Baseball Preview: The Rice Series

LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Baseball team returns home to M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park beginning on Friday when it plays host to American Athletic Conference member Rice in a three-game series.

First pitch for Friday's opener is scheduled for 6 p.m. The series will resume on Tuesday at 2 p.m. before concluding at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

All three games can be heard in the Lafayette area on KPEL-FM (96.5) and worldwide on the Varsity Network App. Fans can also watch all three games on ESPN+.

Live stats will be available at CajunStats.com.

Louisiana (3-1) and Rice (1-3) meet for the fifth consecutive season dating back to 2020 and the first at Russo Park since a three-game sweep by the Ragin' Cajuns in 2021. Louisiana has won 11 of the last 12 meetings in the series, including a series-win in the 2023 season-opener at Reckling Park.

Trey LaFleur (.647-2-7), Josh Alexander (.429-1-3) and Conor Higgs (.357-0-1) have paced Louisiana at the plate through the first six games of the season with Luke Yuhasz (.273-1-4) and Clay Wargo (2-for-5, 1 home run, 3 RBI) combining for seven RBI.

Right-hander Jack Martinez (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will start on the mound in Friday's opener for Louisiana with right-hander Parker Smith (0-1, 2.25 ERA) earning the opening start for the Owls. A pair of left-handers – Louisiana's Chase Morgan (0-0, 6.00 ERA) and Rice's J.D. McCracken (0-0, 1.69 ERA) – will square off in Saturday's contest.

Louisiana will start right-hander Carson Fluno (0-0, 4.50 ERA) in Sunday's finale with Rice's starter to be determined.

Rice was swept in a three-game series last weekend against visiting Notre Dame before rallying for its first win of the season with a five-run, eighth-inning to claim a 7-3 win over Sam Houston on Tuesday.

Jack Riedel (.400-2-8) and Manny Garza (.375-1-5) lead the Owls at the plate with Nathan Becker (.357-0-2) and Ben Dukes (.308-0-1) next.

Tickets for Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Baseball are available for purchase on-line at RaginCajuns.com/tickets or by calling the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at (337) 482-GoUL (4685).

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.

GAMES 5-7 PREVIEW
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (3-1) vs. Rice Owls (1-3)

DATE/TIMES (dates and times are subject to change)
Friday – February 23, 6 p.m.
Saturday – February 24, 2 p.m.
Sunday – February 25, 1 p.m.

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

TICKETS
Available on-line at RaginCajuns.com/Tickets or by calling the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at (337) 482-GoUL (4685)

PROMOTIONS
FRIDAY
• Lafayette Roofing Friday Night Bingo
• Youth League Weekend

SATURDAY (Gameday Sponsor – Tim's Southern Air)
• Warning Track Horse Racing
• Youth League Weekend
• Tim's Southern Air Koozie Giveaway

SUNDAY
• Kid's Day / YRCC Junior Announcer
• Youth League Weekend

PITCHING MATCHUPS
FRIDAY – 6 p.m.
LOUISIANA | RH Jack Martinez (6-4, 220, Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas)
'24 Stats: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 5.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, .063 OppBA

RICE | RH Parker Smith (6-3, 230, Jr., Houston, Texas)
'24 Stats: 0-1, 2.25 ERA, 4.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, .133 OppBA

SATURDAY – 2 p.m.
LOUISIANA | LH Chase Morgan (6-3, 195, Fr., Cypress, Texas)
'24 Stats: 0-0, 6.00 ERA, 3.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, .286 OppBA

RICE | LH J.D. McCracken (6-3, 215, Jr., Murfreesboro, Tenn.)
'24 Stats: 0-0, 1.69 ERA, 5.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, .118 OppBA

SUNDAY – 1 p.m.
LOUISIANA | RH Carson Fluno (6-1, 185, Jr., Sun Prairie, Wis.)
'24 Stats: 0-0, 4.50 ERA, 4.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, .267 OppBA

RICE | TBA

RANKINGS
Louisiana – Unranked
Rice – Unranked

RADIO/TV/LIVE STATISTICS
RADIO (Pregame Show starts 30 minutes prior to first pitch)
Station – KPEL-FM (96.5) / The Varsity Network App
Talent – Jay Walker (pxp – Friday/Sunday), Ian Auzenne (pxp - Saturday); Brad Topham (color)

STREAMING (ESPN+)
Talent – Dan McDonald (pxp); Brennan Breaux (color - Friday); Eric Mouton (color – Saturday/Sunday)

LIVE STATS
CajunStats.com

SERIES RECORD
Overall: Rice leads, 18-17
In Lafayette: Louisiana leads, 5-1
In Houston: Rice leads, 15-8
Neutral Sites: Louisiana leads, 4-2
In NCAA Postseason: Louisiana leads, 4-3
Last 10: Louisiana, 9-1

LEADING OFF
• Louisiana opens a three-game series beginning on Friday when it hosts Rice at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park.
• The game marks the beginning on a four-game homestand to close out the month of February for the Ragin' Cajuns.
• All three games will be streamed live on ESPN+. Dan McDonald (pxp) will be joined in the booth by Brennan Breaux (Friday) and Eric Mouton (Saturday/Sunday).
• Louisiana and Rice meet for the fifth consecutive season dating back to the 2020 campaign.
• Freshman pitcher Drew Kirby is the son of Rice Director of Baseball Operations Bryan Kirby.
• The University of Louisiana is celebrating its 125th anniversary during the 2023-24 academic year. The baseball program was established in 1903 and has competed in 111 seasons since (including 2024).
• Louisiana is in its fifth season under head coach Matt Deggs, who is 121-80 at UL and 308-198 in his 10th season overall.
• Deggs has guided the Ragin' Cajuns to back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Regionals - the 17th and 18th trips overall for Louisiana to the postseason.
• Louisiana ended the 2023 season with a 41-24 record and 18-12 mark in the Sun Belt Conference. The Ragin' Cajuns reached the championship game of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament for the second consecutive year and earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Coral Gables Regional.
• As a league in 2023, the Sun Belt Conference was rated the fifth-best among 30 conferences during the season and trailing the Southeastern Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 12 and PAC-12.
• Louisiana finished second in the Sun Belt and 17th nationally in average home attendance last season, marking the ninth time in the past 10 seasons (COVID in 2021) that the Cajuns were in the top-20 nationally.

SERIES HISTORY VS. RICE
• Louisiana and Rice meet for the 36th time in Friday's opener with the Owls holding a slim 18-17 advantage.
• Louisiana has won nine of the last 10 meetings in the series, including a three-game sweep in the last meeting at Russo Park.
• The teams opened the 2023 season at Reckling Park with Louisiana earning wins in the first two games. Rice avoided the sweep in the series finale and snapped an 11-game win streak for Louisiana in the series.
• In his career, head coach Matt Deggs is 12-7 all-time against Rice.

CAJUNS OPEN 2024 WITH THE WRIGHT (STATE) STUFF
• Louisiana capped off a series victory over Wright State with a 5-3 win in last Sunday's finale at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park.
• John Taylor, Luke Yuhasz and Clay Wargo each homered in Sunday's finale with Matthew Holzhammer earning the win in his Louisiana debut.
• Louisiana scored twice in the ninth in Friday's 3-2 win as Yuhasz drove in game-tying run on a sacrifice bunt before Jose Torres' sac fly scored the game-winner.
• Newcomer LP Langevin earned the win in Friday's opener before coming back and notching the save in Sunday's finale.

CAJUNS OPEN MIDWEEK SLATE WITH WIN AT MCNEESE
• Louisiana opened its midweek schedule with a convincing 11-3 win at McNeese on Tuesday, highlighted by an eight-run, first inning.
• Trey LaFleur's three hits, including a three-run, inside-the-park home run in the first inning, paced a season-high 14 hits for the Ragin' Cajuns.
• Josh Alexander belted his first home run in the Ragin' Cajuns uniform while Andrew Herrmann pitched 5.0 solid innings with eight strikeouts to earn his first career Division I victory.

WHAT'S ON DECK
• Louisiana will close out its early homestand on Wednesday (February 28) with their midweek home opener against Northwestern State in a 6 p.m. contest.
• The Ragin' Cajuns will head west to Houston for the Astros Foundation College Classic (March 1-3) at Minute Maid Park.
• Louisiana will face top-10 teams Vanderbilt (March 1, 3:05 p.m.) and LSU (March 2, 7:05 p.m.) before closing out the weekend against the University of Houston on Sunday in a 7:05 p.m. contest.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Josh Alexander

Carson Fluno

Andrew Herrmann

Conor Higgs

Matthew Holzhammer

Drew Kirby

Trey LaFleur

LP Langevin

Jack Martinez

Chase Morgan

John Taylor

Jose Torres

Clay Wargo

Luke Yuhasz

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