Louisiana Opens Long Homestand Against Nicholls

LAFAYETTE – Coming off a three-game Sun Belt Conference sweep on the road, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Baseball team opens a season-long, nine-game homestand on Tuesday when it entertains in-state opponent Nicholls at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park.

First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with fans in the Lafayette area able to listen on KPEL-FM (96.5) and worldwide on the Varsity Network app.

Louisiana (20-8) enters the midweek contest against Nicholls (20-10) with the nation's longest win streak at 11 games. The Ragin' Cajuns capped off their second consecutive SBC sweep with a 7-6 win at Texas State on Saturday – the first-ever sweep for Louisiana in San Marcos.

Kyle DeBarge (.313-8-30) leads Louisiana in average, home runs and RBI with Josh Alexander (.310-2-15), John Taylor (.307-3-14), Jose Torres (.301-1-16) and Lee Amedee (.301-2-15) averaging above .300 at the plate.

Right-hander Jack Martinez (2-2, 4.68 ERA) will earn his third start of the season for the Ragin' Cajuns, who enter the game ranked 13^th nationally with a 3.80 team earned run average.

Nicholls opened a seven-game roadtrip with a three-game sweep at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi last weekend. The Colonels rank in the top-10 nationally in runs scored (7^th, 273) and hits hits (5^th, 318), while boasting the 12^th-best batting average (.322).

Edgar Alvarez (.462-6-40), Parker Coddou (.345-2-20) and Garrett Felix (.317-2-24) are the top hitters for the Colonels, who captured the 2023 Southland Conference Tournament championship and advanced to the NCAA Regionals.

Louisiana leads the all-time series against Nicholls, 77-55-1, with the Ragin' Cajuns winning eight of the last 10 meetings. Both teams split a home-and-home series in 2022 with Nicholls claiming a 6-5 win in Thibodaux before Louisiana posted a 6-1 win at Russo Park.

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).

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GAME 29 PREVIEW
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (20-8, 5-1 SBC) vs. Nicholls Colonels (20-10, 3-3 Southland)

DATE/TIMES (dates and times are subject to change)
Tuesday – April 2, 6 p.m.

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

PITCHING MATCHUPS
TUESDAY – 6 p.m.
LOUISIANA | RH Jack Martinez (6-4, 220, Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas)
'24 Stats: 2-2, 4.68 ERA, 22.1 IP, 16 H, 13 R, 12 ER, 16 BB, 25 K, .205 OppBA

NICHOLLS | TBA

RANKINGS
Louisiana – Receiving Votes (NCBWA/USA Today Coaches); RPI - 57
Nicholls – Unranked; RPI - 124

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); Brad Topham (color)

TV/STREAMING
ESPN+
Talent – Dan McDonald (pxp), Brennan Breaux (color)

LIVE STATS
CajunStats.com

SERIES RECORD
Overall: Louisiana leads, 77-55-1
Last 10: Louisiana, 8-2
Streak: Louisiana +1

PROMOTIONS (presented by Atmos Energy)
• Stressball & Koozie Giveaway
• Heathcare Worker's Night
• Judice Inn Trivia Tuesday

LEADING OFF
• Louisiana opens a season-long, nine-game home stand on Tuesday when it faces in-state opponent Nicholls at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park.
• The game 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.
• Louisiana extended its win streak to 11 games – the longest current streak nationally and one shy of a 12-game win streak set in 2016.
• Louisiana and Nebraska (10) are the lone schools with current win streaks of 10 games or more.
• Louisiana's 8-1 start to Sun Belt Conference play equals its best nine-game league start which was set in both 2000 and 2014.
• Since posting an 0-3 record in the Astros Foundation College Classic at Houston's Minute Maid Park, Louisiana posted a 15-2 record to close out the month of March.
• The Ragin' Cajuns improved to 8-1 in Sun Belt Conference play for the third time overall, posting identical nine-game league starts in 2000 (reached College World Series) and 2014 (hosted NCAA Super Regional).
• During its 11-game win streak, Louisiana is hitting at a .320 clip while holding opponents to a .188 average.
• The Louisiana pitching staff has posted a 2.65 team ERA during its 11-game streak with two shutouts and six saves.
• Second baseman John Taylor is currently on a 16-game hit streak, the longest by a Louisiana hitter since Orynn Veillon hit in 19 straight games in 2019.
• Taylor has reached base safely in 27 consecutive games dating back to Game Two of Opening Weekend against Wright State (Feb. 17).
• Current Louisiana Associate Head Coach Seth Thibodeaux served for 11 seasons (2011-21) as head coach for Nicholls, winning 287 games during his tenure in Thibodaux and ranking behind Mike Knight and former Louisiana Baseball coach Ray E. Didier in Colonels' history.

SERIES HISTORY VS. NICHOLLS
• The series between Louisiana and Nicholls dates back to the 1960 season with the first recorded game between the schools (date unknown) ending with a Louisiana 5-2 victory.
In recorded history, Louisiana holds a 77-55-1 advantage in the series.
• The teams split in its home-and-home series in 2022 with each team winning at home.
• Six of the last 10 meetings in the series have been decided by one run (UL, 5-1).
• Louisiana head coach Matt Deggs is 13-3 overall in his career against Nicholls and is 81-45 all-time against in-state programs.

WHAT'S UP NEXT
• Louisiana resume Sun Belt Conference play beginning on Friday with a three-game series against ULM (April 5-7).
• The Ragin' Cajuns will host Prairie View (April 9) and Louisiana Tech (April 10) next week in midweek action before facing Marshall (April 12-14) in a three-game SBC series.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Josh Alexander

Lee Amedee

Kyle DeBarge

Jack Martinez

John Taylor

Jose Torres

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