Cajuns Baseball Returns To Sun Belt Action At Troy

THE WEEKEND SERIES
Dates: Friday-Sunday, March 24-26, 2017
Location: Troy, Ala.
Site: Riddle-Pace Field (2,000)
Times: 6:00 p.m. (Fri) | 3:00 p.m. (Sat) | 1:00 p.m. (Sun)
Opponent: Troy (12-8, 2-1 Sun Belt)
Radio: News Talk 96.5 KPEL-FM
Television: None
Live Stats/Video: www.RaginCajuns.com

STARTING PITCHERS
Friday: LHP Gunner Leger (LA) vs. RHP Daren Osby (TROY)
Saturday: RHP Nick Lee (LA) vs. LHP Austin Crook (TROY)
Sunday: LHP Hogan Harris (LA) vs. LHP Evan Hebert (TROY)

TROY, Ala. – The 15th-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball team will look to win its fifth straight weekend series of the season as the squad continues conference play with a three-game series at Troy starting Friday at 6 p.m. at Riddle-Pace Field.

Game two of the series is slated for 3 p.m. on Saturday, while the teams will close out the weekend on Sunday at 1 p.m.

All three games can be heard live on News Talk 96.5 KPEL-FM with Jay Walker and Jeff Schneider on the call. Live video are stats are available on RaginCajuns.com.

The Ragin' Cajuns (11-8, 2-1 Sun Belt) are coming off of pair of losses in the midweek to Houston 4-0 and Tulane 6-4 at Russo Park. Louisiana opened Sun Belt play taking two of three games from Appalachian State at home last weekend.

The Cajuns boast the best team ERA in the league at 2.89 and rank fourth in the nation in hits allowed per nine innings (6.13) and WHIP (1.02).

Junior Gunner Leger (4-1, 0.85 ERA) will look to continue his dominance on the mound Friday for the Cajuns making his sixth start of the year. Leger has allowed just one run on nine hits in his last four starts while striking out 33 and posting three combined shutouts in 27.2 innings of work.

Sophomore Nick Lee (4-1, 3.49 ERA) will start on Saturday coming off of his first loss of the season against Appalachian State. The Ragin' Cajuns are 19-2 in games started by Lee in the last two years.

Louisiana will close out the weekend with sophomore Hogan Harris (1-0, 0.60 ERA) on the bump Sunday. Harris has limited opponents to one earned run on seven hits in his three starts this season with 20 strikeouts in 15 innings.

The Trojans (12-8, 2-1 Sun Belt) will counter with right-hander Daren Osby (4-1, 2.40 ERA) on Friday night. Troy will close out the weekend with a pair of left-handers on the mound with Austin Cook (3-0, 2.18 ERA) throwing Saturday and Evan Hebert (1-0, 3.38 ERA) making the start Sunday.

The Ragin' Cajuns are hitting .264 as a team led by senior Alex Pinero with a .333 average, eight doubles and 12 RBI. Junior Steven Sensley is riding a 15-game on-base streak despite seeing his eight-game hit streak come to an end against Tulane.

The Cajuns own a 29-13 lead over Troy in the all-time series having won 11 of the last 13 meetings. The Ragin' Cajuns opened conference play against the Trojans last season going 2-1 with a pair of book end victories to claim the series. Louisiana is 11-6 in Troy, Ala. winning six of its last seven games at Riddle-Pace Field. The first meeting in the series came in 1998.

Troy comes into the series having split a pair of midweek games against Samford winning at home 9-2 on Tuesday before being edged out 4-3 on the road Wednesday. The Trojans took two of three from Little Rock in their first Sun Belt Conference series of the season last weekend. Troy is 6-3 at home this year with a pair of losses to Xavier and one loss to Hofstra.

The Trojans ranks tenth in the SBC in hitting with a .243 average. Brandon Lockridge is one of two Troy players batting over .300 this season hitting .341 with eight doubles, a home run and 12 RBI. Justin Friend has a team-best three home runs and 16 RBI.

Following the series with the Trojans, the Cajuns continue their road swing next week with games at McNeese and Southeastern Louisiana in the midweek including the resumption of the suspended contest against the Lions from Feb. 20. Both the suspended game and the regularly scheduled game at Southeastern Louisiana will be broadcast on Cox Sports Television starting at 5 p.m.

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

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Cajuns Baseball Returns To Sun Belt Action At Troy

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Players Mentioned

Hogan Harris

Nick Lee

Gunner Leger

Alex Pinero

Steven Sensley

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