League Play Leaders in Pitching and Hitting Collide in Mobile

Contact: Matt Hebert

Game Notes

THE WEEKEND SERIES
Dates: Friday-Sunday, April 20-22, 2012
Location: Mobile, Ala.
Site: Stanky Field (3,775)
Times: 6:30 p.m. (Fri) | 6:30 p.m. (Sat) | 1:00 p.m. (Sun)
Opponent: South Alabama (14-23, 8-7 Sun Belt)
Radio: Sports Radio ESPN 1420 AM (Friday) & News Talk 96.5 KPEL-FM (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
Television: None
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 Phillip Byrd (USA)
Saturday: LHP Chris Griffitt (UL) vs. RHP Payton Gardner (USA)
Sunday: LHP Jordan Harrison (UL) vs. RHP Jarron Cito (USA)

Old Rivals Collide at Stanky Field: Louisiana and South Alabama continue their series as Sun Belt Conference rivals Friday-Sunday, April 20-22 at Stanky Field in Mobile, Ala. The two programs have met 88 times overall and each year in Sun Belt play since 1992. Neither team enters the weekend set with a winning record, but if the past is any indication you can throw out the records when the Cajuns and Jags do battle.

Nail Biters: Going back to the April 3 game vs. SLU, seven out of the last nine games have been one-run affairs. The Northwestern State contest (W, 10-8) snapped a string of six consecutive one-run outings.

Another Robichaux Era Milestone: UL enters the USA series one win shy of the 300^th Sun Belt victory of the Tony Robichaux Era (299-179 in SBC play under Robichaux).

Pivotal Series: The Cajuns have a chance to make up ground on the Jaguars in the Sun Belt standings. USA sits in fifth place at 8-7 in league play while the Cajuns are 6-9 and tied for sixth. It's a precarious situation, also, as a series loss could be a hindrance to UL's chances of creeping back into the top half of the league standings.

An Awakening: Louisiana is coming off a 10-run, 14-hit performance on Wednesday vs. Northwestern State. Could it be the breakout performance the bats needed to snap a 12-game funk in which the squad hit .202 and averaged 1.9 runs per game?

Quick Reset: UL plated seven runs off of the first two relievers Northwestern State used in the third inning to claim a lead that wouldn't be lost in a 10-8 win Wednesday at “The Tigue”. When NSU cut the lead to 8-7 on a wild pitch in the eighth, a bases-loaded single by Dylan Butler in the bottom of the inning scored two runs to push the lead to three runs. Butler's hit provided enough cushion to offset an additional run added by the Demons in the ninth inning.

The South Alabama Series (USA leads 54-34): Vast majority of the meetings has taken place since UL joined the Sun Belt in 1992 – 73 of 88 all-time meetings have come during Sun Belt partnership (1992-2011). UL has won 25 of 42 since the turn of the century. Tony Robichaux has been at the helm for 30 of UL's 34 series victories (UL is 30-34 vs. USA under Robichaux). Before the recent success under Robichaux, USA held a commanding 28-4 series lead in the mid-90s. The programs have met in nine Sun Belt Tournaments for a total of 13 matchups.

Pitchers in a Groove: It was another outstanding weekend series performance for Cajuns pitching, holding FIU to eight runs on 21 hits over 27 innings one week after limiting Western Kentucky to just seven runs and 17 hits over 27 innings. UL limited FIU, which entered the weekend hitting a Sun Belt-best .296, to a .216 average.

Strength vs. Strength: The Sun Belt's top hitting team and top pitching team in conference play collide at Stanky Field. UL carries a league-best 3.55 ERA in SBC play into the series. USA features a potent .330 batting average in SBC games.

Promising April: Since the April 3 game vs. Southeastern Louisiana, the Cajuns pitching staff has worked 80 innings and held the opposition to 28 runs, 61 hits and a .216 batting average. The staff has held the opposition to five runs or less seven times during the stretch.

Mr. Web Gem: Freshman Jace Conrad extended his string of consecutive error-free games to 31 on Wednesday vs. NSU. He has now fielded flawlessly the past 134 chances encountered at second base (50 putouts, 84 assists, 0 errors).

Dylan Driving 'Em In: Dylan Butler's 33 RBI leave him seven (7) shy of becoming the first freshman to reach 40 RBI since Les Smith tallied 41 in 2009. His RBI total ranks Top 10 in the Sun Belt Conference (tied for 7^th).

Todd Delivers in Relief: Catcher Adam Todd, who rejoined the team the day before the FAU series after focusing on academics in 2011, filled in for Chris Sinclair (back spasms) for the second straight weekend during the FIU series. Todd posted a pair of caught stealing in the Saturday game vs. FIU, upping his total to four through six starts in SBC play (opponents are just 4-for-8 off Todd in stolen bases in league play).

-- Ragin' Cajuns --

League Play Leaders in Pitching and Hitting Collide in Mobile

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