BB: Louisiana Faces McNeese, SLU in Midweek Baseball Action
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Coming off a series win over Nebraska, Louisiana Baseball opens its first, five-game week of the season beginning on Tuesday when it travels to Lake Charles to face McNeese at Joe Miller Ballpark.
First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with fans in the Lafayette area able to listen to the game on KPEL-FM (96.5) and worldwide on the Varsity Network app.
Following its visit to McNeese (5-1), Louisiana will return home to host Southeastern Louisiana (7-1) in a 6 p.m. contest at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park. The Ragin' Cajuns will then wrap up the week by traveling to Irvine, Calif., for a three-game series beginning on Friday at UC Irvine.
Louisiana (4-3) swept a doubleheader on Saturday over then-No. 23 ranked Nebraska, claiming a 4-1 victory in the opener before getting a complete-game effort from Andrew Herrmann in a 10-2 win in the nightcap.
Sam Ardoin (.500-0-2), freshman Brooks Wright (.429-0-5) and Conor Higgs (.350-1-2) have paced Louisiana at the plate during the first two weeks of the season with Lee Amedee (.294-1-4) coming off a 5-for-12 week. Wright (3 SBs), Drew Markle (2 SBs) and Connor Cuff (2 SBs) have recorded seven of Louisiana's 10 stolen bases this season.
A pair of right-handers will make their first career starts for Louisiana with JR Tollett (1-0, 7.71 ERA) taking the mound against McNeese and Tate Hess (0-1, 1.59 ERA) earning the start against SLU.
McNeese opened the season taking two of three games from Wichita State before posting one-run wins in a three-game sweep of Oakland University. The Cowboys will send left-hander Cooper Golden (0-0, 5.62 ERA) to the mound.
Easton Dowell (.400-1-4), Larry Edwards Jr. (.350-0-2) and Conner Westenburg (.350-1-4) enter the week as the top three hitters for McNeese with Mack Brousseau (.217-2-5) leading the team in both home runs and RBI.
SLU (7-1) opened the season with a four-game sweep of Lindenwood before dropping a midweek contest to Tulane. The Lions, who will play on the road for the first time this season, earned its second weekend sweep of the season defeating Alcorn State.
Dane Watts (.625-1-9) is one of three hitters averaging .429 or better at the plate for SLU, hitting .348 as a team with 17 homers through eight games. Ryan Brome (.444-4-6) and Mo Little (.429-3-8) are next in hitting for the Lions.
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).
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GAMES 8-9 PREVIEW
TUESDAY – Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (4-3) at McNeese State Cowboys (5-1)
WEDNESDAY – Louisiana vs. Southeastern Louisiana Lions (7-1)
DATE/TIMES (dates and times are subject to change)
Tuesday (February 25) – 6 p.m.
Wednesday (February 26) – 6 p.m.
LOCATION/SITE
TUESDAY – Joe Miller Ballpark (1,500) | Lake Charles, La.
WEDNESDAY – M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park (6,015) | Lafayette, La.
PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUPS
TUESDAY – 6 p.m.
LOUISIANA | RH JR Tollett (6-2, 185, So., Ruston, La.)
2025 Stats: 1-0, 7.71 ERA, 4.2 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
McNEESE | LH Cooper Golden (6-4, 220, Jr., Odessa, Texas)
2025 Stats: 0-0, 5.62 ERA, 5.0 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
WEDNESDAY – 6 p.m.
LOUISIANA | RH Tate Hess (6-2, 220, So., Singer, La.)
2025 Stats: 0-1, 1.59 ERA, 5.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
SOUTHEASTERN | LH Luke Barbier (5-10, 170, R-Sr., Morgan City, La.)
2025 Stats: 1-0, 1.93 ERA, 4.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
TICKETS
• Tickets for Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Baseball are available for purchase on-line at RaginCajuns.com/tickets or by calling the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at (337) 482-GoUL (4685).
• Group tickets are also available by contacting the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office by email at Tickets@louisiana.edu.
RANKINGS
Louisiana – Unranked
McNeese – Receiving votes (NCBWA)
Southeastern - Receiving votes (NCBWA)
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); Brad Topham (color)
TV/STREAMING (ESPN+ - TUESDAY ONLY)
Talent – TBA
LIVE STATS
CajunStats.com
SERIES RECORD (vs. McNeese – since 1960)
Overall – Louisiana leads, 103-77
In Lafayette – Louisiana leads, 59-24
In Lake Charles – McNeese leads, 49-44
Neutral Sites – McNeese leads, 4-0
Last 10 – Louisiana, 7-3
Streak – Louisiana +3
Last Meeting – Louisiana, 4-1 (March 20, 2024 at Lafayette)
SERIES RECORD (vs. Southeastern – since 1947)
Overall – Louisiana leads, 85-75
In Lafayette – Louisiana leads, 49-28
In Hammond – SLU leads, 45-34
Neutral Sites – Tied, 1-1
Unknown Sites – Tied, 1-1
Last 10 – Louisiana, 8-2
Streak – Louisiana +2
Last Meeting – Louisiana, 8-1 (April 17, 2024 at Lafayette)
THE ON DECK CIRCLE
• Louisiana plays its first, five-game week of the season beginning Tuesday when it visits McNeese at Joe Miller Ballpark in Lake Charles.
• The Ragin' Cajuns will wrap up the midweek on Wednesday hosting Southeastern Louisiana before heading to the West Coast for a three-game series at UC Irvine.
• Right-handers JR Tollett (Tuesday at McNeese) and Tate Hess (Wednesday vs. SLU) are slated to make their first career starts on the mound.
• Five players on the Ragin' Cajuns roster – Sam Ardoin (Moss Bluff/Sam Houston), Kasen Bellard (Lake Charles/Barbe), Owen Galt (Lake Charles/Barbe), Griffin Hebert (Lake Charles/Sam Houston) and Luke Yuhasz (Moss Bluff/Sam Houston) – all hail from the Lake Charles Metro area.
• Reserve infielder Casey Artigues is a product of Hammond's St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic High School and is the son for former SLU Baseball coach and current Director of Athletics Jay Artigues.
• Louisiana's eight sac bunts through the first seven games lead the Sun Belt Conference and are third nationally.
• The Ragin' Cajuns are second in the SBC in stolen bases (10).
