Advertiser-Dan McDonald
LAFAYETTE - Twenty-five days.

That's how long Louisiana's baseball team has to prepare for Opening Day, when the Ragin' Cajuns host Southwest Texas Feb. 7 in the opener of a three-game series at Moore Field.

And head coach Tony Robichaux said his team will need every day.

"That's the tough thing about baseball," Robichaux said over the weekend as his squad began gearing up for a run at a sixth NCAA Tournament appearance in the last seven years. "You spend all fall getting ready, and then you've got a break for a month. You've got a good 30 days that you hope the kids are doing something to get ready, but it's got to be on their own."

Robichaux and the rest of the Cajun coaching staff will find out today what team members have done their part, with spring practice slated to begin at 11 a.m. at Moore Field.

The Cajuns have eight of their top 10 hitters back from a squad that went 39-23 and finished 17-7 and second in a highly-competitive Sun Belt Conference. That unit also reached the final day of the NCAA regional in Baton Rouge before losing twice to host LSU.

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