Baseball Preview: The Arkansas State Series

JONESBORO, Ark. – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Baseball team officially opens its Sun Belt Conference schedule on Friday when it faces Arkansas State in a three-game series at Tomlinson Stadium-Kell Field.

First pitch for Friday's opener is scheduled for 6 p.m. The teams will face off on Saturday at 3 p.m. before concluding the series on Sunday at 1.

All three games will be streamed live on ESPN+ with fans able to listen to the game in the Lafayette area on KPEL-FM (96.5) and worldwide on the Varsity Network app. Live stats will be available at CajunStats.com.

Louisiana (9-7) and Arkansas State (11-7) open SBC play against each other for the second consecutive season with the Ragin' Cajuns earning a sweep in last year's series at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park.

The Ragin' Cajuns, who hold a 91-42 advantage in a series that dates back to 1972, have claimed the last six meetings against the Red Wolves and nine of the last 10 overall.

Louisiana opened its current four-game road trip with a 9-5 win at Louisiana Tech on Wednesday. Duncan Pastore's three hits along with solid relief on the mound helped the Ragin' Cajuns rally from an early 3-0 deficit and score nine unanswered runs.

Trey LaFleur (.417-3-10), Jose Torres (.333-1-6) and Kyle DeBarge (.309-6-18) are the top hitters for Louisiana with Josh Alexander (.286-1-7), John Taylor (.264-2-5) and Lee Amedee (.262-1-5) following.

Right-hander LP Langevin (1-0, 3.18 ERA) will take the mound in Friday's opener for Louisiana with Andrew Herrmann (1-1, 2.75 ERA) slated to pitch on Saturday and Carson Fluno (1-0, 3.78 ERA) on Sunday.

Arkansas State opened the season with eight straight victories before dropping seven of its last 10. The Red Wolves dropped a pair of midweek games earlier this week falling at Little Rock and Memphis.

Three regulars – Austin Jaslove (.444-5-13), Cason Tollett (.344-4-20) and Blake Burris (.311-2-10) – are hitting above .300 for the Red Wolves.

Right-hander Jelle van der Lelie (2-1, 5.00 ERA) will start in Friday's opener for A-State with right-handers Collin Maloney (1-0, 1.84 ERA) and Dylan Heine (1-0, 4.02 ERA) slated to pitch in the final two contests.

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 17-19 PREVIEW
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (9-7) at Arkansas State Red Wolves (11-7)

DATE/TIMES (dates and times are subject to change)
Friday – March 13, 6 p.m.
Saturday – March 16, 3 p.m.
Sunday – March 17, 1 p.m.

LOCATION/SITE
Tomlinson Stadium-Kell Field (1,200) | Jonesboro, Ark.

PITCHING MATCHUPS
FRIDAY – 6 p.m.
LOUISIANA | RH LP Langevin (6-2, 225, Jr., Quebec City, Quebec)
'24 Stats: 1-0, 3.18 ERA, 17.0 IP, 11 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 11 BB, 24 K, .180 OppBA

ARKANSAS STATE | RH Jelle van der Lelie (6-5, 210, Jr., Leiden, South Holland, The Netherlands)
'24 Stats: 2-1, 5.00 ERA, 18.0 IP, 18 H, 10 , 10 ER, 8 BB, 16 K, .269 OppBA

SATURDAY – 3 p.m.
LOUISIANA | LH Andrew Herrmann (6-3, 215, Jr., Kennesaw, Ga.)
'24 Stats: 1-1, 2.75 ERA, 19.2 IP, 12 H, 8 R, 6 ER, 10 BB, 29 K, .169 OppBA

ARKANSAS STATE | RH Collin Maloney (6-3, 230, Fr., St. Louis, Mo.)
'24 Stats: 1-0, 1.84 ERA, 14.2 IP, 13 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 16 K, .241 OppBA

SUNDAY – 1 p.m.
LOUISIANA | RH Carson Fluno (6-1, 195, Sr., Sun Prairie, Wis.)
'24 Stats: 1-0, 3.78 ERA, 16.2 IP, 12 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 7 BB, 19 K, .200 OppBA

ARKANSAS STATE | RH Dylan Heine (6-6, 240, Gr., Haddonfield, N.J.)
'24 Stats: 1-0, 4.02 ERA, 15.2 IP, 17 H, 11 R, 7 ER, 7 BB, 9 K, .270 OppBA

RANKINGS
Louisiana – Unranked
Arkansas State – 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); Anthony Babineaux (color)

TV/STREAMING (ESPN+)
Talent – Brad Bobo (pxp); Andy Shatley (color)

LIVE STATS
CajunStats.com

SERIES RECORD
Overall: Louisiana leads, 91-42
Last 10: Louisiana, 9-1
Streak: Louisiana +6

LEADING OFF
• Louisiana opens its 32nd season of Sun Belt Conference play on Friday when it faces Arkansas State in a three-game series at Tomlinson Stadium-Kell Field.
• The 2024 SBC opener marks the second consecutive year the schools have met to start league action.
• The series will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Brad Bobo (pxp) and Andy Shatley (analyst) providing commentary.
• Fans in the Lafayette area can listen to the game on KPEL-FM (96.5) and worldwide on the Varsity Network app. Jay Walker (pxp) and Anthony Babineaux (color) will provide commentary.
• Louisiana holds a 91-42 lead in the all-time series which dates back to 1972.
• The Ragin' Cajuns have won the last six meetings in the series and 10 of the last 11.
• Louisiana's 4.15 team earned run average leads all 14 teams in the Sun Belt Conference and is 47th among Division I programs.
• Louisiana's 11.8 strikeouts per nine innings ranks first in the SBC and 10th nationally.
• Louisiana's pitching staff has posted 10 or more strikeouts in 13 of 16 games during the season.
• The Ragin' Cajuns are 19th among Division I programs in hits allowed per nine innings (7.30).
• Louisiana's 9-5 win at Louisiana Tech evened its record to 3-3 in games played away from the friendly confines of M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park.
• The Ragin' Cajuns are 3-0 in true road games this season with wins at McNeese (Feb. 20), Northwestern State (March 6) and Louisiana Tech (March 13).
• Louisiana is closing in on its 1,000th all-time victory at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park. In 1,405 games at the facility, Louisiana has posted a 995-408-2 record since its first season in 1978.

WHAT'S UP NEXT
• Louisiana returns home for its next six games beginning with midweek contests against in-state opponents Southern (March 19) and McNeese (March 20).
• The Ragin' Cajuns will host SBC opponent Old Dominion in a three-game series (March 22-24) before closing out the homestand against Grambling on March 26.

WALK IT OFF
• Louisiana has recorded four walk-off wins this season, including back-to-back games last weekend against Tulane.
• The Ragin' Cajuns walked off a 3-2 win over Wright State on Opening Night on Jose Torres' home run before posting a run rule, 14-4 win over Northwestern State on Feb. 28.
• Lee Amedee's RBI double gave Louisiana a 5-4 win over Tulane in the second game of last week's three-game series before Kyle DeBarge's three-run homer with two outs in the ninth gave the Ragin' Cajuns a 4-3 victory.

HIT A HOMER, WIN A GAME
• With 18 home runs recorded in the first 16 games of the season, Louisiana is 9-2 when hitting at least one homer.
• The Ragin' Cajuns are 5-0 when hitting one home run in a game and are 4-2 when knocking two or more out of the park.

Baseball Preview: The Arkansas State Series

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Players Mentioned

Josh Alexander

Lee Amedee

Kyle DeBarge

Carson Fluno

Andrew Herrmann

Trey LaFleur

LP Langevin

Duncan Pastore

John Taylor

Jose Torres

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