Two Teams Off to Fast Starts Meet at "The Tigue" This Weekend

Contact: Matt Hebert

Game Notes (PDF)

THE WEEKEND SERIES
Dates: Friday-Sunday, Feb. 22-24, 2013
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: UTSA (5-0)
Radio: News Talk 96.5 KPEL-FM (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
Television: MyKLAF/ESPN3.com (Saturday)
Internet Broadcast Link: 96.5 KPEL-FM
Live Stats/Video: www.RaginCajuns.com

STARTING PITCHERS
Friday: RHP Chase Traffica (UL) vs. LHP Michael Kraft (UTSA)
Saturday: LHP Cody Boutte (UL) vs. RHP Brock Hartson (UTSA)
Sunday: RHP Austin Robicahaux (UL) vs. TBA (UTSA)

PLAY BALL
Louisiana (4-1) continues its season-opening, 14-game homestand welcoming UTSA for a three-game series Friday-Sunday, Feb. 22-24 at “The Tigue”. The Cajuns and Roadrunners meet in Lafayette for the first time since 2001, when the two programs opened that season with a three-game series.

TWO TEAMS OFF TO HOT START
Both the Cajuns and Roadrunners have stormed out of the gate with impressive starts. UL took 3-of-4 from Central Michigan during opening weekend, while UTSA swept Air Force in four games. Through five games, the Cajuns are hitting .293 (hit .263 as a team in 2012) and the squad has scored five-plus runs in four of five outings. The Roadrunners carry a blistering .429 average into the weekend set, having piled up 59 runs and 85 hits through the season's first five games.

THE UTSA SERIES (Louisiana leads 8-3)
The series is 11 games old, all but two meetings having occurred since 2001 (UTSA's last trip to Lafayette). Programs first met in a two-game, midweek series in March 1992 with Cajuns claiming both contests. Other three-game weekend series – both swept by UL – took place in Lafayette (Feb. 2-4, 2001) and San Antonio (Feb. 16-18, 2007). All three UTSA wins have come in the squad's annual home tournament (UTSA Baseball Classic) and took place in UL visits in 2006, 2008 and 2012. UTSA carries a two-game win streak over UL into this weekend's set. Louisiana is 5-0 at home vs. UTSA.

LAST TIME VS. UTSA
The Roadrunners erased an early Cajuns lead with after RBI singles by John Welborn and Daniel Rockett in the third inning and added two more off of Cajuns starter Austin Robichaux in the fifth inning en route to a 5-2 win in the final game of the 2012 UTSA Baseball Classic at Wolff Stadium in San Antonio. UTSA starter Michael Kraft limited UL to one run on three hits in six innings. Dylan Butler had both Cajuns RBI, one off a single in the first inning and home run in the seventh.

ROBICHAUX NEARING NO. 900
Head coach Tony Robichaux is two (2) wins shy of 900 career wins (presently 898-617-1 in his 27th season as a Division I head coach). Once he reaches the milestone, Robichaux will become the 22nd active DI head coach with 900 career victories joining a list that includes Texas' Auggie Garrido, Florida State's Mike Martin, Stanford's Mark Marquess, Rice's Wayne Graham and Wichita State's Gene Stephenson to name a few.

QUICK RESET
The Cajuns sent 13 batters to the plate in producing a nine-run fourth inning that buried Northwestern State in a 12-3 midweek victory on Wednesday at “The Tigue”. Ryan Leonards and Michael Strentz had the big hits, both driving in two runs during the scoring barrage for UL which turned a one-run contest into a double digit lead.

EARLY RETURNS ARE UP
Louisiana has scored five runs or more four times through the season's first five games. Last season, the Cajuns reached the five-run plateau 27 times in 53 games (51%).

STRETCHING THE BENCH
A total of 16 Cajuns made at least one plate appearance in the CMU series and once again in Wednesday's win over Northwestern State.

ROTATION REMAINS THE SAME
The Cajuns are utilizing the same starting rotation that yielded a 3-0 start to the CMU series. Chase Traffica gets the nod in the opener, followed by Cody Boutte (Saturday) and Austin Robichaux (Sunday).

INSTANT OFFENSE, SWIFT BLOW
Twice already the Cajuns batting order has flexed its muscle to put away an opponent. In the season opener, a seven-run sixth inning stretched the lead to 12-3 over CMU. On Wednesday, UL turned the lineup over and registered nine runs in turning a 3-2 lead over Northwestern State into a double digit lead in the fourth inning.

BACK IN ACTION
Opening night starter Chase Traffica pitched against outside competition for the first time since a relief appearance against FIU on May 28, 2011 in the Sun Belt Tournament held in Monroe. Traffica missed all of 2012 with Tommy John surgery. The opening night contest also saw the return of catcher Michael Strentz who missed all but seven games in 2012 with Tommy John surgery.

COACHES SHUFFLE PLACES
With the promotion of Anthony Babineaux to associate head coach, he moves into the dugout to serve as Tony Robichaux's bench coach. Full-time assistant coach Matt Deggs, in charge of the offense, moves into the third base box (coached first base in 2012). And, newly hired volunteer assistant Lance Harvell will coach at first base.

NEW FACES, NEW BEGINNINGS
The Cajuns roster is filled with several newcomers as the team attempts to create a new “identity” to put last season behind them. In all, the team's official roster – which is made up of 32 players – features 17 new players.

-- Ragin' Cajuns --

Two Teams Off to Fast Starts Meet at "The Tigue" This Weekend

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