Cajuns Host Bobcats In Key SBC Series At “The Tigue”

THE WEEKEND SERIES
Dates: Friday-Sunday, April 25-27, 2014
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: Texas State (23-18, 11-7 Sun Belt)
Radio: News Talk 96.5 KPEL-FM (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
Television: myKLAF-TV (Saturday)
Live Stats/Video: www.RaginCajuns.com

STARTING PITCHERS
Friday: RHP Austin Robichaux (UL) vs. RHP Austen Williams (TXST)
Saturday: RHP Carson Baranik (UL) vs. RHP Taylor Black (TXST)
Sunday: LHP Cody Boutte (UL) vs. RHP Lucas Humpal (TXST)

LAFAYETTE, La. – The second-ranked Ragin' Cajuns baseball team is set to host Texas State in a key three-game series at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field that matches two the top three teams in the Sun Belt. The opening game of the series is set for Friday at 6 p.m.

The two teams face off again at 6 p.m. on Saturday before closing out the series on Sunday at 1 p.m. Saturday's contest can be seen live on myKLAF-TV and will be simulcast on ESPN3.com. Dan McDonald will make the call with Kevin Cantrelle adding color. All three games can be heard on News Talk 96.5 KPEL-FM with Jay Walker calling the action.

Louisiana (37-5, 16-2 Sun Belt) holds a three-game lead in the conference standings, while the Bobcats (23-18, 11-7 Sun Belt) currently sit in third place. The series features the conference's top two pitching staffs with the Cajuns boasting a league-best 3.10 ERA while Texas State is second with a 3.51 ERA.

Junior Austin Robichaux will make his first start since March 29 on Friday night. Robichaux is 5-2 with a 3.14 ERA. Carson Baranik will make the start on Saturday. Baranik ranks seventh in the country in wins with an 8-0 record and his 2.78 ERA is third best in the Sun Belt. Cody Boutte will make the Sunday start for the seventh consecutive weekend. Boutte is 5-0 with a 2.91 ERA.

The Bobcats will counter with a trio of right-handers. Austen Williams is slated to start on Friday and has the best ERA in the conference at 2.58 with a 6-1 record. Taylor Black (3-4, 3.22 ERA) will make the start on Saturday, while Lucas Humpal (3-3, 3.59 ERA) will start in the series finale.

The Ragin' Cajuns have won 11 straight weekend series dating back to the 2013 season and have swept four of six conference series this season. The squad is coming off of an 8-0 win against McNeese State in a midweek game.

Jace Conrad leads the Sun Belt's best offense hitting .399 with 15 doubles, three triples, six home runs and 44 RBI. Caleb Adams is second on the squad batting .390 with 12 doubles, a team-best six triples and 10 home runs to go along with 28 RBI, a .765 slugging percentage and a .512 on base percentage.

The Cajuns and Texas State have met 13 times in the series history with Louisiana holding an 8-5 edge. The Bobcats won the last meeting with a 9-5 victory on Feb. 20, 2012 in San Marcos, Texas at the Texas State Bobcat Classic. The Ragin' Cajuns are 5-1 at home in the series.

Texas State split a pair of games against Baylor in the midweek picking up a 2-0 victory at home on Wednesday as the Bobcat's skipper Ty Harrington earned his 500th career victory. The Bobcats swept Georgia State last weekend ending a stretch of three straight losing weekends.

Garrett Mattlage is the only Bobcats player hitting over .300 on the season with a .310 average and a team-best seven doubles and 33-RBI. Granger Studdard is second on the team hitting .283 with a team-leading five home runs and 27 RBI.

Following the series with Texas State, the Cajuns will face Southeastern Louisiana in a home-and-home series starting in Hammond, La. on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

-- Ragin' Cajuns --

Cajuns Host Bobcats In Key SBC Series At “The Tigue”

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