CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Baseball team makes its 18th appearance in the NCAA Regionals beginning on Friday when it faces No. 15-ranked Texas in the opening game of the Coral Gables Regional at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.
First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT. All games in the Coral Gables Regional will be streamed live on ESPN+.
The opening day of the Coral Gables Regional will feature host and No. 8-ranked Miami (40-19) against America East champion Maine (32-19) at 6 p.m. CT.
Louisiana earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Regionals after reaching the championship game of last week’s Guardian Credit Sun Belt Conference Championships in Montgomery, Ala. The Ragin’ Cajuns reached the finals after earning a sweep of top-seeded Coastal Carolina in the bracket final.
Kyle DeBarge (.370-6-35), Heath Hood (.336-6-40), Conor Higgs (.326-6-31), Julian Brock (.318-11-62), Carson Roccaforte (.309-6-51) and John Taylor (.302-7-46) are Louisiana’s top hitters entering the postseason. The Ragin’ Cajuns enter the regional ranked third nationally in stolen bases (161) and are sixth in the country in fielding percentage (.982).
Louisiana will send Jackson Nezuh (9-5, 6.14 ERA) to the mound against Big 12 regular-season champion Texas (38-20). The right-hander fanned a team-high 95 batters in 85.0 innings for the Ragin’ Cajuns.
Texas won its 10th Big 12 Championship, clinching a share of the regular season title with a sweep of West Virginia. The Longhorns earned the top seed in last week’s Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship but went 0-2 in the tournament. Texas is batting .297 with 85 homers, the second-most in program history. The pitching staff leads the Big 12 and ranks 13th nationally with a 4.13 ERA, while the defense ranks first in the Big 12 and 15th nationally.
Peyton Powell has had a breakout season for the Longhorns and is the team’s leading hitter with a .358 batting average, 15 doubles, 10 homers, and 43 RBI. Powell burst onto the scene during March, starting all 19 games and picking up at least one hit in 16-of-19, with multiple hits in 11 of them.
Lucas Gordon, the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year and All-American, will earn the start in Friday’s Longhorn opener after posting a 2.55 ERA and a 6-1 record in 16 appearances (15 starts) this season. Gordon struck out 90 batters in 88.1 innings pitched through the Big 12 Championships while also holding hitters to a .219 batting average against.
