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During a recent media interview, UL baseball coach Tony Robichaux shared his thoughts on the Ragin' Cajuns' rough start this season.
"We've had some adversity," Robichaux said. "Hopefully, we've handled it. And we can get on the other side of it. I've always said there's no perfect job or marriage.
"It is how you handle the conflict that makes the job and the marriage. It's the same with baseball."
After playing four straight road games, UL (6-11) returns home to play at 6:30 tonight against Northwestern State (11-7) at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field. The preseason Sun Belt favorite Cajuns, who are 2-5 at home this season, have lost 11 of their last 15 games - including two of three in conference play at Florida Atlantic last weekend.
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Joshua Parrott
jparrott@theadvertiser.com
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Last year, UL lost only two home games and 17 overall to win the Sun Belt regular-season title.
Tonight's non-conference matchup will feature a pair of pitchers making their first starts of the season. Right-hander Matt Broussard is 0-0 with an 8.59 ERA in five appearances for the Cajuns this year. The junior, a native of Breaux Bridge, played the previous two years at LSU-Eunice.
NSU will turn to right-hander Tommy Rozell, who is 2-2 with a 6.75 ERA this year. The junior went 16-5 in two years at Eastfield College, which won the NJCAA Division III College World Series during his freshman season.
Senior outfielder Nolan Gisclair looks to continue his recent hot streak for the Cajuns. Gisclair, the 2007 SBC Newcomer of the Year, raised his batting average 74 points last week, hitting .389 with four home runs and 10 RBIs in four games.
Gisclair now leads UL this year in homers (four) and RBIs (12).
The Cajuns will do their best to stay focused on tonight's game and not look ahead a road contest at 6:30 Wednesday night against nationally ranked Rice (12-6) in Houston. The Owls are ranked by four major polls, including a No. 13 ranking by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
Right-hander Michael Cook is expected to get the start for UL against Rice. The freshman is 2-0 and has a team-best 0.57 ERA this season. The former Lafayette High standout has allowed only two runs - one earned - in 13.2 innings this year in two starts.
"Mike Cook is a great pitcher," said UL freshman Greg Fontenot, who played at Acadiana High. "I faced him growing up and in high school. He's a tough competitor. I know he'll go out there and give us a good game on the mound."
Robichaux said that's exactly what the 6-foot-5 Cook, who is second on the team in wins, has done this season. After allowing an unearned run on five hits in seven innings in a 3-1 win over Southeastern Louisiana on March 5, Cook threw 6.2 innings of one-run ball in an 11-2 win at Louisiana Tech on March 11.
"He's got a non-traditional breaking ball, and that gives hitters trouble," Robichaux said. "He throws with a lot of down angle and makes it hard for teams to lift him.
"He's gone out the last two times and set a tempo, and the team has played behind him."
Left-hander Lucas Luetge, who is 1-0 with a 5.51 ERA this year, should start for Rice.
After the Rice game, UL plays a three-game Sun Belt series at Arkansas-Little Rock this weekend and at NSU on March 26. The Cajuns then play host to Florida International in a three-game set March 28-30.
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