BB G1 Final: Louisiana 3, Old Dominion 0

[NewsCopy]

The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Baseball team continues its six-game homestand on Friday when it opens a three-game Sun Belt Conference series against Old Dominion at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park.

First pitch for Friday's opener is scheduled for 6 p.m. The series resumes on Saturday at 2 p.m. and concludes with an 11 a.m. start on Sunday. All three games will be streamed live on ESPN+ with fans able to listen in the Lafayette area on KPEL-FM (96.5) and worldwide on the Varsity Network app.

Louisiana (13-8, 2-1 SBC) opened SBC play last weekend with a series win at Arkansas State, claiming the final two games of the series after opening with an 11-8 setback. The Ragin' Cajuns opened their current homestand with a pair of midweek wins beginning with a 17-7 win over Southern University before claiming a 4-1 victory over McNeese.

Trey LaFleur (.404-3-13), Josh Alexander (.328-1-10) and Kyle DeBarge (.303-8-23) are the top three hitters for Louisiana, which ranks fifth in the SBC with a team average of .281.

Left-hander Andrew Herrmann (1-1, 3.04 ERA) will earn the start in Friday's opener for Louisiana with right-hander Carson Fluno (1-0, 3.66 ERA) scheduled to pitch on Saturday. Freshman left-hander Chase Morgan (1-1, 2.66 ERA) will start on the mound in Sunday's finale.

The three-game series against ODU (13-8, 2-1 SBC) pits the SBC leaders in team ERA with the Monarchs (4.08) ranked first and Louisiana (4.38) second. The Ragin' Cajuns lead the SBC in strikeouts (230) and opposing batting average (.225), while allowing the second-fewest hits (155) among SBC staffs.

ODU, the SBC leader in stolen bases (48) on the season, is led offensively by the trio of Luke Waters (.346-4-20), Alex Bouche (.314-2-14) and Kyle Edwards (.288-1-15). The Monarchs have played 20 of their 21 games at home and will venture outside of the Commonwealth of Virginia for the first time this season.

A trio of southpaws will start on the mound for ODU beginning with Jay Cassady (0-1, 4.50 ERA) on Friday. Sophomores Dylan Brown (1-1, 3.86 ERA) and Ben Moore (0-0, 1.23 ERA) will start in the final two games of the series.

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).

Louisiana Athletics
RaginCajuns.com
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[Swamp]

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[moorecajun]

20 out of 21 games played at home this season; are they an sec team?

Welcome to Lafayette, home of the Ragin Cajuns!

[CajunVic]

20 out of 21 games played at home this season; are they an sec team?

Welcome to Lafayette, home of the Ragin Cajuns!

They travel enough with the freight line company. For baseball, they like to stay at home.

[Jacob81]

They played at virginia. They were supposed to play a midweek at William and Mary but it got postponed

[MountainDew]

Soft-throwing lefty on the bump in the Friday night role. I like it. Good to see Morgan back in the weekend rotation. He's been throwing well.

[sportsfanatic21]

ODU is starting 3 lefties this weekend. 2 of their best 3 relievers are lefties. All 3 starters are 6’4/6’5 and 225/230 lbs. One of LH relievers is also 6’5.

Of the 11 Cajuns batting .250 or better, 8 of them are LH hitters.

So, either guys like Yuhasz and Stelly will see a lot of ABs this weekend (and need to be successful) or the LH hitters will need to have a really good approach. And regulars that hit RH (Debarge, Torres, Pastore) will need to take advantage and have big weekends.

This series feels like runs will be at a premium. ODU is 1st in the SBC in ERA (Cajuns are 2nd)

ODU is 11th in batting avg, 13th in OB%, and 13th in SLG%. They do lead the league in stolen bases, and by a wide margin.

Cajuns are 5th in batting avg, 10th in OB%, and 9th in SLG%. And are 3rd in the league in SBs.

The teams are tied for 12th in FLD%, each with 27 errors in 21 games. (Yuck)

It’s still a bit early to matter, but ODU is currently #69 in RPI, while the Cajuns currently sit at #73.

[Turbine]

LA 00
OD 00

T1st

Geaux Cajuns

[MWolf]

Can someone tell the ESPN+ crew that the field mic by the ODU dugout is WAY too loud

[Turbine]

OD 00
LA 00

Mid 3rd

[Turbine]

OD 00
LA 00

End of 4

[MountainDew]

Why are we pulling Hermann here???? Low pitch count, first time in any trouble and pitching well. Let our friggin starter get out of the 5th man.