Louisiana Baseball Weekend Update Friday-Sunday, March 2-4, 2012 at UTSA Classic Wolff Stadium (9,200) | San Antonio, Texas | 2 p.m., 2 p.m., 4 p.m. Sun Belt Champions (1992, 1994, 1997, 2005, 2007, 2010) NCAA Regionals (1988, 1990-92, 1997-2000, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2010) NCAA Super Regionals (1999, 2000) College World Series (2000) PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS LOUISIANA GONZAGA Sr., RHP Jordan Nicholson FRIDAY So., LHP Marco Gonzales (1-0, 1.50 ERA) (1-0, 2.77 ERA) LOUISIANA KANSAS Jr., RHP Chris Griffitt SATURDAY Fr., LHP Wes Benjamin (1-1, 4.15 ERA) (1-0, 0.68 ERA) LOUISIANA UTSA Fr., RHP Austin Robichaux SUNDAY So., LHP Michael Kraft (0-0, 1.80 ERA) (1-1, 7.20 ERA) What’s On Tap: The Ragin’ Cajuns take part in the UTSA Classic in San STATISTICAL COMPARISON Antonio, Texas, Friday-Sunday, March 2-4 at Wolff Stadium, home of the minor CATEGORY UL GU KU UTSA league baseball team San Antonio Missions, Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. Louisiana will take on Gonzaga on Friday (2 p.m.), Kansas on Saturday (2 p.m.) and Overall Record 5-3 7-0 5-2 6-3 UTSA on Sunday (4 p.m.). Batting Average .283 .337 .268 .298 At Bats 265 279 224 319 Lone Star Travelers: This weekend’s trip to San Antonio marks the second tournament in the state of Texas for the Cajuns this season. Louisiana Runs Scored 45 54 36 61 opened the 2012 campaign in San Marcos, Texas, participating in the CenturyLink Hits 75 94 60 95 Bobcat Invitational. Doubles 15 19 10 12 Quick Reset: Louisiana finished off a perfect 4-0 homestand with a 6-4 Triples 4 1 4 4 come-from-behind win over Alcorn State at “The Tigue” Tuesday evening. Brian Home Runs 3 2 3 5 Bowman’s bases-loaded bunt single broke a 4-all tie in the bottom of the eighth Total Bases 107 121 87 130 inning. With the bases still loaded, Alcorn reliever Ryan Fuentes walked Ryan RBI 40 50 35 53 Leonards and UL had a two-run cushion heading to the ninth. Caleb Kellogg struck SB-SBA 12-19 1-3 7-11 14-18 out the side in the top of the ninth to put the finishing touches on two scoreless frames which earned him the victory. Slugging Percentage .404 .434 .388 .408 On-Base Percentage .380 .404 .386 .386 In Tournaments Under Robichaux: The Cajuns are 34-29 in regular season tournaments in the Robichaux era. Walks 41 28 38 40 Hit by Pitch 3 7 7 8 We’ve Been Here Before: Louisiana appears in the UTSA Classic for Strikeouts (Batting) 60 34 52 51 the second time in the past five years. In 2008, the Ragin’ Cajuns opened the campaign in the event. UL started with wins over Army and Texas Tech, then fell to Innings Pitched 71.0 66.0 59.0 83.0 Oral Roberts and host-UTSA in the final two outings. Team ERA 2.92 2.59 1.37 4.66 Opponent Batting Avg. .234 .245 .169 .276 Nice to Meet You: Louisiana’s first two contests in the UTSA Classic mark first-time meetings with both Gonzaga and Kansas. Runs Allowed 35 28 11 53 Strikeouts (Pitching) 51 52 50 64 The UTSA Series: The Ragin’ Cajuns and Roadrunners are meeting for the 10th time. Louisiana holds and 8-2 edge in the all-time series. Last meeting took Errors 14 15 5 17 place in the 2008 UTSA Classic with the Roadrunners claiming a 5-2 decision. Fielding Percentage .959 .947 .980 .952 Double Plays Turned 5 6 7 7 Compton Honored: Chase Compton continued his hot start to the 2012 season by clubbing out 10 base hits over four games for the Ragin' Cajuns last week and on Monday was named Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week. Louisiana: Tony Robichaux (613-412-1 at UL, 18th) Leader of the Pack: For the season, Chase Compton leads UL with a (876-589-1 overall, 26th) .500 average, five extra base hits, eight RBI and has struck out only twice in 33 plate appearances. Automatic Arm: Sophomore Matt Hicks has made four appearances, On Deck for Louisiana logged nine innings and has held the opposition scoreless. Opponents are hitting TUESDAY, MARCH 6 a meager .200 off Hicks. He pitched the final four innings vs. Towson on Friday, Opponent: Houston maintaining a 5-all tie until Chase Compton’s heroics in the 11th inning. Site: Lafayette, La. | M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field Zim on the Mend: The Cajuns are skipping Joe Zimmermann’s start in Game Time: 6 p.m. the weekend rotation as he recovers from a groin injury. Coach Robichaux hopes to WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7 have Zimmermann back for the Southern Miss series next weekend (March 9-11). Opponent: McNeese State Shorthanded: The Cajuns will be without the services of catcher Michael Site: Lake Charles, La. | Cowboy Diamond Strentz (elbow injury) for the remainder of the season. He’ll receive a medical Game Time: 6:30 p.m. hardship and return as a redshirt sophomore in 2013. Date Opponent Time (CT) Bases Noted Cajuns vs. current 2/18 vs. Wichita State# W, 1-0 ●Hard to believe, but UL opens Sun Belt action 2/19 vs. Santa Clara# L, 5-8 sun belt members 2/20 at Texas State# L, 5-9 at La.-Monroe in two weeks. The Cajuns and School Games Record (Pct.) 2/22 at Southeastern La. L, 5-6 Warhawks start the 10-week league schedule La.-Monroe 112 64-48 (.571) 2/24 TOWSON W, 6-5 (11) March 16-18 at Warhawk Field in Monroe. Arkansas State 101 67-34 (.663) 2/25 TOWSON (MyKLAF) W, 11-1 South Alabama 88 34-54 (.386) ●Senior catcher Chris Sinclair has held the Western Kentucky 62 39-23 (.629) 2/26 TOWSON W, 6-2 opposition close to the bag. Opponents have only 2/28 ALCORN STATE W, 6-4 UALR 58 45-13 (.776) 3/2 vs. Gonzaga$ 2:00 PM attempted six steals through eight games, and Middle Tennessee 58 32-26 (.552) 3/3 vs. Kansas$ 2:00 PM Sinclair has gunned down three of the six potential FIU 47 23-24 (.489) 3/4 at Texas-San Antonio$ 4:00 PM base stealers. Troy 26 17-9 (.654) Florida Atlantic 14 8-6 (.571) 3/6 HOUSTON 6:00 PM ●Jordan Nicholson, who surrendered the 3/7 at McNeese State 6:30 PM fewest earned runs among Sun Belt starting 3/9 SOUTHERN MISS 6:00 PM pitchers in 2011, turned in a quality start for 3/10 SOUTHERN MISS (MyKLAF) 2:00 PM Cajuns vs. Louisiana 3/11 SOUTHERN MISS 1:00 PM the second straight weekend, tossing 6.0 schools 3/13 SOUTHERN 6:00 PM innings in the 11-1 win over Towson last School Games Record (Pct.) 3/16 at La.-Monroe* 6:00 PM Saturday, striking out four while not allowing a McNeese State 146 84-62 (.575) 3/17 at La.-Monroe* 6:00 PM free pass. New Orleans 146 79-67 (.541) 3/18 at La.-Monroe* 1:00 PM Louisiana Tech 140 78-62 (.557) ●Nicholson has yet to issue a free pass through 3/20 TULANE (MyKLAF) 6:00 PM Northwestern State 124 76-48 (.613) 3/21 at Northwestern State 6:30 PM 12.0 innings of work and has surrendered only Nicholls State 117 66-50-1 (.568) six bas hits. 3/23 ARKANSAS STATE* 6:00 PM La.-Monroe 112 64-48 (.571) 3/24 ARKANSAS STATE* (MyKLAF) 2:00 PM ●After sitting behind Greg Fontenot, the school’s SE Louisiana 102 57-45 (.559) 3/25 ARKANSAS STATE* 1:00 PM career leader in assists, sophomore Ryan Tulane 83 43-40 (.518) 3/28 at LSU 6:30 PM Leonards has taken over the position. He‘s LSU 69 23-46 (.333) 3/30 at Florida Atlantic* 5:30 PM (CT) Southern 69 46-22-1 (.674) 3/31 at Florida Atlantic* 3:00 PM (CT) collected 41 assists through 62 chances so far Louisiana College 33 28-5 (.848) this season. 4/1 at Florida Atlantic* 12:00 PM (CT) Centenary 24 11-13 (.458) 4/3 SOUTHEASTERN LA 6:00 PM ●Leonards is off to a hot start at the plate, also. Grambling State 15 11-4 (.733) 4/6 WESTERN KY* 6:00 PM He’s clubbed 12 hits (second-most on team), Loyola-New Orleans 15 6-9 (.400) 4/7 WESTERN KY* (MyKLAF) 6:00 PM slugged .621 and posted a .526 on-base 4/8 WESTERN KY* 1:00 PM percentage through the first eight games. 4/10 at Southern 6:00 PM 4/13 FIU* 6:00 PM ●Fifth-year senior Brian Bowman tops the squad MOST PLAYED SERIES 4/14 FIU* (MyKLAF) 6:00 PM with six stolen bases in seven attempts. He’s hit School Games Record (Pct.) 4/15 FIU* (Sun Belt Network) 12:00 PM McNeese State 146 84-62 (.575) leadoff the past three games and gone 6-for-13 at New Orleans 146 79-67 (.541) 4/18 NORTHWESTERN STATE 6:00 PM the plate with three RBI and 5-of-6 in stolen bases. 4/20 at South Alabama* 6:30 PM Louisiana Tech 140 78-62 (.557) 4/21 at South Alabama* 6:30 PM ●Jordan Bourque will miss at least the first 2-3 Lamar 128 56-71-1 (.441) 4/22 at South Alabama* 1:00 PM weeks of the season with a wrist injury.