Cajuns Baseball Heads To Shriners College Classic

THE WEEKEND SERIES
Dates: Friday-Sunday, March 2-4, 2018
Location: Houston, Texas
Site: Minute Maid Park (41,168)
Times: 7:00 p.m. (Fri) | 3:30 p.m. (Sat) | 11:00 a.m. (Sun)
Opponent: Mississippi State (3-5) | Vanderbilt (9-1) | Kentucky (8-1)
Radio: News Talk 96.5 KPEL-FM
Television: AT&T SportsNet SW/ MLB.com
Live Stats/Video: www.RaginCajuns.com

STARTING PITCHERS
Friday: RHP Jack Burk (LA) vs. LHP Konnor Pilkington (MSU)
Saturday: RHP Nick Lee (LA) vs. RHP Patrick Raby (VU)
Sunday: TBA (LA) vs. RHP Justin Lewis (UK)

HOUSTON, Texas – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball team is set to make its fourth appearance at the Shriners College Classic this weekend as the Cajuns open the tournament on Friday at 7 p.m. against No. 21 Mississippi State at Minute Maid Park.

The Ragin' Cajuns face off against No. 12 Vanderbilt on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. before closing out the tournament on Sunday with an 11 a.m. contest against No. 7 Kentucky.

Where To Watch/Listen

All three games will be televised by AT&T SportsNet SW and streamed on MLB.com and the AT&T SportsNet app. Fans are asked to check local listings for more information.

The games will also be broadcast live on News Talk 96.5 KPEL-FM with Dan McDonald and Jeff Schneider on the call.

Shriners Teams Up With Astros For Third Year

This year marks the third year that the tournament will carry the name the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic, which was set forth by a multi-year naming rights agreement between the Astros Foundation and Shriners Hospitals for Children®. The Astros Foundation will continue to operate the tournament and will donate $1 from the sale of each ticket directly to Shriners Hospitals as well as provide other fundraising and awareness opportunities.

Cajuns In the Shriners College Classic

The Ragin' Cajuns are 3-6 all-time in the Shriners College Classic with the last appearance coming in 2016. Louisiana went 1-2 that weekend with losses to TCU 7-1 and Texas Tech 5-3 before picking up a 4-2 win over Rice. The Cajuns also made appearances in the tournament in 2002 and 2003.

The Series

Louisiana holds a 3-1 lead in the all-time series with Mississippi State. The last meeting came in the 2014 Lafayette Regional with the Ragin' Cajuns winning 14-8 and 5-3 to claim the regional title.

The Cajuns will face Vanderbilt and Kentucky for the first time in program history at the Shriners College Classic.

Scouting Louisiana

Louisiana (3-5) is coming off of a 2-1 victory over Nicholls at home in the midweek. The Ragin' Cajuns have a 3.36 team ERA with 60 strikeouts in 69.2 innings. Offensively, the Cajuns are hitting .172 with nine doubles and three home runs.

Daniel Lahare leads the team with a .364 average, three doubles and five runs scored. Gavin Bourgeois is hitting .286 with a team-best four RBI.

Scouting Mississippi State

Mississippi State (3-5) was defeated 6-3 Wednesday night at McNeese after going 2-1 last weekend at the Kleberg Bank College Classic.

The Bulldogs are hitting .274 as a club with 14 doubles, three triples and six home runs. Jake Mangum paces the team with a .364 average, while Josh Hatcher is batting .344 with a team-best three home runs and seven RBI.

Scouting Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt (9-1) has won eight straight contest coming into the weekend after a pair of midweek victories against Austin Peay 19-6 and Indiana State 8-5. The Commodores will face Sam Houston State on Friday afternoon.

Vandy is hitting .352 and ranks fourth in the nation averaging 11 runs a game. The Dores lead the nation with 29 doubles and also have two triples and 14 home runs. Austin Martin has a .517 average with two doubles, a home run and four RBI. Ethan Paul ranks second in the country with 20 RBI coming on four doubles and three home runs.

Scouting Kentucky

Kentucky (8-1) come into the tournament having won four straight including a sweep of Oakland last weekend. The Wildcats are hitting .324 as a team and rank top 10 in the nation in doubles (27), home runs (16), slugging percentage (.564) and on base percentage (.442).

Ryan Johnson has a team-best .370 average with five doubles, two home runs and nine RBI, while T.J. Collett is fourth in the nation with four home runs and 17 RBI.

Up Next

Following the Shriners College Classic, Louisiana returns home next Wednesday in the first of four games at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park as the squad plays host to No. 14 LSU. First pitch is at 6:30 p.m. as the game will be broadcast nationally on Cox Sports Television (CST).

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 Heads To Shriners College Classic

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Players Mentioned

Gavin Bourgeois

Jack Burk

Daniel Lahare

Nick Lee

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