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+.
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.
