Louisiana Returns To Sun Belt Play Against Texas State

THE WEEKEND SERIES
Dates: Friday-Sunday, April 22-24, 2016
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 (21-17, 9-6 Sun Belt)
Radio: News Talk 96.5 KPEL-FM
Television: None
Live Stats/Video: www.RaginCajuns.com

STARTING PITCHERS
Friday: LHP Gunner Leger (UL) vs. RHP Lucas Humpal (TXST)
Saturday: RHP Wyatt Marks (UL) vs. RHP Jeremy Hallonquist (TXST)
Sunday: RHP Nick Lee (UL) vs. LHP Cory Geisler (TXST)

LAFAYETTE, La. – The 20th-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball team returns to Sun Belt Conference play this weekend as the Cajuns host Texas State in a three-game series at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field that matches two of the top four teams in the league starting Friday at 6 p.m.

Game two of the series is slated for Saturday at 6 p.m., while the series finale will get underway at 1 p.m. on Sunday. All three games can be heard live on News Talk 96.5 KPEL-FM with Jay Walker making the call. Live stats and video are available on RaginCajuns.com.

The Ragin' Cajuns (25-12, 10-5 Sun Belt) currently sit in second place in the Sun Belt behind league leaders South Alabama. The Cajuns have won 13 of their last 16 contests including seven straight at The Tigue. Louisiana is 15-2 at home this season after picking up a 4-3 victory over Nicholls in the midweek.

The Cajuns rank second in the Sun Belt in both pitching and fielding going into the tenth weekend of play. For the ninth weekend this season, the Cajuns will go with the rotation of left-hander Gunner Leger (4-2, 2.56 ERA) on Friday, and right-handers Wyatt Marks (3-4, 5.20 ERA) and Nick Lee (6-1, 2.96 ERA) on Saturday and Sunday. Both Leger and Lee rank top 10 in the league in ERA.

Offensively, Louisiana ranks sixth in the SBC hitting .270 with 65 doubles, six triples and 27 home runs. Senior Kyle Clement has regained the team lead in average hitting .354 with six doubles, a home run and 10 RBI. Senior Brian Mills has a team-best 26 RBI hitting .300 with six doubles and three home runs.

The Ragin' Cajuns hold a 16-8 edge in the all-time series with Texas State. The two teams have met 11 times in the last two seasons with the Cajuns winning eight times. Louisiana went 4-2 against the Bobcats a year ago having won the last two meetings at the Sun Belt Conference Tournament in Troy, Ala.

Texas State (21-17, 9-6 Sun Belt) currently sits in fourth place in the conference behind Little Rock. The Bobcats have lost five straight contests and seven of their last eight coming into the weekend after falling to No. 3 Texas A&M 14-1 in the midweek. Texas State was swept at home last weekend by Little Rock and have won just one series in its last four.

The Bobcats feature three seniors in their weekend rotation with right-hander Lucas Humpal (5-2, 2.55 ERA) taking the mound on Friday. Right-hander Jeremy Hallonquist (3-3, 2.84 ERA) will make the start Saturday, while left-hander Cory Geisler (3-1, 2.80 ERA) is slated to take the bump in the series finale. Both Humpal and Hallonquist rank top 10 in the SBC in ERA with Humpal ranking second in the league in strikeouts with 56 in 70.2 innings.

Texas State ranks fourth in the Sun Belt in hitting and fifth in pitching and fielding. The Bobcats have a .286 average through 38 games with a league best 34 home runs.

Jonathan Ortega paces the squad offensively hitting .335 with 11 doubles, two triples, three home runs and 24 RBI. Tanner Hill ranks seventh in the nation with 13 home runs. Hill has a team-best 29 RBI and is one of five Bobcats hitting .300 or better on the season.

Following the series with Texas State, the Cajuns head to Southern Miss on Tuesday at 6 p.m. non-conference game before returning to The Tigue on Wednesday at 6 p.m. for a contest with Louisiana Tech.

For updates and info on Ragin' Cajuns baseball, follow the team on twitter @CajunsBaseball or check RaginCajuns.com.

-- Ragin' Cajuns --

Louisiana Returns To Sun Belt Play Against Texas State

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Players Mentioned

Kyle Clement

Nick Lee

Gunner Leger

Wyatt Marks

Brian Mills

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