First of Five Straight Road Games Starts Tuesday at Tulane

Contact: Matt Hebert

Game Notes

THE MIDWEEK GAME
Date: Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Location: New Orleans, La.
Site: Greer Field at Turchin Stadium (5,000)
Time: 6:30 p.m
Opponent: Tulane (32-16)
Radio: SportsRadio ESPN 1420 AM (KPEL)
Television: None
Internet Broadcast Link: www.espn1420.com
Live Stats/Video: www.TulaneGreenWave.com

PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
LHP Henri Faucheux (UL) vs. RHP Alex Byo (TULANE)

Hitting the Road: The Ragin' Cajuns baseball team begins a string of five consecutive road games on Tuesday, May 8 when they meet Tulane at Turchin Stadium in New Orleans. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday's meeting was supposed to be the completion of a home-and-home with the Green Wave, but weather washed out the meeting that was scheduled for M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field on Tuesday, March 20.

What's On Tap: On Thursday, May 10, the Cajuns depart for Murfreesboro, Tenn., for the final road series of the season. UL meets Middle Tennessee at Reese-Smith Field Friday-Sunday, May 11-13 for a three-game Sun Belt series which might determine the Cajuns' Sun Belt Tournament fate. The five game road swing concludes next Tuesday (May 15) at Houston.

The Stretch Run: This week's action starts the stretch run of the 2012 season as only two weeks remain in regular season play. The Cajuns have six Sun Belt games remaining, so there's still plenty of opportunity to land a Sun Belt Tournament berth.

Hitter's Stride: The Cajuns hitters have produced double digits in hits eight of the past 11 games. During the streak, five players are hitting above .300 – Jordan Bourque (.500), Tyler Girouard (.371), Chase Compton (.333), Dylan Butler (.310) and Jace Conrad (.304).

Pitcher's Slide: After the bats broke out of the 12-game, .202 slump (March 28-April 15), the pitching staff, which had been steady waiting for the bats to come around, has hit a bump in the road the last 11 games. In the current 11-game stretch, the staff's ERA is 5.47 and opponents are hitting .287. Over the last two weekends, UL has surrendered six runs or more each contest (six games).

Faithful Fans: Sunday's crowd pushed the 2012 total attendance to 50,211, marking the fourth straight year and seventh in the last eight UL has drawn more than 50,000. Louisiana enters Week 13 ranked 29^th nationally in average home attendance (2,092). UL is one of only 31 Division I baseball programs (291 total programs) to have reached 50,000 in total attendance this season.

The Tulane Series (UL Leads 43-40): The Cajuns hold a 43-40 lead, overall. Tulane leads 14-12 in the Tony Robichaux era. Tulane has had the most recent success, claiming five of the last seven meetings. The last five meetings have taken place in New Orleans (last meeting at “The Tigue” took place on March 26, 2003). After a brief hiatus following the 2004 campaign, the teams met four straight seasons starting in 2007 at Zephyrs Field. Prior to the two-year break from 2005-06, the two programs had met each season from 1983-2004. Neither team has been able to take control of the series, with UL owning the longest winning streak at five straight games from 1950 until 1970, while Tulane has twice won four straight contests.

About the Last Meeting (4/27/10 – Tulane won 2-1): Tulane rallied for two runs in the seventh inning to claim a 2-1 win at Turchin Stadium. The Cajuns grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the second inning with a Justin Robichaux RBI single, but finished 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position leaving the door open for the Wave's rally.

Freshman Phenom: Dylan Butler's RBI in the first inning on Saturday vs. Troy was his 41st of the season which ties him with Les Smith (41 in 2009) for the most RBI by a Cajuns freshman since Jonathan Lucroy posted 48 in 2005.

Freshman Phenom, Part 2: Adding to his banner freshman campaign, Dylan Butler is a lock to become the first true freshman to lead the Ragin' Cajuns in RBI since the program moved to Division I status in 1972. His 41 RBI are well ahead of the next nearest tally of 21 (Chase Compton) with eight (8) regular season games remaining.

Putting on a Show: Despite the record (21-25), the Ragin' Cajuns have had some competitive contests this season. UL has played 17 one-run games (9-8 record). To go a step further, 27 of the 46 games have been decided by two-runs or less (14-13 mark).

The Countdown is On: Head coach Tony Robichaux is eight wins shy of 900 career wins (presently 892-611-1 in his 26th season as a Division I head coach). With an end of the season hot streak and Sun Belt Tournament appearance, he could reach the mark this season.

-- Ragin' Cajuns --

First of Five Straight Road Games Starts Tuesday at Tulane

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