Louisiana Hosting Georgia Southern In SBC Baseball

GAMES 25-27 PREVIEW
LOUISIANA (12-12, 2-4 Sun Belt) vs. GEORGIA SOUTHERN (17-8, 5-1 Sun Belt)

DATES/TIMES (all times Central)
Friday – April 1, 2022 / 6 p.m.
Saturday – April 2, 2022 / 4 p.m.
Sunday – April 3, 2022 / 11:30 a.m.

LOCATION/SITE
M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park (6,015) / Lafayette, La.

RANKINGS
Louisiana – Unranked
Georgia Southern – Unranked

RADIO/TV/LIVE STATISTICS
Radio – KPEL-FM (96.5)
Streaming – ESPN+ (Friday and Saturday only; no TV for Sunday)
Live Stats – CajunStats.com

PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday
Louisiana – LH Brandon Talley (0-1, 3.76 ERA)
Georgia Southern – RH Jaylen Paden (3-0, 4.28 ERA)

Saturday
Louisiana – RH Jacob Schultz (1-3, 4.58 ERA)
Georgia Southern – LH Ty Fisher (2-1, 1.66 ERA)

Sunday
Louisiana – RH Jeff Wilson (1-1, 4.15 ERA)
Georgia Southern – LH Danny Madden (0-1, 5.71 ERA)

PROMOTIONS
Sunday – Bring Your Kids to the Park

SERIES RECORD
Georgia Southern leads, 10-6

LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Baseball team returns to action on Friday when it plays host to Georgia Southern in a three-game Sun Belt Conference series at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park.

First pitch for Friday's opener is scheduled for 6 p.m. The series will resume on Saturday in a 4 p.m. start before concluding on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.

All three games can be heard in the Lafayette area on KPEL-FM (96.5) and on the #GeauxCajuns app. Friday's and Saturday's game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with live results for all three games available at CajunStats.com.

Louisiana (12-12, 2-4 Sun Belt) returns to league action after taking two of three games last weekend from defending SBC champion South Alabama. The Ragin' Cajuns opened the series with a 5-4 victory in 11 innings before claiming the series with a 6-3 win on Sunday. Louisiana evened its overall record on Tuesday after traveling to defeat Southeastern Louisiana, 6-4.

Carson Roccaforte (.357-7-31), ranked among the top-10 among Sun Belt Conference players in six categories, leads Louisiana at the plate. The sophomore leads the SBC in RBI, is ranked third in slugging percentage (.702), fourth in both home runs and total bases (59), tied for sixth in stolen bases (8) and eighth in batting average.

Heath Hood (.296-2-11), Connor Kimple (.284-4-19), Max Marusak (.276-0-1), Will Veillon (.261-1-6), Kyle DeBarge (.256-1-13) and Tyler Robertson (.244-2-8) are next in hitting for Louisiana with catcher Julian Brock (.229-1-7) leading the SBC in chances (243), putouts (213) and runners caught stealing (12).

Left-hander Brandon Talley (0-1, 3.76 ERA) will earn the start on the mound in Friday's opener for Louisiana with right-hander Jacob Schultz (1-3, 4.58 ERA) starting on Saturday and right-hander Jeff Wilson (1-1, 4.15 ERA) on Sunday.

Since dropping five of its first seven games, including a three-game series at current No. 1-ranked Tennessee in Week 1, Georgia Southern (17-8, 5-1 Sun Belt) has won 15 of its last 18 games to sit in a tie for the SBC lead with Texas State after the first two weekends.

The Eagles, who finished as the runner-up in last season's Sun Belt Conference Championships, lead the league in sacrifice bunts and is the league's top fielding team, posting a .978 clip.

Five regulars in the lineup are hitting above .300 on the season, led by Jarrett Brown (.354-2-16). Jesse Sherrill (.342-1-9), Noah Searcy (.339-1-12), Jason Swan (.312-3-14) and Noah Ledford (.310-4-27) are part of an attack which is averaging .266 at the plate as a team.

Jay Thompson (2-0, 3.86 ERA, 5 saves) has appeared in 17 games during the season with Wray (5-0, 2.33 ERA) making 11 appearances out of the bullpen.

The Eagles will send right-hander Jaylen Paden (3-0, 4.28 ERA) to the mound in Friday's opener with a pair of southpaws – Ty Fisher (2-1, 1.66 ERA) and Danny Madden (0-1, 5.71 ERA) – starting in the final two contests.

Fans are encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin' Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here for iOS/Apple platforms and here for Android platforms.

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

Louisiana Hosting Georgia Southern In SBC Baseball

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Players Mentioned

Julian Brock

Kyle DeBarge

Heath Hood

Connor Kimple

Max Marusak

Tyler Robertson

Carson Roccaforte

Jacob Schultz

Brandon Talley

Will Veillon

Jeff Wilson

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