Cajuns Baseball Back In Houston

[NewsCopy]

University of Louisiana tangles with University of Houston in three-game set.

HOUSTON _ Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns baseball team makes a return trip here this weekend for a three-game series against host-University of Houston at Cougar Field Friday-Sunday, Feb. 28-March 2.

The Cajuns were in Houston two weeks ago for the Minute Maid Park College Classic hosted by the Houston Astros. Louisiana is hoping for better fortune this time around. The Cajuns came up winless in three outings at Minute Maid Park and were outscored 32-8.

The three-game set begins Friday at 7 p.m. as senior All-American Andy Gros (1-1, 6.75 ERA) takes the mound for the Ragin’ Cajuns against UH’s Danny Zell (3-0, 0.90 ERA).

The series continues with single games on Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. Saturday's game time, originally scheduled for 7 p.m., was moved up earlier in the week to avoid a conflict with the UH men's basketball game against Conference USA rival TCU at Hofheinz Pavilion.

All games will be broadcast live on SportsRadio ESPN 1420-KPEL AM with live Internet streaming available at www.weareradio.com. All broadcasts begin 30 minutes prior to the first pitch. Jay Walker and Steve Peloquin will call the action live from UH’s Cougar Field.

This will be Houston’s first homestand of the season and just their second game at Cougar Field. UH’s only other Cougar Field appearance came on Feb. 18 against second-ranked Rice (UH lost 3-0).

The Cajuns (5-7) will enter the series coming off a 3-2 homestand last week which included taking 2-of-3 games from Troy State over the weekend. UL is in search of its first win on the road (0-1 away, 0-3 neutral site) this season.

The two teams met last season at Louisiana's M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field with Houston stealing a sweep by scores of 5-2, 7-3 and 9-8. The Cajuns are returning the Cougars trip and will appear at Cougar Field for the first time since the 1999 postseason.

UH (3-6) leads the all-time series 23-8-1 since the Cajuns joined Division I in 1972 and 31-10-1 overall. The Cajuns have won the last two meetings at Cougar Field, both in the 1999 NCAA Regional at Houston, downing the Cougars 5-3 and 19-8 en route to their first-ever appearance in the Super Regionals.

Louisiana is hitting just .220 as a team but did raise its batting average 27 points in the final four games of last week’s homestand. Sophomore first baseman Phillip Hawke leads the squad with a .378 batting average and has two home runs and nine RBI. Junior outfielder/pitcher Corey Coles is hitting .356 and enters this weekend’s series on an eight-game hitting streak.

On the mound, Gros has struggled in his last two outings. He was roughed up against Alabama at the Minute Maid Park Classic Feb. 14 and received a no-decision last Saturday against Troy State. Gros lasted 4 2/3 innings in his outing against TSU last week, allowing six runs (all earned) on six hits. Against Alabama, Gros allowed six earned runs in six innings.

Zell will be making his fourth straight start for the Cougars. He tops the UH pitching staff with a 0.90 ERA and limits opponents to a .169 batting average. He shut down Louisiana State last Saturday in a 7-2 UH win in Baton Rouge going six innings and allowing just two runs to the Tigers.

Offensively, junior DH Thanos Papavasiliou leads the Cougars with a .345 batting average, four doubles and four RBIs. The Houston native also brings a 12-game hitting streak dating back to last season into this weekend's series.

Junior transfer Austin Faught will be in familiar territory this weekend for the Cajuns. Faught, who spent two seasons at UH, transferred to Louisiana this past offseason. Faught is scheduled to throw Sunday for the Cajuns.

ULSI

[ChanceEncounter]

I didn't know I could edit my post. Cajuns are winning 2-0 third inning

[ChanceEncounter]

wish I could do the whole game but the wife is calling.

[NewsCopy]

HOUSTON — For Louisiana's Ragin’ Cajun baseball squad, it was another instance of coming close.

The Cajuns led most of the way against Houston’s host Cougars here Friday night, but wound up dropping a 3-2 decision in the opening game of a three-game weekend series at Cougar Field.

UL (5-8) scored twice in the second inning and starting pitcher Andy Gros made that hold up until the seventh. In that inning, though, Houston (4-6) tallied the tying and eventual winning runs on Hung Cho’s two-out, two-run single.

The Cajuns then had an opportunity to tie the game in the top of the ninth on Justin Morgan’s one-out single. However, pinch hitter Bryan Sneed, who had walked and moved to second on Charles Redmond’s infield single, was thrown out at the plate by UH right fielder Matt Farrington.

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