weeks.
Shorthanded: UL will be without the services of catcher Michael Strentz (elbow injury) for the remainder of the season. He'll receive a medical hardship and return as a redshirt sophomore in 2013.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
