Ragin' Cajuns and pitcher Kevin Ardoin expect to turn the Tide

[NewsCopy]

Two pitchers who started the season as their club's solid No. 1 hurler will square off Friday, but both will be looking to answer questions when Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns take on Alabama in the NCAA Regional Baseball Tournament.

The third-seeded Cajuns (47-17) will go with senior righthander Kevin Ardoin (10-4, 3.42) in Friday's first day of the double-elimination tournament against Alabama sophomore lefthander Wade LeBlanc (4-5, 3.76).

LeBlanc, a product of Lake Charles, was dominant early in the 2005 season. He lost a tough 4-1 decision to Hawai'i in the season opener, but came back in his next three starts to fan 13, 17 and 13 batters against Duquesne, hometown school McNeese State and Miami.

At the end of the second game of the early-March series against Miami, though, LeBlanc suffered a freak injury and missed four weeks with a bruised left shoulder.

"We had a dogpile at home plate and he was on the bottom," said Alabama coach Jim Wells. "It's amazing that we were still winning without our number one through the first half of the SEC season."

LeBlanc didn't get back into action until a three-inning mid-week start against Memphis on April 12, and he started the second game of four straight SEC series. He returned to his Friday night role the last two weeks against Arkansas and Auburn along with starting the SEC Tournament opener against Ole Miss. He had two losses and a no-decision in that time, mostly because the Tide scored a grand total of six runs in those three games.He had two losses and a no-decision, mostly because the Tide scored a grand total of six runs in those three games.

"He's pitched better of late," Wells said. "Scoring runs has a lot to do with it."

Ardoin's situation is different. He was the Cajuns' Friday starter in all eight Sun Belt Conference series and was 10-1 at one point before suffering losses against Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky to close the regular season and to Middle in the Sun Belt Tournament.

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Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com

[racincajun]

Go get em Kevin. We'll be watching you on the tube.

[GoneGolfin]

LeBlanc, a product of Lake Charles, was dominant early in the 2005 season. He lost a tough 4-1 decision to Hawai'i in the season opener, but came back in his next three starts to fan 13, 17 and 13 batters against Duquesne, hometown school McNeese State and Miami.

At the end of the second game of the early-March series against Miami, though, LeBlanc suffered a freak injury and missed four weeks with a bruised left shoulder.

Note that the reference to Miami in this article is actually Miami-Ohio, not Miami, FL.

Brian

[lxa656]

The article also state that Tulane has struggled against lefties. I thought they hit lefties better?