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UL - • For the second time this season, the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns head north to renew their long-standing rivalry for the front end of a home-and-home series with the Northwestern State Demons Tuesday in Natchitoches.
• The Demons then return to Lafayette Wednesday for "Turn Back the Clock Night".
• Louisiana head coach Tony Robichaux needs one more victory to become the Cajuns skipper to win 500 games at UL.
• Eleven of Louisiana’s 17 wins this season have come away from M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field.
• Since dropping a 5-2 decision at UTSA in February, Louisiana has won five straight games against Southland Conference opponents.
• In the last trip to Natchitoches, Tyler Benzel’s RBI single in the top of the 11th inning scored the game-winning run, while Justin Robichaux made it stand as Louisiana posted a 7-6 extra-inning road victory.
• Last Tuesday, senior outfielder Nolan Gisclair hit a career-high-tying two home runs, while driving in four runs to lift the Ragin’ Cajuns to a 9-2 win voer the Demons at "The Tigue".
ROUGH STRETCH. Louisiana entered last weekend against first-place ULM as the SBC leader in team ERA...However, the Ragin’ Cajuns’ pitching staff ERA saw a 69-point increase from 4.61 to 5.30. In three games, the Cajuns ERA was 12.33 against ULM.
JACK OF ALL TRADES. Sophomore utility player Chance Harst has started at four different positions this season for the Cajuns. Harst, a catcher by trade, has also started in left field and at designated hitter. Then, last weekend at MT, Harst was thrust into playing first base for the injured Justin Robichaux...
The move has paid dividends both offensively and defensively. Wednesday, Harst fell a triple short of the cycle, going 3-for-4 with a solo home run...
Since starting at first base for Robichaux, Harst is batting .481 (13-for-27) with two home runs and four RBI in the last eight games.
HAMMERING AWAY. Junior All-American Scott Hawkins has come on strong as of late hitting four home runs in the last seven games...
Hawkins’ solo shot Wednesday at McNeese State moved him into fifth place on the school’s career home run list surpassing Dallas Morris (29). Hawkins is one of only five Cajuns in school history to hit 30 or more home runs in a career...
Hawkins (31) needs two more to tie David Alvis (33) for fourth all-time. He trails leader Ron Robicheaux (39) by eight homers.
ROAD TO 500. Louisiana’s Tony Robichaux could become the first Ragin’ Cajuns baseball coach to reach 500 victories this week against Northwestern State...
Robichaux needs one more win to catch elusive victory No. 500 after the Cajuns won the three games of a five-game set last week.
GOING...GOING...GISCLAIR. Swinging with a broken left hand and an injured right wrist, Nolan Gisclair single-handedly destroyed Northwestern State’s pitching staff, blasting two home runs over the scoreboard at "The Tigue" to lift the Cajuns to a 9-2 win Tuesday night...
Gisclair tied a season high with three hits and four RBI, while tying a career high with the two bombs...Gisclair is the only Cajun this season to hit two home runs in a game. He blasted two homers at FAU earlier this year...
Gisclair followed Tuesday’s performance with an eighth-inning, two-RBI triple to straightaway center field scored the eventual game-winning run as the Cajuns managed to muscle past the first-place ULM Warhawks 12-10 Friday night.
HITTING CLINIC. With Louisiana’s 13 hits at McNeese State, the Ragin' Cajuns have rapped out 10 or more hits in five of their last seven contests...
Louisiana’s 13 hits Tuesday night were a season-high at home. It was the first time the Cajuns reached double figures in hits at "The Tigue." The Cajuns have now reached the 10-hit mark 10 times this season.
PINCH HIT MAGIC. Jordan Poirrier’s pinch-hit, three-run home run commenced an eighth-inning scoring barrage as the Ragin’ Cajuns scored seven runs in the frame to pummel McNeese State 14-8...
For Poirrier, it was his first career home run which opened the three-homer inning.
GOULAS DIGS THE LONG BALL, TOO. Jordan Poirrier wasn’t the only Cajun enjoying his first career dinger as Matt Goulas launched a home run over the left field scoreboard at McNeese State in the same inning.
BROUSSARD, HARMON NOTCH FIRSTS. In Tuesday’s 9-2 win over Northwestern State, Matt Broussard notched his first career victory, allowing one run on three hits in seven innings. Broussard (1-0) walked three, while striking out four...
Gregory Harmon, the beneficiary of the Cajuns’ seven-run eighth inning Wednesday night, earned his first victory of the season. Harmon (1-0) was touched for one unearned run on four hits with four strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings.
OFFENSIVE RESURGENCE. More than half of the Cajuns’ offensive production this season season has come in the last 16 games. Through the first 18 games, the Cajuns were batted just .223 with 10 home runs and 64 RBI...
However, in the last 16 contests, the Cajuns are hitting .279 with 21 homers and 96 RBI.
NORTHWESTERN STATE SCOUTING REPORT. Northwestern State (17-16) enters this week’s home-and-home series with the Ragin’ Cajuns on a five-game losing streak that began Tuesday in Lafayette...
In the last five games, NSU has been outscored 50-24. Last weekend, the Demons were swept at home by the UTSA Roadrunners...
NSU and UTSA combined for 12 home runs and 70 RBI during the three-game series...
Senior DH Mike Jaworski is still Northwestern State’s biggest offensive threat as he leads the team with a .368 clip, 12 HR and 33 RBI. Jaworski leads the team with 43 hits and a .744 slugging percentage...
Three Demons are batting better than .300, while the senior Jaworski has accounted for exactly half of the Demons’ home run production.
NORTHWESTERN STATE SERIES. Tuesday marks the front end of a home-and-home series with Northwestern State. It will be the Cajuns’ second and final trip to Natchitoches this season...On Wednesday, the Demons return to UL for the rescheduled "Turn Back the Clock Night" game that was originally slated for March 18 but was later moved because of inclement weather...The Cajuns lead the all-time series 71-45 and are 26-18 at home since 1972 (23-11 at NSU since 1972).
UP NEXT - SOUTH ALABAMA. After this week’s home-and-home midweek series with Northwestern State, Louisiana will travel east on I-10 to face the South Alabama Jaguars for a three-game SBC set at Stanky Field.
<center><p><a href="http://www.ragincajuns.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=15400&ATCLID=1440141" target="_blank">The rest of the story</a>
Chris Yandle
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