Louisiana Starts Final Month Hosting Troy at "The Tigue"

Contact: Matt Hebert

Game Notes

THE WEEKEND SERIES
Dates: Friday-Sunday, May 4-6, 2012
Location: Lafayette, La.
Site: M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field (3,755)
Times: 6:00 p.m. (Fri) | 6:00 p.m. (Sat) | 1:00 p.m. (Sun)
Opponent: Troy (20-25, 8-13 Sun Belt)
Radio: Sports Radio ESPN 1420 AM (Friday) & News Talk 96.5 KPEL-FM (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
Television: MyKLAF (Friday) & Sun Belt Network (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 Tyler Ray (TROY)
Saturday: LHP Chris Griffitt (UL) vs. RHP Joe Hernandez (TROY)
Sunday: TBA (UL) vs. RHP Ryan Brady (UALR)

A Weekend at “The Tigue”: After spending the past two weekends on the road in Mobile, Ala., and Little Rock, Ark., the Ragin' Cajuns get to enjoy the comforts of M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field as they host Troy in a three-game Sun Belt series Friday-Sunday, May 4-6.

Home Field Advantage: As the season hits the stretch run, the Cajuns play six of their final nine Sun Belt games at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field.

On the Doorstep: Freshman Dylan Butler needs just one (1) RBI to become the first Cajuns freshman with 40 RBI since Les Smith tallied 41 in 2009.

Sun Belt Game of the Week: Saturday's contest is the featured matchup on the Sun Belt Network this weekend. 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.

Increased Production: Cajuns batters have produced double figures in hits in six of the last eight games. Prior to the stretch, UL experienced a 12-game slump in which the team average was .202. During the current eight-game hot streak, five players are batting above .300 – Jordan Bourque (.667), Brian Bowman (.348), Dylan Butler (.355), Tyler Girouard (.385) and Daniel Nichols (.320).

Taking Care of Business: The Troy series is the first game action of the week for the Ragin' Cajuns as no midweek contests were scheduled while the University administered final exams for the Spring 2012 semester.

Everything Still in Front of Them: The Cajuns are currently tied for ninth in the Sun Belt standings, one game out of a Sun Belt Tournament berth. Good news is that the team the squad is attempting to stay ahead of (Troy) and the team the squad seeks to catch (La.-Monroe) both visit M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field over the season's final three weeks. UL also owns the tiebreaker with Western Kentucky (Hilltoppers currently in three-way tie for sixth).

Quick Reset: UL was handed a series loss for the third straight weekend, as UALR took 2-of-3 at Gary Hogan Field in Little Rock. The Trojans used a second inning grand slam by Kaleb Jobe and solid starting pitching from Chance Cleveland to take the opener 7-2. On Saturday, the Cajuns battled back against the UALR bullpen by registering three runs in the eighth inning to post a 7-6 victory. The Cajuns surrendered 12 free passes (9 walks, 3 hit by pitch) on Sunday which led to four UALR runs and the Trojans answered a three-run home run by Tyler Girouard in the top of the seventh with a three-run frame in the bottom of the inning (two-run homer and unearned run) to claim the rubber match 9-8.

The Troy Series (UL leads 17-9): Louisiana owns a 12-6 series advantage in Sun Belt Conference regular season play on the strength of claiming five of the six season series since the Trojans joined the SBC in 2006. The Cajuns had won all five previous Sun Belt series before Troy took 2-of-3 at Riddle-Pace Field last year. In the last series at “The Tigue” the Cajuns swept the Trojans (April 9-11, 2010) – the first and only sweep by either team in the all-time series. UL has never lost back-to-back games to Troy and twice have followed up Trojans wins with a three-game win streak. Prior to Troy joining the SBC in 2006, the teams met six times as non-conference foes (1998 and 2003), splitting the meetings.

Close Calls: The Cajuns have played 16 one-run games (8-8 record).

Stingy Staff: The pitching staff has held the opposition to single digits in 27 straight games since allowing 11 to Southern Miss on March 11, and in 42 of 43 contests overall this season.

Bourque Steps Up: Senior Jordan Bourque was inserted into the starting lineup last week to provide a vocal leader out on the field and he responded with an 8-for-12 performance over three starts which included back-to-back three-hit games in the UALR series.

The Countdown is On: Head coach Tony Robichaux enters the final month of the season needing nine (9) wins to reach 900 career wins (presently 891-609-1 in his 26th season as a Division I head coach).

-- Ragin' Cajuns --

Louisiana Starts Final Month Hosting Troy at "The Tigue"

Next Event

Footer

University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics