UL - Four days after sweeping New Orleans, the sixth-seeded Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns prepare for their first test in their pursuit of a conference tournament title when they host the third-seeded Troy Trojans Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Championship at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field.

Louisiana (28-27) entered last weekend's series needing one victory to clinch a spot in the conference tournament, while New Orleans needed two wins to clinch the Sun Belt's regular season crown. However, the Cajuns posted their first home Sun Belt series sweep en route to earning the No. 6 seed in this week's conference tournament.

Troy (32-24), which finished third in the Sun Belt this season, posted a 17-8 home record, but were only 15-16 away from Troy. In April, the Trojans lost two out of three contests to the Cajuns in Lafayette. Troy is paced offensively by a trio of heavy hitters - Bryan Miller, Beau Brooks and Michael Precise. Miller leads the team with a .404 average, 12 home runs and 63 RBI - his 99 hits and 31 doubles also lead the squad. Precise ranks second in hits (63), home runs (11) and RBI (57), followed by Brooks (59 hits, 10 HR, 40 RBI).

The Trojans were originally scheduled to go with their number one starter Tim Wheeler, but opted to throw Jeff Green (2-5), who defeated the Cajuns on April 26 in Lafayette (11-4). Green will face first team All-Sun Belt left-hander Hunter Moody, who will finish his career as one of the most heralded pitchers in conference history. Moody enters Wednesday with an 8-2 overall record with a 3.49 earned run average and 70 strikeouts. The senior is 30-7 lifetime in his four seasons at Louisiana, posting an impressive .818 winning percentage.

Wednesday's meeting marks the second straight season that the schools have met in the conference tournament. Louisiana leads the all-time series 10-6 and won two games earlier this season in Lafayette; the Cajuns are 7-4 all-time at "The Tigue" against the Trojans.

Last Time vs. Troy (Louisiana won series, 2-1)
Louisiana claimed its first Sun Belt series win at home when the Cajuns earned a doubleheader split with the Trojans of Troy on Saturday, April 26. In the series opener, Chance Harst walloped two two-run home runs to lead the Cajuns to a 7-3 win over the Trojans. The Cajuns used a solid pitching performance from freshman Michael Cook in a game-one victory, but was unable to overtake Troy's powerful offense in the nightcap.

In game one, Cook allowed one run on five hits in 5.1 innings to lead UL to the 5-3 victory. Dillon Guillory went 2-for-4 with his first collegiate home run and two RBI. In game two, Troy shelled Cajun pitching for 16 hits en route to the 11-4 victory, salvaging the series.


RaginCajuns.com

Chris Yandle