BB G1 Final: Louisiana 9, ULM 5

[Jacob81]

Did ULM really lose to grambling 15-3??? We better bring some brooms this weekend.

[Scott Malkinson]

Did ULM really lose to grambling 15-3??? We better bring some brooms this weekend.

They also took ole miss to the wire ..don't look too hard into a midweek game

[roarman]

ULM softball just almost beat LSU.

[Jacob81]

Lose to grambling by 12 runs is unbelievable. When I first saw the score on warrennolan I thought maybe they had the score backwards.

[moorecajun]

Don't be fooled.

[RaginDave]

ULM is an enigma this season. They are not as bad as the loss to Grambling and they are not as good as the win vs Ole Miss and/or Oklahoma State.

Look at this team in a vacuum, they are 10-11, they did beat Grambling in a mid week game earlier in the season 9-1. They won 1 of 3 vs Ole Miss and took a midweek game from Oklahoma Stae. They won 2 of 3 from their first conference opponent Georgia State (they are not that good and 1 of 3 on the weekend vs a better Texas State team. So they come into conference play at 3-3. All the game vs Georgia State and Texas State were close (GSU 3-4, 3-1 and 9-7) (TSU 6-5, 5-6 and 1-4). Those two wins vs OSU and Ole Miss are by far their best wins of the season, the better teams they have played have pretty much owned them, they lost two to La Tech, 2 of 3 to UNO and 1 of 3 to Nicholls.

They are hitting .263 as a team, but they have 4 regulars that are batting over .300, led by Michael Cervantes and Ryan Humeniuk who are hitting .327 and .325 respectively. Their 9 regular guys are all batting over .200 (we can not say that). With 7 of them over .250. They are not a power hitting team as they only have 12 HR's on the season and their leader is at 3. To put these numbers in perspective, we are only hitting .243 on the season as a team, with only 2 regular guys hitting over .300. The difference is we have 21 HR's on the season and have 3 guys with at least 3. Including B-Fitz with 7, Kimple with 4 and Robertson with 3.

As a team ULM is struggling on the mound, they have a team ERA 5.23. Their best regular starter is Tyler Lien who is 3-0 with an ERA of 4.24, then Ty Barnes with 1-1 record and an ERA of 4.43 and finally Cam Barlow who is 3-2 with an ERA of 4.91. They only have 1 pitcher with a sub 3.00 ERA and only 3 with sub 4.00 ERA's. They have 4 guys with ERA's above 10.00. Their batting average against is actually pretty good at .254, their big issue is the long ball (24 Homeruns given up) and walks, wild pitches and HBP. They have given up 75 walks, 30 Wild Pitches and 21 HBP. They are not solid in the field either as they have a team Fielding % of .964, we have a team fielding of .962 and believe me we are not a good fielding team.

The difference between these to teams is power and pitching. We have a team ERA of 3.71, nearly 1.5 better than ULM, we have only given up 16 HR's, our BA against is .213. We have 8 pitchers with sub 3.00 ERA's.

Bottom line is they can hit fairly well, but we need to get to their pen early and often. IF Spencer pitches like he can on Thursday and we get to their starter, it could be a long weekend for ULM.

[Turbine]

Good info

[ZoomZoom]

ULM softball just almost beat LSU.

Shouldn't that be "just ulmost beat LSU"?

[JayWalker]

ULM is an enigma this season. They are not as bad as the loss to Grambling and they are not as good as the win vs Ole Miss and/or Oklahoma State.

Look at this team in a vacuum, they are 10-11, they did beat Grambling in a mid week game earlier in the season 9-1. They won 1 of 3 vs Ole Miss and took a midweek game from Oklahoma Stae. They won 2 of 3 from their first conference opponent Georgia State (they are not that good and 1 of 3 on the weekend vs a better Texas State team. So they come into conference play at 3-3. All the game vs Georgia State and Texas State were close (GSU 3-4, 3-1 and 9-7) (TSU 6-5, 5-6 and 1-4). Those two wins vs OSU and Ole Miss are by far their best wins of the season, the better teams they have played have pretty much owned them, they lost two to La Tech, 2 of 3 to UNO and 1 of 3 to Nicholls.

They are hitting .263 as a team, but they have 4 regulars that are batting over .300, led by Michael Cervantes and Ryan Humeniuk who are hitting .327 and .325 respectively. Their 9 regular guys are all batting over .200 (we can not say that). With 7 of them over .250. They are not a power hitting team as they only have 12 HR's on the season and their leader is at 3. To put these numbers in perspective, we are only hitting .243 on the season as a team, with only 2 regular guys hitting over .300. The difference is we have 21 HR's on the season and have 3 guys with at least 3. Including B-Fitz with 7, Kimple with 4 and Robertson with 3.

As a team ULM is struggling on the mound, they have a team ERA 5.23. Their best regular starter is Tyler Lien who is 3-0 with an ERA of 4.24, then Ty Barnes with 1-1 record and an ERA of 4.43 and finally Cam Barlow who is 3-2 with an ERA of 4.91. They only have 1 pitcher with a sub 3.00 ERA and only 3 with sub 4.00 ERA's. They have 4 guys with ERA's above 10.00. Their batting average against is actually pretty good at .254, their big issue is the long ball (24 Homeruns given up) and walks, wild pitches and HBP. They have given up 75 walks, 30 Wild Pitches and 21 HBP. They are not solid in the field either as they have a team Fielding % of .964, we have a team fielding of .962 and believe me we are not a good fielding team.

The difference between these to teams is power and pitching. We have a team ERA of 3.71, nearly 1.5 better than ULM, we have only given up 16 HR's, our BA against is .213. We have 8 pitchers with sub 3.00 ERA's.

Bottom line is they can hit fairly well, but we need to get to their pen early and often. IF Spencer pitches like he can on Thursday and we get to their starter, it could be a long weekend for ULM.

This is a MUCH better team than the ones we've played in the last nine years. Federico has them playing hard and playing for nine innings. Their pitching isn't as good as ours, but they are just as good offensively as we are. They don't strike out nearly as much as we do. They lead the league in stolen bases. I think the team ERA is an anomaly. Their weekend guys are pretty good. Your ERA can get skewed with one bad outing.

Barlow has been named pitcher of the week earlier this year.

it's not all about stats. For the first time in years, ULM comes to the ball park with a chip on its shoulder and they expect to win. That in itself makes them dangerous. I've been talking about them on the broadcasts and I keep saying this isn't your daddy's ULM club. I think they are the league's most improved team. And, if you recall, two years ago they made a run through the conference tournament, being eliminated in the bracket final.

I think we will win the series. But those of you who think we'll sweep just by showing up are setting yourselves up for a big letdown.

[ULvictory]

This 7 game stretch is ripe for some momentum. Take at least 2 this weekend, take the Nicholls game, and take care of business next week at home against Arkansas State.

If we can win at least 5/7, we will be sitting with a minimum of a 19-13 record going into South Al.

[NewsCopy]

Louisiana Baseball will continue Sun Belt Conference play at ULM starting on Thursday, April 1 and running through Saturday, April 3.

The Ragin' Cajuns (14-11, 2-1 Sun Belt) are coming off an impressive weekend, taking three-out-of-four games from Coastal Carolina.

ULM (10-11, 3-3 Sun Belt) lost to Grambling State on Tuesday night, 15-3. The Warhawks are one of four teams in the Sun Belt who have already played two conference series.

Who: Louisiana (14-11) at ULM (10-11)
Where: Warhawk Field
When: April 1-3
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: KPEL 96.5
On the Call: Jay Walker (play-by-play), Brad Topham (color)
Last Meeting: Louisiana won, 19-8, (5/18/2019)

PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday: RHP Spencer Arrighetti vs. RHP Ty Barnes
Saturday: TBA vs. LHP Cam Barlow
Sunday: TBA vs. TBA

ACE
After another stellar performance on the mound against Coastal Carolina, Spencer Arrighetti was rewarded by earning Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week honors for the second time this season. Arrighetti is the conference leader in ERA (1.06), opposing batting average (.132), strikeouts (43) and looking strikeouts (17).

Sir Benjamin Bombs
Ben Fitzgerald has continued his reign on the the Sun Belt Conference, posting the 10th-highest batting average (.345), second-highest slugging percentage (.738) and seventh-highest on-base percentage (.444). Fitzgerald also blasted two home runs in one game against Coastal, the first player to accomplish this since Handsome Monica did so on April 6, 2019, against Arkansas State.

Rocc(afotre) solid
Carson Roccaforte is starting to heat up again, posting three multi-hit games against Coastal Carolina. Roccaforte even posted a four-hit game in the series, becoming the third Ragin' Cajuns to do so this year. Last Sunday on his birthday, Roccaforte collected a season-high three RBI.

One-hit shutout
Louisiana's Jack Burk, Will Moriarty, Peyton Havard and David Christie combined for a one-hit shutout against Coastal Carolina on Monday afternoon. Although the game was not considered a conference game, this was the first time Louisiana pitched a one-hitter against a Sun Belt foe since 2014 against Troy.

Better with age
Jack Burk earned his first start of the season on Monday against Coastal, posting a career-high eight strikeouts in five innings pitched. Burk has made three appearances on the year and lowered his season-ERA to 1.29 in 14.0 innings pitched.

Scouting the enemy
ULM currently owns a 10-11 record with impressive wins over No. 4 Ole Miss and No. 14 Oklahoma State on the year. According to the Sun Belt Preseason Poll, ULM was picked to fifth in the West Division.

Against ULM
Dating back to 2013, Louisiana has won its last 27 of 28 meetings against ULM. The last time the two teams played a three-game set, ULM did pick up a win in 2019, the first since May 19, 2012.

Louisiana Athletics
RaginCajuns.com
PRESS RELEASE

[NewsCopy]

It was only the first Sun Belt Conference series of the season.

But what the UL Ragin’ Cajuns were able to accomplish in winning the series against Coastal Carolina is something coach Matt Deggs hopes will be the turning point in the season.

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