Cajuns Baseball Opens Sun Belt Play Against Appalachian State

THE WEEKEND SERIES
Dates: Friday-Sunday, March 17-19, 2017
Location: Lafayette, La.
Site: M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park (4,650)
Times: 6:00 p.m. (Fri) | 2:00 p.m. (Sat) | 11:00 a.m. (Sun)
Opponent: Appalachian State (8-9)
Radio: News Talk 96.5 KPEL-FM
Television: None
Live Stats/Video: www.RaginCajuns.com

STARTING PITCHERS
Friday: LHP Gunner Leger (LA) vs. RHP Travis Holden (APP)
Saturday: RHP Nick Lee (LA) vs. LHP Colin Schmid (APP)
Sunday: LHP Hogan Harris (LA) vs. Luke Watts (APP)

LAFAYETTE, La. – The 14th-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball team is set to open Sun Belt Conference play as the Cajuns host Appalachian State in a three-game series at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park starting Friday at 6 p.m.

The Ragin' Cajuns and Mountaineers are slated to meet again on Saturday at 2 p.m. before closing out the week on Sunday with an early 11 a.m. first pitch due to travel for App State.

Fans can listen to all three games live on News Talk 96.5 KPEL-FM with Jay Walker making the call. The contests will also be streamed for free on RaginCajuns.com with Dan McDonald providing commentary. Live stats are available on RaginCajuns.com as well.

The Cajuns are coming off of a hard fought 6-5 loss in 13 innings at No. 23 Louisiana Tech on Wednesday night. Louisiana has won all three of its series this year including a sweep of Saint Peter's a week ago.

Junior lefty Gunner Leger (3-1, 1.09 ERA) has posted back-to-back Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week performances and will take the mound for the Ragin' Cajuns on Friday night. Leger was also honored as one of the Collegiate Baseball National Players of the Week and the LSWA Co-Pitcher of the Week for his one-hit effort against the Peacocks.

Sophomore right-hander Nick Lee (4-0, 2.25 ERA) will look to remain perfect in his fifth start of the year on Saturday. The Cajuns are 19-1 in games started by Lee in the last two seasons. Louisiana will turn to sophomore left-hander Hogan Harris (1-0, 0.00 ERA) for the second straight Sunday on the mound. Harris earned his first victory of the year in his weekend debut tossing five shutout innings a week ago against Saint Peter's.

App State will counter with junior right-hander Travis Holden (1-2, 6.10 ERA) on Friday. The Mountaineers will start sophomore left-hander Colin Schmid (2-2, 2.42 ERA) on Saturday before closing out the weekend with junior righty Luke Watts (1-1, 2.96 ERA) on the bump.

Senior Alex Pinero carries a 12-game hit streak into the weekend and paces the squad offensively with a .396 average, six doubles and 11 RBI. Both Joe Robbins and Todd Lott are on six-game hit streaks, while Ishmael Edwards has been on a tear at the plate raising his average to .348 with six RBI and a team-best four stolen bases.

The Cajuns and Mountaineers are tied at 3-3 in the all-time series with neither team winning back-to-back games through six meetings. Louisiana won two of three from App State at home a year ago to even the series. The Ragin' Cajuns opened with a 7-0 shutout in the opener before falling 6-1 in game two. Louisiana claimed the series with a 4-1 victory behind a strong start by Lee.

The Mountaineers have won two straight games coming into weekend defeating North Carolina Central twice 9-5 and 7-5 in the midweek. Appalachian State was swept last weekend at Missouri losing a heartbreaker in the series finale 3-2.

Offensively, the Mountaineers are hitting just .215 as a club with 18 doubles, two triples and seven home runs. Calev Grubbs leads App State with a team-best .283 average, while Matt Vernon has tallied four doubles, two home runs and 10 RBI.

For the latest updates on Ragin' Cajuns baseball, follow Ragin' Cajuns baseball on Facebook (RaginCajunsBaseball), Twitter (@RaginCajunsBSB) and Instagram (@RaginCajunsBSB) or check RaginCajuns.com.

-- Ragin' Cajuns --

Cajuns Baseball Opens Sun Belt Play Against Appalachian State

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Players Mentioned

Ishmael Edwards

Hogan Harris

Nick Lee

Gunner Leger

Todd Lott

Alex Pinero

Joe Robbins

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