Cajuns Take Aim at Catching Jaguars in Sun Belt Standings

Contact: Matt Hebert

Game Notes (PDF)

THE WEEKEND SERIES
Dates: Friday-Sunday, May 10-12, 2013
Location: Lafayette, La.
Site: M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field (3,755)
Times: 6:00 p.m. (Fri) | 6:00 p.m. (Sat) | 1:00 p.m. (Sun)
Opponent: South Alabama (37-13, 17-7 Sun Belt)
Radio: News Talk 96.5 KPEL-FM (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) and SportsRadio ESPN 1420-AM (Sunday)
TV: MyKLAF (Saturday only)
Internet Broadcast Link: 96.5 KPEL-FM and ESPN 1420-AM
Live Stats: www.RaginCajuns.com
Social Media: Twitter = @ULRaginCajuns, Facebook = facebook.com/ragincajunsathletics

STARTING PITCHERS
Friday: RHP Austin Robichaux (UL) vs. RHP Jarron Cito (USA)
Saturday: LHP Cody Boutte (UL) vs. RHP Matt Bell (USA)
Sunday: TBA (UL) vs. LHP Jacob Noble (USA)

PLAY BALL
The Ragin' Cajuns wrap up the regular season portion of their home schedule this weekend hosting league-leading South Alabama Friday-Sunday, May 10-12 in a three-game Sun Belt series. The Jaguars provide the opposition for the Cajuns' final home series for the first time since 2003.

THE RACE IS CLOSE
Louisiana enters the series trailing South Alabama by two games for the top spot in the SBC standings.

MOMENTUM ON THEIR SIDE
The Cajuns will bring a five-game win streak in Sun Belt play into the series. The Ragin' Cajuns have reached at least 13 base hits in each game during the win streak.

A STEP ABOVE THE COMPETITION
During the squad's current five-game win streak in SBC play, the Cajuns are hitting .389, slugging .676 and have outscored foes a combined 56-16.

WINNING THE WEEKEND
Louisiana has claimed the weekend series from the opposition in 10 of the 12 series. The Arkansas State series win marked the fifth straight series win for the Cajuns after dropping back-to-back sets to Middle Tennessee and WKU in late-March.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
As the postseason approaches, the Ragin' Cajuns hope to parlay proven success at “The Tigue” (24-5 entering USA series) into an NCAA postseason berth. In addition to this weekend's USA series, the Sun Belt Tournament (May 22-26) will be held at “The Tigue”.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME
The Cajuns picked up their 24th home win of the season last Sunday, marking the most wins at “The Tigue” since 27 were recorded in 2005. Louisiana is now one win shy of posting the 400th victory at the “Tigue” in the Robichaux era (399-153-1).

FINE TUNED HITTING MACHINE
UL is coming off a red-hot month of April. The Cajuns hit .328 and slugged .539 as a collective unit during the month. Louisiana posted double digit hits in 12 of 19 games and launched 30 home runs.

FINE TUNED HITTING MACHINE (Part 2)
Louisiana has hit above .350 in a Sun Belt series each of the last five weekends (Troy, UALR, FAU, FIU, ASU).

TOP-TO-BOTTOM PRODUCTION
Jace Conrad's four RBI in the ASU series opener increased his season total to 20, giving the Cajuns all nine starters in the lineup with 20-plus RBI. Seven of the nine starters have reached 30 RBI. Caleb Adams leads the way with 36 RBI and he's closely followed by Dylan Butler (35), Tyler Girouard (34) and Michael Strentz (34).

BUTLER'S BOUNCE BACK
Dylan Butler finished the month of April batting .460 (23-of-50) with four home runs, 14 RBI and a .900 slugging percentage. The hot streak helped him reclaim a spot in the starting lineup. Butler entered April with a .220 average.

RETURNING TO FORM
The pitching staff ERA for the ASU series was 3.33 giving UL a sub-4.00 ERA in an SBC series for the third straight week.

BULLPEN HAS SOLID SHOWING
In four games last week, the Cajuns bullpen tossed 14 1/3 innings of relief and limited the opposition to two runs and 10 base hits. The only runs surrendered came on a two-out, two-run home in the ninth inning on Saturday vs. Arkansas State.

THE SOUTH ALABAMA SERIES (USA leads 56-35)
Vast majority of the meetings has taken place since UL joined the Sun Belt in 1992 – 76 of 91 all-time meetings have come during Sun Belt partnership (1992-2012). UL has won 26 of 44 since the turn of the century. Tony Robichaux has been at the helm for 31 of UL's 35 series victories (UL is 31-36 vs. USA under Robichaux). Before the recent success under Robichaux, USA held a commanding 28-4 series lead in the mid-90s. This weekend marks the 10th Sun Belt series at “The Tigue”. Louisiana has won four of the last six series at “The Tigue”.

LAST WEEKEND
Louisiana outscored Arkansas State 33-11 in picking up a three-game sweep at “The Tigue”. A seven-run surge over the first three innings carried UL to an 11-4 win in the series opener. UL plated all 11 runs off of ASU starter Daniel Wright. The Cajuns pulled themselves out of a 3-1 deficit with seven runs in the fourth inning on Saturday, then put the game out of reach with four runs in the sixth on the way to a 14-6 win. On Sunday, five extra base hits in the sixth inning led to six runs that broke open a 2-1 contest (UL won 8-1).

THE TURNAROUND
After ranking near the bottom in most offensive categories in 2012, the Cajuns have climbed the ladder in 2013. After 12 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.

THIS 'N THAT

UL ranks first nationally in home runs (57). The Cajuns are three home runs shy of reaching 60 for the first time since 2007.
Austin Robichaux leads the Cajuns pitching staff with six quality starts. He has worked seven complete innings in seven of his past eight starts (all SBC starts).
The Ragin' Cajuns have homered in 12 straight games, a streak that dates back to the FAU series opener (April 19).
Dex Kjerstad tops the Cajuns with 23 multiple-hit games. The former Texas Longhorn has produced multiple-hits in 14 of 22 games played since April 1.
Counting his two-year junior college stint (one season at both LSU-Shreveport and LSU-Eunice), Cody Boutte has recorded 24 career victories.
Entering Week 13 the Ragin' Cajuns were one of only 29 Division I schools (296 total) with a team batting average above .300. UL ranked 8th with a team average of .318.
The Ragin' Cajuns sport a 30-5 record when producing five runs or more.
The Ragin' Cajuns hold a +116 run differential over the opposition outscoring foes 357-241. Louisiana owns 16 victories of six-plus runs.
Louisiana's 57 home runs eclipse the total of 18 hit during the 2012 season (53 games); it's the first season with 50-plus home runs since 2009 (51 in 58 games).
Louisiana has cranked out 179 extra base hits which ranks first in the Sun Belt (Troy ranks second with 175).
Dylan Butler has posted multiple hits eight of last 14 games and ranks second in slugging percentage (.644). Over half of his hits have gone for extra bases (22 of 39).
Seth Harrison has hit safely in 36 of 44 games and ranks second with 16 multi-hit games. Harrison tops the squad with 48 runs scored (Top 30 nationally) and has scored at least one run in 30 of 44 games.
Dex Kjerstad leads the Cajuns with 72 base hits. He tops the Sun Belt Conference with a .417 average in league play. Kjerstad is hitting .418 since March 19 with 20 multi-hit games.
Tyler Girouard ranks Top 20 nationally in slugging percentage, Top 50 nationally in on-base percentage and Top 75 in batting average.
Blake Trahan ranks third in hits (56) and has hit safely in 39 of 48 games. The only freshman in the lineup, he is hitting .370 since April 1.
Blake Trahan's 132 assists ranks Top 10 in the Sun Belt Conference. Trahan has committed only 5 errors in his last 105 chances.
Ryan Leonards has hit safely in 22 of the last 26 games. He's proficient in bunts with eight sacrifices and seven hits.
Jace Conrad picked up career hit No. 100 in the Arkansas State series. He lead the Cajuns with 13 stolen bases.
Jace Conrad has committed only three errors in 259 chances this season. He has only seven errors in 498 career chances. He moved to first base on April 21 (FAU finale) after starting the season at second base his first 31 appearances.
Michael Strentz is on pace to become first Cajun with 20 doubles since 2006 (Jonathan Lucroy). Strentz leads the Cajuns with 18 doubles which ranks Top 20 in the nation.
Michael Strentz has seen over half of his hits (25 of 47) go for extra bases. He ranks third on the team with 34 RBI and 36 runs scored.
Caleb Adams leads the Ragin' Cajuns with 11 HR and 36 RBI. His home run tally ranks third in the Sun Belt Conference.
Caleb Adams has four games with three RBI and leads the Cajuns with 10 multiple-RBI games.

-- Ragin' Cajuns --

Cajuns Take Aim at Catching Jaguars in Sun Belt Standings

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