Another Weekend at "The Tigue" as Louisiana Hosts FIU

Contact: Matt Hebert

Game Notes

THE WEEKEND SERIES
Dates: Friday-Sunday, April 13-15, 2012
Location: Lafayette, La.
Site: M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field (3,755)
Times: 6:00 p.m. (Fri) | 6:00 p.m. (Sat) | 12:00 p.m. (Sun)
Opponent: FIU (19-13, 7-5 Sun Belt)
Radio: Sports Radio ESPN 1420 AM (Friday) & News Talk 96.5 KPEL-FM (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
Television: MyKLAF (Saturday) & Sun Belt Network (Sunday)
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. LHP Mason McVay (FIU)
Saturday: LHP Chris Griffitt (UL) vs. RHP Michael Ellis (FIU)
Sunday: LHP Jordan Harrison (UL) vs. LHP R.J. Fondon (FIU)

Another Weekend at “The Tigue”: Louisiana is at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field for a Sun Belt Conference series for the second straight weekend, hosting FIU Friday-Sunday, April 13-15. The Panthers take the field at “The Tigue” for the first time since 2008.

Arms Race: The Cajuns-Panthers series features the Sun Belt Conference's top two pitching staffs. Both staff's are tied for the league lead with a 3.69 ERA. FIU pitching his holding the opposition to a .239 average, while UL's pitching is limiting opponents to a .254 clip.

Sun Belt Game of the Week: Sunday's contest is the featured matchup on the Sun Belt Network this weekend. First pitch has been moved to 12 p.m. Lyn Rollins (play-by-play) and Ronnie Rantz (analysis) will call the action. Sun Belt Network games are distributed by CSS and CST. Viewers are advised to check local listings for additional channel information.

Nail Biters: Four of the last five games have been decided by one run or less.

Baseball Purists Loving This: Folks who are fans of good pitching and defense have been in for a treat the last week. Both UL and opposing pitching staffs have excelled as the most runs allowed in four of the past five games has been three. Since the April 3 contest vs. Southeastern Louisiana, the Cajuns pitching staff has worked 44 innings, limited opponents to 28 hits, 12 runs and a .188 batting average.

Another Robichaux Era Milestone: Louisiana enters the FIU series two wins shy of the 300^th Sun Belt victory of the Tony Robichaux era (currently 298-177 in league play under Robichaux's direction).

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 27th with an average home attendance of 2,118. Since 1999, the Ragin' Cajuns have ranked in the Top 40 in NCAA Division I average home attendance each season.

Quick Reset: Daniel Garcia pitched 8 1/3 innings of shutout baseball and back-to-back doubles in the sixth inning broke a scoreless tie as Southern topped Louisiana 3-2 in a midweek game on Tuesday at Lee-Hines Field. The Cajuns used a Chase Compton RBI triple and Ryan Leonards RBI single to pull within a run in the top of the ninth inning. That would have tied the score if not for consecutive wild pitches in the sixth that allowed an inherited runner to score for SU's third run of that frame.

Harrison Honored: Jordan Harrison received well-deserved honors for his complete game one-hitter thrown against Western Kentucky last Sunday as he was named Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week and LSWA Pitcher of the Week.

The FIU Series (FIU leads 24-23): Series began when FIU joined the Sun Belt in 1999. This is just the sixth series held at “The Tigue” over a 14-year span, and the first since 2008. The Cajuns visited Miami each of the past three seasons (2009-11) and five of the last six, overall. FIU has won the past four season series (2008-2011). 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. Since then, the Panthers have won 10 of the last 15 meeting to jump back in front 24-23. UL holds a 9-6 advantage in games played at “The Tigue”.

Lefties Beware: Over his last two starts, Chris Griffitt has held left-handed hitters to a 0-for-17 showing at the plate.

The Run Producer: True freshman Dylan Butler leads the Cajuns with 30 RBI, a tally which ranks fourth in the Sun Belt Conference.

Triumphant Return: Caleb Kellogg, whom coach Tony Robichaux calls a “difference maker”, made his first appearance since March 17 at La.-Monroe when he tossed 2 2/3 innings to post a save in relief of Chris Griffitt last Saturday vs. WKU. Kellogg, who missed the previous two weekends with rotator cuff ailments, has been dominant out of the bullpen this season holding opponents to 10 hits and collecting 25 strikeouts in 19 2/3 innings of work.

-- Ragin' Cajuns --

Another Weekend at "The Tigue" as Louisiana Hosts FIU

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