Cajuns Eye Upper Half of SBC Standings in Series at UALR

Contact: Matt Hebert

Game Notes (PDF)

THE WEEKEND SERIES
Dates: Friday-Sunday, April 12-14, 2013
Location: Little Rock, Ark.
Site: Gary Hogan Field (1,000)
Times: 6:00 p.m. (Fri) | 4:00 p.m. (Sat) | 1:00 p.m. (Sun)
Opponent: UALR (15-16, 4-8 Sun Belt)
Radio: News Talk 96.5 KPEL-FM (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
Television: None
Internet Broadcast Link: 96.5 KPEL-FM
Live Stats: www.RaginCajuns.com
Social Media: Twitter = @ULRaginCajuns, Facebook = facebook.com/ragincajunsathletics

STARTING PITCHERS
Friday: LHP Ryan Wilson (UL) vs. RHP Chance Cleveland (UALR)
Saturday: RHP Austin Robichaux (UL) vs. RHP Blake Huffman (UALR)
Sunday: LHP Cody Boutte (UL) vs. TBA (UALR)

PLAY BALL
Louisiana seeks to enter the upper half of the Sun Belt Conference standings when they take on UALR in a three-game league set at Gary Hogan Field in Little Rock Friday-Sunday, April 12-14. The Cajuns enter the weekend at 6-6 in SBC play and in a three-way tie for fifth place, only two games out of first place.

WE'RE BACK
For the second straight season Louisiana and UALR meet at Gary Hogan Field. Last year, the Trojans took 2-of-3 games April 27-29, 2012. It marked the Trojans' first series win over the Cajuns since 2001.

WINNING THE WEEKEND
Louisiana has claimed the weekend series from the opposition in six of the first eight series. UL began the year a perfect 5-for-5 in weekend sets which sparked a 16-3 start.

THE TURNAROUND
After ranking near the bottom in most offensive categories in 2012, the Cajuns have climbed the ladder in 2013. After eight weeks of play Louisiana ranked Top 3 in the Sun Belt Conference in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs scored, hits, RBI, doubles, triples, home runs and total bases.

THE UALR SERIES (Louisiana leads 46-15)
All but three meetings have taken place since both schools became Sun Belt members in 1992. Head coach Tony Robichaux has been at the helm for 43 of UL's 46 series victories. Louisiana has swept the season series from UALR five of the last six years (2007-2012). UALR's win in the 2012 series opener snapped a 16-game Cajuns series win streak – a streak that dated back to the 2006 series finale and included sweeps from 2007-2011. Louisiana has won 16 of the 19 SBC series with UALR. The Trojans' lone series wins came in 2000 (sweep), 2001 (2-1) and 2012 (2-1). This weekend's set marks the 11th SBC series between the two schools at Gary Hogan Field.

QUICK RESET
The Cajuns closed out a five-game homestand on Tuesday against Tulane. The Green Wave's first six batters reached base, resulting in five runs in the first inning. UL battled back scoring three times in the bottom of the first and later had the tying run in scoring position in the ninth inning. Tulane closer Ian Gibaut won a nine-pitch battle with Ryan Leonards to wrap up the 7-5 decision for the visitors. On Wednesday, the Cajuns contest with Northwestern State was suspended by inclement weather in the fourth inning. Tyler Girouard had just homered to give UL a 3-0 lead when the weather delay began.

LAST WEKEEND
Louisiana snapped a string of consecutive series defeats by taking 2-of-3 from Troy at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field. A six-hit outburst led to a five run rally that erased a 5-1 deficit in the sixth inning of the series opener. Seth Harrison made it 3-for-3 in save situations as UL took the opener 7-6 on Friday. Austin Robichaux's first career nine inning complete game silenced the Trojans on Saturday and Seth Harrison's grand slam in the fifth inning delivered the big blow in a 9-2 Cajuns victory. Troy scored four runs in the first inning on Sunday and never lost the lead in taking the finale 10-4.

HICKS CAN STAND ALONE
Matt Hicks' next save will make him the Ragin' Cajuns' all-time leader. The junior from Bridge City, Texas, tied the school career record with his 12th career save Tuesday, March 26 at SE Louisiana. He's in a three-way tie with Kraig Schambough who set the standard from 2002-05 and Justin Robichaux who equaled the mark from 2007-10.

SECRET WEAPON
Seth Harrison's emergence on the mound has quickly made him a dual threat for the Cajuns. He earned the save in three straight games after his pitching debut at WKU (March 30) and last Saturday belted a grand slam and posted six RBI in the series clincher over Troy.

PILING UP HITS
Dex Kjerstad has posted multiple-hit games in 10 of the Cajuns last 13 outings. He had a string of six straight multi-hit games March 19-29 (Southern through WKU opener). Kjerstad tops the squad with 13 multi-hit games.

MORE IS BETTER
Louisiana posted double figure hits each game of the Troy series and finished with 40 hits over three games (13.3 hits per game). The Cajuns have reached double figures in seven of the last nine games.

A “PACK” OF HITTERS
Louisiana's starting lineup features all nine hitters with 20-plus hits, ranging from 21 to 41 hits, and six with a season average above .300.

POWER SURGE
The Cajuns posted multiple home runs in a game for the third straight game on Tuesday vs. Tulane and homered at least twice in four of the five games on the recently completed homestand that began last Tuesday vs. McNeese.

STRINGING STREAKS TOGETHER
The Cajuns have posted four different win streaks of at least four games.

THIS 'N THAT

Austin Robichaux leads the Cajuns pitching staff with four quality starts. He tossed the first nine inning complete game of his career last Saturday vs. Troy.
Louisiana's earned run average in road games in 2013 is 6.13. That's nearly three full runs higher than the M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field earned run average of 3.68.
Ryan Leonards brings a career-best, nine-game hitting streak into the UALR series (hitting .484 during streak).
Tyler Girouard's average climbed above .400 after the opening game of the ULM series (March 15) and has remained there since, a span of 16 straight games.
The Ragin' Cajuns sport an 18-4 record when producing five runs or more.
Tony Robichaux is one of 22 active Division I head coaches with 900 career victories at the Division I level (916-626-1).
Entering Week 9 the Ragin' Cajuns were one of only 28 Division I schools (296 total) with a team batting average above .300. UL ranked 16th with a team average of .311.
Louisiana's 30 home runs eclipse the total of 18 hit during the 2012 season (53 games); the Cajuns surpassed the 2012 total in the season's 21st game.
The Ragin' Cajuns hold a +47 run differential over the opposition outscoring foes 214-167. Louisiana owns eight victories of six-plus runs.
Louisiana has cranked out 108 extra base hits which ranks second in the Sun Belt (Troy leads with 114).
Caleb Adams leads the team with seven home runs (hit six in March). He has three games with three RBI.
Ryan Leonards tops the Cajuns with five sacrifice bunts. He is one of the squad's most proficient in bunts with five sacrifices and four singles.
Dex Kjerstad has hit leadoff in 27 of 30 appearances. He leads the Cajuns with 41 base hits and is hitting .410 (25-of-61) since March 19.
Tyler Girouard's 26 RBI are a personal single-season best. He leads Louisiana with a .693 slugging percentage.
Blake Trahan's batting average has been above .300 since Feb. 20. The true freshman from Kinder, La. Has hit safely 24 of 31 games.
Jace Conrad has reached base 25 of his 29 appearances in 2013. The Lafayette native has scored 21 runs (third highest total on the team).
Chase Compton needs two hits to reach 100 career hits. His 109 career games leads all position players.
Seth Harrison tops the team with 27 runs scored. He has hit safely in 22 of 27 appearances and ranks fourth with eight multi-hit games.
Seth Harrison, who also sees time as an outfielder, made pitching debut in the WKU series finale on March 30. The Cypress, Texas, native is three-for-three in save situations.

-- Ragin' Cajuns --

Cajuns Eye Upper Half of SBC Standings in Series at UALR

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