Louisiana Baseball Preview: vs. Marshall (SBC Championships)

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Louisiana opens postseason play on Tuesday when it faces Marshall in a first-round, single-elimination contest at the 2026 Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship at DABOS Park.

First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. The game will be available on ESPN+, with fans able to listen in the Lafayette area on KPEL-FM (96.5) and worldwide on the Varsity Network app.

The winner of Tuesday's first round game between Louisiana (34-21) and Marshall (23-31), along with the winner of Old Dominion and Georgia State, will advance to the double-elimination portion of the bracket which begins on Wednesday.

A win by Louisiana (34-21) would see the Ragin' Cajuns advance to face No. 2-seeded Coastal Carolina (36-19), with No. 3 seed App State and No. 6 seed Texas State on the other half of the bracket.

Louisiana closed out the regular season winning seven of its final nine league games, capped by a series win over Coastal last weekend at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park.

Colt Brown (.312-5-42) and Lee Amedee (.308-4-43) lead Louisiana at the plate with freshman Noah Lewis (.298-1-15) staying close to the .300 mark. Steven Spalitta (.266-4-30) and Drew Markle (.263-5-37) are next in hitting for the Ragin' Cajuns, who will make their 31^st appearance in the SBC postseason with five tournament titles.

Right-hander Cody Brasch (4-2, 2.24 ERA), named a second-team All-Sun Belt Conference pitcher on Monday, will start in the tournament opener for the Ragin' Cajuns, with Marshall countering with southpaw ace and second-team All-SBC pick Bryce Blevins (8-4, 4.59 ERA).

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GAME 56 PREVIEW
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (34-21) vs. Marshall Thundering Herd (23-31)

TIMES (dates and times are subject to change)
Tuesday (May 19) – 3 p.m.

LOCATION/SITE
DABOS Park (7,000) | Montgomery, Ala.

PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUP
TUESDAY – 3 p.m.
LOUISIANA | RH Cody Brasch (6-3, 205, Jr., Haslet, Texas)
'26 Stats: 5-2, 2.24 ERA, 64.1 IP, 41 H, 16 R, 16 ER, 18 BB, 74 K, .182 OppBA

MARSHALL | LH Bryce Blevins (5-11, 195, Sr., Louisa, Ky.)
'26 Stats: 8-4, 4.59 ERA, 102.0 IP, 111 H, 56 R, 52 ER, 18 BB, 86 K, .278 OppBA

RANKINGS
Louisiana – Unranked
Marshall - Unranked

RADIO/TV/LIVE STATISTICS
TV
Station – ESPN+
Talent – Matt Stewart (pxp); Ronnie Rantz (color)

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)

LIVE STATS
CajunStats.Statbroadcast.com

SERIES RECORD
Overall – Louisiana leads, 6-2
In Lafayette – Series tied, 3-0
In Huntington – Never met
Neutral Sites – Louisiana leads, 3-2
Last 10 – Louisiana, 6-2
Streak – Marshall +2

LOUISIANA ON DECK
• Louisiana opens play for the 31^st time in the Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championships on Tuesday when it faces No. 10-seeded Marshall in the opening game of the 10-team tournament on Tuesday at DABOS Park – the Double-A home of the Montgomery Biscuits.
• The matchup with Marshall is a rematch of last year's postseason opener for Louisiana, which dropped a 9-5 contest before the Thundering Herd claimed a 17-13 win in an elimination game.
• First-year Louisiana pitching coach Taylor Sandefur spent the previous three seasons in the same capacity at Marshall.
• Louisiana is 59-49 all-time in the Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship with five titles (1998, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2022).
• The Ragin' Cajuns are 10-7 all-time since the tournament was moved to Montgomery for the 2021 season, dropping five of their last six games beginning with the 2023 championship against Southern Miss.
• Louisiana is 5-2 overall against ranked opponents this season (2-1 vs. Southern Miss; 2-1 vs. Coastal Carolina; 1-0 vs. LSU).
• Louisiana's 105 stolen bases in 2026 marks the 14^th time in school history the Ragin' Cajuns have eclipsed the 100-stolen base mark.
• The Ragin' Cajuns are 24-4 overall when out-hitting their opponent and are 21-7 when hitting at least one home run.
• Louisiana is 28-4 overall when holding opponents to five runs or less and are 14-5 overall in one-run games.
• Louisiana's 17 quality starts on the season – Andrew Herrmann (7), Cody Brasch (4), Sawyer Pruitt (3), JR Tollett (2) and Ty Roman (1) – have surpassed last season's total (10) set in 58 games.
• Herrmann's four complete games in 2026 is tied with Jaden Wywoda (Holy Cross) and Connor Lockwood (Valparaiso) for the national lead.
• Herrmann and Ty Roman are tied for second nationally in starts (15).
• Herrmann is second among SBC pitchers in strikeouts (94).
• Louisiana's combined 19 wins by its starting pitchers in 2026 surpassed last season's combined total (12).
• Brasch enters the postseason as the SBC leader among qualifying pitchers in seven categories: ERA (2.24), opponent batting average (.182), fewest hits allowed (41), fewest hits allowed per nine innings (5.74), runs allowed (16), earned runs allowed (16) and WHIP (0.92).

ROUNDING UP THE 'HERD
• Marshall enters the postseason with a 23-31 overall record and a 13-17 mark in Sun Belt Conference play.
• The Herd offense is led by Evan Bottone, who is batting .387 with 82 hits, 57 runs scored and eight home runs, while Tyler Kamerer adds a .323 average with 20 doubles and 55 runs scored. Jackson Halter paces the club with 11 home runs and 52 RBI.
• Marshall ranks among the Sun Belt leaders in doubles with 105 and has five regulars hitting .264 or better, including AJ Havrilla (.271-6-38) and Cooper Hinson (.299-2-37).
• Bryce Blevins anchors the Marshall pitching staff with an 8-4 record and 86 strikeouts in 102.0 innings pitched, while Drew Harlow (4-5, 5.27 ERA) and Kenyon Collins (2-6, 5.13 ERA) have each recorded 72 strikeouts on the season.
• Defensively, Marshall owns a .974 fielding percentage and has turned 38 double plays this season. Catcher Jackson Golden has thrown out nine runners attempting to steal, while first baseman AJ Havrilla has committed just three errors in 457 chances.

Louisiana Baseball Preview: vs. Marshall (SBC Championships)

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Players Mentioned

Lee Amedee

Cody Brasch

Colt Brown

Andrew Herrmann

Noah Lewis

Drew Markle

Sawyer Pruitt

Ty Roman

Steven Spalitta

JR Tollett

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