Their grins tell volumes.

Kraig Schambough is riding a streak of solid relief outings, restoring the confidence of a pitcher who thrives on emotion.

Thad Montgomery is one pitch away from having seven straight quality appearances, and after four years finally has a role with Louisiana's Ragin' Cajun baseball team.

But they're not grinning about their personal success, the Cajuns' current 36-8 record and a national ranking as high as 13th, or even their roles in the squad's winning ways.

They're laughing about how much they enjoy embarrassing hitters.

"We love making our opponents look stupid at the plate," said Montgomery. "That's just what pitchers love to do."

"Knowledge is power," said Schambough. "We have the knowledge. They don't."

Cocky? Probably so. But pitching, especially relief pitching, is as much about attitude as it is ability, and Cajun coach Tony Robichaux likes both of those characteristics in a duo that has emerged as his right-handed stoppers.

"With their seniority and having been here, they know our pitching system backwards and forwards," Robichaux said. "Our biggest goal this year was to take care of pitching in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, because if we took care of that we were going to be very tough to beat. They've pretty much been rock solid from the right side."

Schambough has been the Cajuns' most consistent reliever for the past three seasons and is tied for UL's career record for saves (10). But this season has been his best, with a 4-1 record and a 3.24 ERA with three saves, and 16 of his 19 appearances have been strong ones.

And Montgomery? He's just happy to be near the front of the bus after four years of struggles. He's 1-1 with three saves and a 2.45 ERA in 13 outings.

"It absolutely feels great," said Montgomery, who threw the ninth inning in Wednesday's 6-2 Cajun win at McNeese State. "I haven't been able to contribute like this in past years, and that makes it so sweet to do this."

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Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com