Louisiana and FAU Set for Key Sun Belt Series at "The Tigue"

Contact: Matt Hebert

Game Notes (PDF)

THE WEEKEND SERIES
Dates: Friday-Sunday, April 19-21, 2013
Location: Lafayette, La.
Site: M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field (3,755)
Times: 6:00 p.m. (Fri) | 6:00 p.m. (Sat) | 12:00 p.m. (Sun)
Opponent: Florida Atlantic (25-12, 10-5 Sun Belt)
Radio: News Talk 96.5 KPEL-FM (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
Television: MyKLAF (Saturday only)
Internet Broadcast Link: 96.5 KPEL-FM
Live Stats: www.RaginCajuns.com
Social Media: Twitter = @ULRaginCajuns, Facebook = facebook.com/ragincajunsathletics

STARTING PITCHERS
Friday: RHP Austin Robichaux (UL) vs. LHP Austin Gomber (FAU)
Saturday: LHP Ryan Wilson (UL) vs. RHP Jeremy Strawn (FAU)
Sunday: LHP Cody Boutte (UL) vs. LHP Brandon Rhodes (FAU)

PLAY BALL
Louisiana plays nine of its next 12 Sun Belt contests at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field. That stretch starts this weekend as Florida Atlantic visits Friday-Sunday, April 19-21. The Cajuns look to parlay proven success at home (18-4 so far in 2013) during the key stretch to make a run at the Sun Belt Conference title.

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

RISING TO THE TOP
Louisiana hit .358 during the UALR series, marking the second straight weekend the squad's average was above .350 for a series (.351 vs. Troy). The Cajuns have taken over the Sun Belt lead in overall batting average (.312) and conference-only average (.317).

OLD FRIENDS RETURN
Keep an eye out for former Cajuns players in the stands this weekend. The Ragin' Cajuns baseball program is observing Alumni Weekend during the FAU series.

PILING UP THE HITS
UL has produced double digit hits in 10 of the last 15 games and 21 games overall in 2013. In the ninth inning rally at UALR last Sunday, the Cajuns produced 10 hits.

THE TURNAROUND
After ranking near the bottom in most offensive categories in 2012, the Cajuns have climbed the ladder in 2013. After nine 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, home runs and total bases.

BATTLE OF THE AUSTINS
Friday's pitching matchup features athletes with the same first name – Austin. Louisiana's Austin Robichaux and FAU's Austin Gomber are two of the Sun Belt's top arms, both ranking Top 5 in the league in earned run average. Gomber ranks second with a 2.28 ERA while Robichaux is third with a 2.45 ERA.

THE FLORIDA ATLANTIC SERIES (Florida Atlantic leads 9-8)
The Ragin' Cajuns and Owls meet in a weekend series at “The Tigue” for the fifth time in seven seasons since FAU joined the Sun Belt in 2007. The teams have alternated sweeps the past two years (UL in 2011 at “The Tigue” and FAU in 2012 in Boca Raton). Last season's sweep in Boca Raton returned the series lead back to FAU. Neither team has scored double figures in any of the previous matchups. Nine (9) of the 17 all-time meetings have been decided by three runs or less.

QUICK RESET
The Cajuns fell victim to a Nicholls State comeback in a regularly scheduled midweek game in Thibodaux on Tuesday. Mike Barba's walk-off single in the ninth inning broke a 3-3 tie. UL gained a 2-0 lead in the third inning on run scoring base hits from Dex Kjerstad and Ryan Leonards and held the advantage until the Colonels forged the tie in the eighth inning with a Keith Cormier home run. On Wednesday, Louisiana scored nine additional runs after play resumed in a suspended contest at Northwestern State and held the Demons hitless for six innings in collecting a 12-0 victory.

LAST WEKEEND
The Cajuns won their first road Sun Belt series of 2013 taking 2-of-3 at UALR. Austin Robichaux pitched a complete game two-hitter and struck out a career-high 14 as the Cajuns defeated UALR 9-2 in the opener. The Trojans piled up nine extra base hits which led to four of their seven runs as Louisiana dropped the Saturday contest 7-2. On Sunday, the Cajuns erased a 9-6 deficit after eight complete by plating nine runs off 10 hits in the ninth inning for a dramatic comeback that landed the series victory.

A “PACK” OF HITTERS
Louisiana's starting lineup features all nine hitters with 20-plus hits, ranging from 27 to 51 hits, and seven with a season average above .300.

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.

MR. LEADOFF
Dex Kjerstad hit leadoff for the 34th time in 35 appearances Tuesday at Nicholls State and is hitting .367 (51-of-139) when serving as the Cajuns leadoff man.

COMPTON'S COMEBACK
Chase Compton broke free from a 4-for-39 slump (.103) by leading the Cajuns in hits with six at UALR. He hit .600 (6-of-10), posting at least one hit each day of the series.

LEONARDS STREAK REMAINS ALIVE
Ryan Leonards continued his career-best hitting streak (began March 23), stretching it out to 14 games with the completion of the Northwestern State game on Wednesday. Leonards is tied with Tyler Girouard for team season-high hit streak honors.

THIS 'N THAT

Louisiana's earned run average at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field in 2013 is 3.68. It's nearly two full runs lower than the road earned run average of 5.32.
Austin Robichaux leads the Cajuns pitching staff with five quality starts. He has tossed a complete game each of his last two starts (4/6 vs. Troy & 4/12 at UALR).
Austin Robichaux has held the opposition to five hits or fewer in six of his nine starts.
Eight saves for Matt Hicks marks a new personal single-season best (previous was four in 2012).
Ryan Leonards brings a career-best, 14-game hitting streak into the FAU series (hitting .414 during streak).
Dex Kjerstad tops the Cajuns with 16 multiple-hit games. The former Texas Longhorn has produced multiple-hits in 13 of the last 18 games.
The Ragin' Cajuns sport a 21-4 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 (919-628-1).
Entering Week 10 the Ragin' Cajuns were one of only 33 Division I schools (296 total) with a team batting average above .300. UL ranked 14th with a team average of .312.
Louisiana's 34 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 +63 run differential over the opposition outscoring foes 253-190. Louisiana owns 10 victories of six-plus runs.
Louisiana has cranked out 123 extra base hits which ranks second in the Sun Belt (Troy leads with 138).
Ryan Leonards is hitting .414 during his current 14-game hitting streak. The Crowley native ranks Top 10 in the SBC in average.
Seth Harrison leads the Cajuns with six bunt singles. The Cypress, Texas, native has hit safely in 26 of 32 games played.
Dex Kjerstad has hit leadoff all 32 games that he's started. Kjerstad leads the team with 51 hits and is hitting .422 (35-of-83) since March 19.
Tyler Girouard ranks second in multiple-hit games with 12. He leads the Cajuns in on-base percentage (.488) and his 32 RBI are a personal single-season best.
Blake Trahan is a perfect 9-for-9 in stolen bases. He leads the squad with six sacrifice bunts.
Jace Conrad is tops with 11 stolen bases and has played error-free since March 3. Conrad carries a string of 98 straight error-less chances into the FAU series.
Chase Compton picked up career hit No. 100 on 4/12 at UALR. His 114 career games leads all Cajuns position players.
Michael Strentz has seen half of hits go for extra bases (18 of 36). The Lafayette native broke the tie in 9th inning rally on 4/14 at UALR that gave Louisiana their first road series win in Sun Belt play.
Caleb Adams is tied for the team lead with seven home runs (hit six in March), a tally which ranks Top 5 in the Sun Belt Conference.

-- Ragin' Cajuns --

Louisiana and FAU Set for Key Sun Belt Series at "The Tigue"

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Louisiana and FAU Set for Key Sun Belt Series at "The Tigue"

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