Louisiana Baseball Preview: The Georgia Southern Series

STATESBORO, Ga. – The No. 22-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Baseball team makes its final Sun Belt Conference road trip of the regular season when it faces Georgia Southern in a three-game series beginning Friday at J.I. Clements Stadium.

First pitch for Friday's opener is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CT. The series will resume on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT before wrapping up on Sunday at noon CT. All three games will be available on ESPN+ with fans able to listen to the games in the Lafayette area on KPEL-FM (96.5) and worldwide on the Varsity Network app.

Louisiana (35-15, 18-6 SBC) makes its first visit to face Georgia Southern (27-21, 15-9 SBC) in Statesboro since 2018. The Ragin' Cajuns and Eagles meet for the first time since the 2022 SBC Baseball Championships when Louisiana posted a come-from-behind 7-6 victory to earn the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Regionals.

The Ragin' Cajuns, who will close out the regular season next weekend at home against South Alabama, holds a two-game lead over Troy in the league standings while holding a three-game cushion over both Georgia Southern and Southern Miss.

Trey LaFleur (.360-8-30) and Kyle DeBarge (.348-17-56) have been Louisiana's top two hitters with Duncan Pastore (.333-3-31) and Caleb Stelly (.316-1-27) hitting above .300 on the season.

DeBarge, who leads the team in home runs, RBI and hits (72), enters the weekend two home runs shy of tying the single-season career record (19) set by David King (1989) and David Alvis (1985). The junior shortstop's next home run will tie him with Jonathan Lucroy (18, 2007) for third all-time in school history.

Louisiana adjusted its rotation for the weekend with left-hander Blake Marshall (1-1, 4.71 ERA) earning the start in Friday's opener with Georgia Southern sending right-hander Ben Johnson (4-2, 5.91 ERA) to the mound.

Starters for the remaining two games of the series is to be determined.

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 51-53 PREVIEW
No. 22 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (35-15, 18-6 SBC) at Georgia Southern Eagles (27-21, 15-9 SBC)

DATE/TIMES (dates and times are subject to change)
Friday – May 10, 6:30 p.m. ET
Saturday – May 11, 2 p.m. ET
Sunday – May 12, 1 p.m. ET

LOCATION/SITE
J.I. Clements Stadium (3,000) | Statesboro, Ga.

PITCHING MATCHUPS
FRIDAY – 6:30 p.m. ET
LOUISIANA | LH Blake Marshall (6-0, 190, Sr., Mandeville, La.)
'24 Stats: 1-1, 4.71 ERA, 21.0 IP, 21 H, 12 R, 11 ER, 18 BB, 27 K, .263 OppBA

GEORGIA SOUTHERN | RH Ben Johnson (6-3, 165, Sr., Tucker, Ga.)
'24 Stats: 4-2, 5.91 ERA, 42.2 IP, 52 H, 32 R, 28 ER, 17 BB, 40 K, .311 OppBA

SATURDAY – 2 p.m. ET
LOUISIANA | TBA

GEORGIA SOUTHERN | TBA

SUNDAY – 1 p.m. ET
LOUISIANA | TBA

GEORGIA SOUTHERN | TBA

RANKINGS
Louisiana – 22nd (D1 Baseball); Receiving Votes (NCBWA, USA Today Coaches Poll)
Georgia Southern – 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 – Daniel Waugh (pxp), Tyler Gallo (color); Whitney Haworth (reporter)

LIVE STATS
CajunStats.com

SERIES RECORD
Overall: Georgia Southern leads, 11-9
Last 10: Georgia Southern, 6-4
Streak: Louisiana +2

LEADING OFF
• No. 22-ranked Louisiana makes its final SBC road trip of the regular season when it faces Georgia Southern in a three-game series at J.I. Clements Stadium.
• The visit for Louisiana marks its first trip to Statesboro for a three-game series since March 16-18, 2018.
• Louisiana enters the final two weekends of the regular season with a two-game lead over Troy and three games ahead of Southern Miss and Georgia Southern.
• All three games will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Daniel Waugh (pxp), Tyler Gallo (color) and Whitney Haworth (reporter) providing commentary.
• Fans in the Lafayette area can listen to the all three games in the series on KPEL-FM (96.5) and worldwide on the Varsity Network app with Jay Walker (pxp) and Anthony Babineaux (color) on the call.
• The Ragin' Cajuns will close out the regular season next weekend at home against South Alabama.
• Kyle DeBarge's 17 home runs this season are two shy of tying the single-season career record (19) set by David King (1989) and David Alvis (1985).
• DeBarge was named Thursday as the No. 1-rated shortstop by D1Baseball.
• DeBarge's next home run will tie him with Jonathan Lucroy (18, 2007) for third all-time in school history.
• The junior shortstop ranks second in the Sun Belt and 19th nationally in total bases (143).
• DeBarge is third in the league in hits (72) and 31st nationally.
• Louisiana enters the weekend ranked sixth nationally in hits allowed per nine innings (7.46) and 17th in earned run average (4.22).
• Andrew Herrmann's 2.91 earned run average is second in the Sun Belt Conference and 44th among Division I pitchers.

SERIES HISTORY VS. GEORGIA SOUTHERN
• Louisiana and Georgia Southern will meet for the 21st time in Friday's opening game with the Eagles holding an 11-9 lead.
• The teams last met in the championship game of the 2022 Sun Belt Conference Championships with Louisiana rallying for two runs in the ninth to secure a 7-6 win.
• Four of the last 10 meetings between the schools have been in postseason play with the teams last meeting in a three-game series in 2022.
• The series in Statesboro will be the first between the schools since 2018.

NE DITES JAMAIS MOURIR LES CAJUNS
• Translation ... Louisiana has been the "Never Say Die, Cajuns" as it has rallied for six wins this season when trailing after seven innings.
• The latest comeback was Louisiana's 3-2 victory against Southern Miss on April 26.
• Kyle DeBarge's three-run homer in the eighth inning helped Louisiana close a 2-0 deficit in the win over USM.
• Three come-from-behind wins came during the month of March beginning with a walk-off 4-3 victory over Tulane on March 10.
• Louisiana followed that with wins at Arkansas State (March 16) and Texas State (March 30) before rallying for an 8-6 win at Coastal Carolina on April 20.

WHAT'S UP NEXT
• Louisiana closes out the regular-season on May 16-18 (Thursday-Saturday) when it hosts South Alabama in a three-game series at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park.

Louisiana Baseball Preview: The Georgia Southern Series

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Players Mentioned

Kyle DeBarge

Andrew Herrmann

Trey LaFleur

Blake Marshall

Duncan Pastore

Caleb Stelly

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University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

Louisiana Baseball Preview: The Georgia Southern Series

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Players Mentioned

Kyle DeBarge

Andrew Herrmann

Trey LaFleur

Blake Marshall

Duncan Pastore

Caleb Stelly

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