Cajuns Close Out Homestand Against Northwestern State

LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Baseball team wraps up a four-game homestand on Wednesday when it entertains in-state opponent Northwestern State in the midweek home opener at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park.

First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. Fans in the Lafayette area can listen to the game on 103.3 The Goat, 1420 AM and worldwide on the Varsity Network app. Live stats will be available at CajunStats.com.

Louisiana (4-3) looks to close out the month of February on a positive note before heading west for the Astros Foundation College Classic at Houston's Minute Maid Park. The Ragin' Cajuns claimed a 3-0 win in their series finale against visiting Rice last weekend behind a combined two-hitter by three pitchers and solo home runs from Conor Higgs and Kyle DeBarge.

The game against Northwestern State, 2-5 entering Tuesday's game against ULM, will mark the collegiate debut of redshirt-freshman Murphy Brooks. The TCU transfer will make his first appearance on the mound since March of 2022 when he was a senior in high school before missing the entire 2023 season to a near-fatal illness.

Trey LaFleur (.667-2-7), Clay Wargo (.364-1-3) and Josh Alexander (.304-1-3) have led Louisiana at the plate, which enters the game with a .250 batting average while ranking third in the Sun Belt Conference in doubles (17).

Senior catcher Bo Willis (.517-2-14) has been Northwestern State's top producer at the plate, helping engineer and offense which averages more than seven runs per game.

Willis has hit safely in all seven games entering Tuesday's contest and leads the Southland Conference in RBIs (14), having driven in a run in each game. As a team, the Demons enter this week hitting .326, which ranks 43^rd nationally.

Northwestern State will send right-hander Tyler Nichol (0-0, 9.00 ERA) to the mound

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.

GAME 8 PREVIEW
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (4-3) vs. Northwestern State Demons (2-5)

DATE/TIMES (dates and times are subject to change)
Wednesday – February 28, 6 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
WEDNESDAY
Gameday Sponsor – Super 1 Foods

PITCHING MATCHUPS
WEDNESDAY – 6 p.m.
LOUISIANA | RH Murphy Brooks (6-3, 230, R-Fr., Cypress, Texas)
'24 Stats: Collegiate debut

NORTHWESTERN STATE | RH Tyler Nichol (5-9, 165, Sr., Belle Chasse, La.)
'24 Stats: 0-0, 9.00 ERA, 3.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 6 BB, 6 K, .308 OppBA

RANKINGS
Louisiana – Unranked
Northwestern State – Unranked

RADIO/TV/LIVE STATISTICS
RADIO (Pregame Show starts 30 minutes prior to first pitch)
Station – 103.3 The Goat / 1420 AM / The Varsity Network App
Talent – Cody Junot (pxp); Brad Topham (color)

LIVE STATS
CajunStats.com

SERIES RECORD
Overall: Louisiana leads, 90-49
Last 10: Louisiana, 9-1
Streak: Louisiana +3

LEADING OFF
• Louisiana wraps up a four-game homestand on Wednesday when it plays host to in-state opponent Northwestern State at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park.
• The game will be available on radio only at 103.3 the Goat, 1420 AM and the Varsity Network app.
• Wednesday's game is the first of a home-and-home between the schools with Louisiana heading to Natchitoches on March 6.
• Redshirt freshman Murphy Brooks will make his collegiate debut on the mound after spending the 2023 season as a redshirt at TCU.
• Brooks makes his first appearance on the mound after missing his senior season in high school (injury) before missing the 2023 season at TCU (illness).
• 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 122-82 at UL and 309-200 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. NORTHWESTERN STATE
• Louisiana and Northwestern State will meet for the 140th time in recorded history with the Ragin' Cajuns holding a 90-49 advantage.
• The earliest contests recorded between the schools came in the 1912 season with the teams earning a split.
• Louisiana has won 14 of the past 15 meetings in the series dating back to 2012 and is 33-14 at home (since 1981) against the Demons.
• Head coach Matt Deggs is 9-5 all-time against Northwestern State and is 74-43 all-time against schools from the state of Louisiana.
• Deggs was a former assistant at Northwestern State for two seasons (1996-97) under Dave Van Horn and helping the Demons to the 1997 Southland Conference championship.

WHAT'S ON DECK
• Louisiana heads west to Houston for the Astros Foundation College Classic (March 1-3) at Minute Maid Park.
• Louisiana will open against No. 9-ranked Vanderbilt (March 1, 3:05 p.m.) before facing No. 3-ranked LSU (March 2, 7:05 p.m.) in a game which be televised live on MLB Network.
• The Ragin' Cajuns will close out the weekend against the University of Houston on Sunday in a 7:05 p.m. contest.

HOW TO WATCH THE CAJUNS IN HOUSTON
• All nine of the tournament games will be televised by Space City Home Network and available on the channel in the entirety of the Astros five-state viewing area. Seven of the nine games will be on the primary channel, with Saturday's afternoon and night games being aired live on the Space City Home Network alternate channel.
• Additionally, all nine games will also be streamed live without a paywall on Astros.com and on the Astros X, Facebook and YouTube channels.
• Nationally, MLB Network will air two games on their network outside of the Astros viewing area. The LSU and Texas game will air on tape delay on Friday night, beginning at 11 p.m. CT. The Louisiana and LSU game on Saturday will air live on MLB Network (blacked out in Astros viewing area).

Cajuns Close Out Homestand Against Northwestern State

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Josh Alexander

Murphy Brooks

Kyle DeBarge

Conor Higgs

Trey LaFleur

Clay Wargo

Footer

University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics