LAFAYETTE (Press Release) – A week after taking two of three games at Coastal Carolina, the Louisiana Baseball team will play at Russo Park for the final time this season when it welcomes Georgia State for a three-game series. Game times are set for 6:30 p.m., on Friday, 4 p.m., on Saturday and 11 a.m. on Sunday.
It is another important weekend for the Ragin’ Cajuns, who need to finish strong down the stretch to secure a spot in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament in Conway, South Carolina. The top 10 teams in the league standings are eligible for postseason play.
Louisiana (22-28, 10-14) was stellar at the plate in its most recent outing, posting 40 hits and 28 runs against Coastal Carolina en route to a series victory. Junior Todd Lott led the charge at the plate for the Ragin’ Cajuns, totaling nine hits, seven RBI and five runs scored against the Chanticleers. His efforts at the plate earned him LSWA Hitter of the Week honors.
Lott continues to pace the offense, hitting at a .344 clip (56-for-163) overall and a .402 clip (37-for-92) in league play. Hayden Cantrelle leads the team in hits (61), runs scored (46), on-base percentage (.427), stolen bases (27), at bats (196) and total bases (99) and is hitting .311 on the year (61-for-196), while Hunter Kasuls’ 56 hits are tied for the second most on the team and have him hitting .303.
The Ragin’ Cajuns will go with a familiar starting rotation this weekend. Jack Burk (3.18 ERA, 2-2) gets the nod on Friday night and Brandon Young (5.06 ERA, 2-5) will make a start on Saturday, with Sunday’s pitcher currently listed as TBA.
Georgia State (14-35, 5-19) enters the series coming off a midweek loss to Presbyterian on Wednesday night and having dropped two of three games at Texas State last weekend. Brandon Bell has started in all 49 of the Panthers’ games, hitting .326 (62-for-190) with 30 runs scored and 19 RBI.
The Panthers will send right-hander Hunter Gaddis (5.45 ERA, 1-6) to the bump on Friday night, with lefty Tyler Koch (7.04 ERA, 0-3) getting the call on Saturday. The team’s Sunday pitcher is currently listed as TBA.
Louisiana has dominated the series since it first began in 2014, boasting a 10-2 mark through the first 12 games. The Ragin’ Cajuns have also won all six of the previous meetings in Lafayette, the most recent series sweep on home soil coming in 2016.
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