2025 Baseball Preview: The Georgia State Series

ATLANTA – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Baseball team opens a crucial stretch of six straight games on the road beginning on Friday when it opens a three-game Sun Belt Conference series against Georgia State at the GSU Baseball Complex.

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

Louisiana (22-24, 12-9 SBC), which will close out the 2025 road schedule beginning next weekend at Southern Miss, enters the weekend against Georgia State (24-22, 9-12 SBC) in fourth place in the league standings and one game ahead of both Arkansas State (at Southern Miss) and App State (at Coastal Carolina).

The Ragin' Cajuns look to rebound from a 4-3 loss to Georgia Southern in the series finale last Sunday at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park. Louisiana claimed the first two games against the Eagles with a 4-1 win last Friday before posting a 7-3 victory on Saturday.

Conor Higgs (.338-14-37) is on pace to become Louisiana's 17th overall Triple Crown winner since 1960 and the first since Carson Roccaforte achieved the feat in 2022 (.374-16-68). The senior is one home run shy of tying David Alvis (33, 1982-85) for fifth place in school history and ranks second in the SBC in both slugging percentage (.682) and OPS (1.144).

Left-hander Chase Morgan (4-1, 2.91 ERA) will start in Friday's opener for Louisiana with Kennesaw, Ga., native Andrew Herrmann (2-3, 4.26 ERA) slated to pitch on Saturday. Right-hander JR Tollett (4-4, 3.26 ERA) will earn the start in Sunday's finale for the Ragin' Cajuns.

Georgia State has dropped nine of its last 11 games after being swept in series against Coastal Carolina (April 11-13) and Arkansas State (April 25-27) while dropping two of three games at Southern Miss (April 17-19). The Panthers lost their fourth straight game on Wednesday in an 8-4 contest against Mercer.

Kaleb Freeman (.345-13-40) leads the league in slugging percentage (.726), doubles (23), OPS (1.235) and runs scored (54) with Michael Maginnis hitting .324 with 16 stolen bases. Jesse Donohoe (.287-12-35) and Collin Hynek (.237-17-42) are part of a power-hitting GSU squad that leads the SBC with 76 home runs on the season.

Caleb White (5-4, 6.04 ERA) will earn the start in Friday's opener for GSU with freshman southpaw Jake Hembree (1-1, 5.35 ERA) scheduled for Saturday and Ross Norman (4-6, 6.88 ERA) on Sunday.

Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Baseball season and single-game tickets are available for purchase online at RaginCajuns.com/tickets or by calling the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at (337) 482-GoUL (4685). Fans can also support the baseball student athletes, and invest in the program's future, through the Krewe Allons NIL Collective (click here).

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 47-49 PREVIEW
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (22-24, 12-9 SBC) at Georgia State Panthers (24-22, 9-12 SBC)

DATE/TIMES (dates and times are subject to change)
Friday (May 2) – 5 p.m. CT
Saturday (May 3) – 1 p.m. CT
Sunday (May 4) – Noon CT

LOCATION/SITE
GSU Baseball Complex (1,029) | Atlanta, Ga.

PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUPS
FRIDAY – 5 p.m. CT
LOUISIANA | LH Chase Morgan (6-3, 195, So., Cypress, Texas)
'25 Stats: 4-1, 2.91 ERA, 46.1 IP, 41 H, 18 R, 15 ER, 17 BB, 50 K, .237 OppBA

GEORGIA STATE | RH Caleb White (6-8, 195, Sr., Van, Texas)
'25 Stats: 5-4, 6.04 ERA, 50.2 IP, 61 H, 36 R, 34 ER, 15 BB, 63 K, .308 OppBA

SATURDAY – 1 p.m. CT
LOUISIANA | LH Andrew Herrmann (6-3, 215, Sr., Kennesaw, Ga.)
'25 Stats: 2-3, 4.26 ERA, 57.0 IP, 60 H, 36 R, 27 ER, 23 BB, 41 K, .273 OppBA

GEORGIA STATE| LH Jake Hembree (6-2, 195, Fr., Hiram, Ga.)
'25 Stats: 1-1, 5.35 ERA, 37.0 IP, 30 H, 23 R, 22 ER, 28 BB, 47 K, .229 OppBA

SUNDAY – 12 p.m. CT
LOUISIANA | RH JR Tollett (6-2, 190, So., Ruston, La.)
'25 Stats: 4-3, 2.98 ERA, 54.1 IP, 54 H, 22 R, 18 ER, 8 BB, 45 K, .256 OppBA

GEORGIA STATE | RH Ross Norman (6-7, 206, So., Ringgold, Ga.)
'25 Stats: 4-6, 6.88 ERA, 53.2 IP, 60 H, 42 R, 41 ER, 24 BB, 56 K, .286 OppBA

RANKINGS
Louisiana – Unranked
Georgia 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 – Dave Cohen (pxp)

LIVE STATS
CajunStats.com

SERIES HISTORY
Overall – Louisiana leads, 16-2
In Lafayette – Louisiana leads, 9-0
In Atlanta – Louisiana leads, 7-2
Last 10 – Louisiana, 9-1
Streak – Louisiana +8

ON DECK
• Louisiana opens a crucial six-game road trip beginning Friday when it visits Georgia State in a three-game Sun Belt Conference series at the GSU Baseball Complex.
• The meeting is the first between the schools since 2022 when the Ragin' Cajuns claimed a three-game sweep in Atlanta.
• The Ragin' Cajuns enter the weekend with a 12-9 record in SBC play – one game ahead of both Arkansas State and App State – in the league standings.
• Louisiana will close out its road schedule next weekend (May 9-11) with a three-game series at Southern Miss before closing out the regular season at home against Arkansas State on May 15-17.
• Conor Higgs' home run against Georgia Southern last Saturday was the 32nd of his career, moving him past Kyle DeBarge (2022-24) on the Cajuns' all-time list.
• Higgs' next home run will be his 33rd and tie him with David Alvis (1982-85) for fifth on the school's all-time list.
• Higgs is second behind GSU's Kaleb Freeman in the SBC in both slugging percentage (.682) and OPS (1.144).
• Higgs is tied for third in the league with 14 home runs, sixth in runs scored (44) and ninth in both average (.338) and on-base percentage (.462).
• Louisiana is second in SBC games in team ERA (3.32).
• Chase Morgan is sixth in the SBC in ERA (2.91), tied for second in fewest earned runs (15), fourth in fewest runs (18) and tied for fifth in hits allowed (41).
• Right-hander JR Tollett enters the weekend ranked 26th nationally in walks allowed per nine innings (1.48) and 44th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.80).

THE GEORGIA STATE SERIES
• Louisiana holds a 16-2 advantage in the all-time series with Georgia State, including a 7-2 record in games played in Atlanta.
• The schools meet for the first time since 2022 when the Ragin' Cajuns earned a three-game sweep in Atlanta.
• The Ragin' Cajuns have won the last five meetings against the Panthers at the GSU Baseball Complex beginning with a 6-4 win in 11 innings on April 28, 2018.

2025 Baseball Preview: The Georgia State Series

Players Mentioned

Kyle DeBarge

Andrew Herrmann

Conor Higgs

Chase Morgan

JR Tollett

Footer

University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics