Cajuns Begin NCAA Regional Round Friday at Alex Box Stadium

Contact: Matt Hebert

Regional Info Guide

THE NCAA BATON ROUGE REGIONAL
Dates: Friday-Monday, May 31-June 3, 2013
Location: Baton Rouge, La.
Site: Alex Box Stadium/Skip Bertman Field (10,150)
Opponents: LSU (52-9), Sam Houston State (37-20), Jackson State (34-20)
First Round Game: May 31 vs. Sam Houston State | 7 p.m.
Radio: News Talk 96.5 KPEL-FM and SportsRadio ESPN 1420-AM
TV: ESPN3.com
Live Coverage: Gametracker | Video
Social Media: Twitter = @ULRaginCajuns, Facebook = facebook.com/ragincajunsathletics

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday: LHP Ryan Wilson (UL) vs. LHP Cody Dickson (SHSU)
Saturday: RHP Austin Robichaux vs. TBA
Sunday: LHP Cody Boutte vs. TBA

BATON ROUGE REGIONAL SCHEDULE
Friday, May 31
Game 1: No. 1 LSU vs. No. 4 Jackson State – 2 p.m.
Game 2: No. 2 Louisiana vs. No. 3 Sam Houston State – 7 p.m.

Saturday, June 1
Game 3: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser – 2 p.m.
Game 4: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner – 7 p.m.

Sunday, June 2
Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser – 2 p.m.
Game 6: Regional Championship Game: Game 5 winner vs. Game 4 winner – 7 p.m.

Monday, June 3 (if necessary)
Game 7: Second Regional Championship Game: Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser – 7 p.m.

PLAY BALL
The Ragin' Cajuns are set to appear in the NCAA Baseball Championship for the 13th time overall and first since participating in the 2010 Austin (TX) Regional after being awarded an at-large berth into the Baton Rouge Regional at Alex Box Stadium. Louisiana, the No. 2 seed, opens play in the four-team, double-elimination tournament on Friday, May 31 against No. 3 seed Sam Houston State at 7 p.m.

LOUISIANA IN THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
Louisiana's all-time NCAA Baseball Championship record is 20-25 and includes Super Regional appearances in 1999 and 2000 and a College World Series berth in 2000. The Cajuns record in the regional round is 15-20. Louisiana has won its first round contest in the regional round the last two appearances (College Sation and Austin).

CALLING BATON ROUGE
The Ragin' Cajuns are making their fifth appearance in an NCAA Regional in Baton Rouge and first since 2002.

HOW THEY GOT HERE
The Ragin' Cajuns posted the first 40-win season since 2007 and recorded a 19-11 record in the fifth-rated conference in the nation (Sun Belt Conference). Louisiana posted five different win streaks of four games or more and did not suffer a losing streak longer than two games. Overall, the club won a series in 11 of 14 weekends during the season.

QUICK RESET
Louisiana is coming off a 3-1 run that led to an appearance in the Sun Belt Tournament championship game. A Jace Conrad walk-off home run provided a 9-6 win in the opener vs. FIU. Austin Robichaux tossed a complete game, allowing four hits, and Caleb Adams broke open a 2-1 game with a three-run home run as the Cajuns won the winner's bracket contest vs. South Alabama. In the bracket final, UL scored multiple runs in four of the first five innings to race to a 12-2 run-rule win over USA. The Cajuns lost the championship game last Sunday as FAU scored nine runs in the second inning to pull away.

POWERFUL BATS
A season removed from hitting just 18 home runs in 53 games, Louisiana has launched 72 through 59 games in 2013.

A RUN-PRODUCING FACTORY
All nine starters in the lineup have tallied at least 20 RBI. Ryan Leonards is just one RBI shy from giving UL all nine starters with 30-plus RBI.

EVERYONE CONTRIBUTES
Ryan Leonards needs one more RBI to give UL 10 different players with at least 30 RBI.

LOCKED IN FOR POSTSEASON
Dex Kjerstad is coming off an 11-for-16 performance (.688) during the Sun Belt Tournament, collecting 22 total bases in 16 at bats for a 1.375 slugging percentage.

RECORDS WATCH
Dex Kjerstad is seven hits shy of the single-season record (101 by Nathan Nelson, 2000) and Michael Strentz is two doubles shy of the record 25 set by Kevin Meyers in 1989.

NO QUIT IN THIS TEAM
Louisiana posted a comeback victory four times in a five-game span May 12-22. The Cajuns trailed 6-0 vs. South Alabama in second game of May 12 doubleheader, trailed 4-2 after seven in the ULM series opener May 16 and trailed 4-1 after four innings at ULM May 17. UL then rallied from a 5-1 deficit to defeat FIU in its SBC Tournament opener.

A REMARKABLE TURNAROUND
The Cajuns currently have an 18-win improvement from last season (went 23-30) tying the 1997 squad for the largest turnaround in the Tony Robichaux era (increased from 25 wins in 1996 to 43 in 1997).

DOUBLE FIGURES IS A LOCK
The Cajuns are a remarkable 33-4 when posting double digit hits. Louisiana is undefeated (16-0) when plating double figure runs.

THIS 'N THAT

Louisiana ranks first nationally in home runs (72). The last time a Sun Belt school led the nation in home runs was 2004 when New Mexico State's 115 earned top billing
Austin Robichaux leads the Cajuns pitching staff with seven quality starts. He worked at least seven complete innings in seven of his 10 Sun Belt Conference starts
Ten (10) saves for Matt Hicks is a new school single-season record and ranks Top 50 nationally
The Cajuns have plated five runs or more in a single inning 20 times. Only once (5/11 vs. USA) has the squad lost a game in which a five-plus run inning was registered
Dex Kjerstad tops the Cajuns with 30 multiple-hit games. The former Texas Longhorn produced multiple-hits in 17 of 30 Sun Belt Conference regular season games
Entering the NCAA Regionals the Ragin' Cajuns are one of only 33 Division I schools (296 total) with a team batting average above .300. UL ranked 3rd with a team average of .323
In addition to home run power, the Cajuns play small ball well. Louisiana has executed 34 bunt singles. Seth Harrison (9) and Ryan Leonards (8) have combined for 17 bunt singles
Louisiana's 70 home runs eclipse the total of 18 hit during the 2012 season (53 games); it's the first season with 70-plus home runs since 2007 (76 in 62 games)
Dex Kjerstad's 94 base hits make him the first Cajun to reach the 90-hit plateau since Jonathan Lucroy in 2007
The Ragin' Cajuns hold a +152 run differential over the opposition outscoring foes 463-301. Louisiana owns 21 victories of six-plus runs
Louisiana has cranked out 228 extra base hits which ranks first in the Sun Belt (Troy ranks second with 211)
Dylan Butler has hit safely 15 of last 18 games he's played. His batting average in April was .460 (23-of-50) leading to him reclaiming a spot in the starting lineup on April 21.
Seth Harrison is tied with Dex Kjerstad for the team lead with 58 runs (Top 30 nationally). He has hit safely in 43 of 54 games and ranks second with 21 multi-hit games, 27 extra base hits and 117 total bases.
Dex Kjerstad has produced 30 multiple-hit games. The former Texas Longhorn has posted 14 games with exactly three hits and 17 total with three-plus hits. He leads the Ragin' Cajuns with 94 base hits.
Tyler Girouard is three (3) hits shy of 100 career hits. He is second on team in average (.372) and tops the team with .473 OB% and 1.088 OPS.
Blake Trahan is the only freshman in the lineup with all 58 of his starts coming at shortstop. He ranks third on the squad in hits with 66 and his 163 assists rank Top 10 in the Sun Belt Conference and leaves him 11 assists shy of landing in the school's single-season Top 5 list.
Ryan Leonards is proficient in bunts with eight sacrifices and eight hits. He has hit safely in 27 of last the 36 games and has recorded 16 multiple-hit and 8 multiple-RBI games.
Jace Conrad has only 16 strikeouts in 228 plate appearances ranking him Top 100 in the nation in toughest to strikeout. The Lafayette native has reached base in 48 of 56 games played.
Jace Conrad, who moved to first base on April 21 after starting at his customary second base position, has committed only four errors in 339 chances. Conrad has only eight (8) errors in 578 career chances.
Over half of catcher Michael Strentz's hits have gone for extra bases (32 of 61). He leads the Cajuns with 23 doubles (Top 15 in nation). Strentz is the first Cajun with 20 doubles since Jonathan Lucroy in 2006.
Caleb Adams leads the Cajuns with 14 home runs and 51 RBI. He ranks third in the Sun Belt Conference and Top 20 nationally in homers. Adams has seven games with 3-plus RBI and tops the Cajuns with 14 multi-RBI games.
In 19 seasons under head coach Tony Robichaux, UL has finished third or higher in the Sun Belt standings 13 times and reached 30 wins 14 times.
Tony Robichaux, the all-time victories leader at Louisiana with 672 as the program's skipper, has guided the Ragin' Cajuns to nine NCAA Regional appearances, two NCAA Super Regional appearances and the 2000 College World Series.

-- Ragin' Cajuns --

Cajuns Begin NCAA Regional Round Friday at Alex Box Stadium

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