MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Baseball team opens play in the 2022 Guardian Credit Union Sun Belt Baseball Championship on Wednesday when it faces No. 5-seeded South Alabama at Riverwalk Stadium.
First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and can be heard in the Lafayette area on KPEL-FM (96.5), the Varsity Network and the #GeauxCajuns app.
Fourth-seeded Louisiana (33-21) makes its 27th appearance in the Sun Belt Championships where it has posted a 48-42 record. The Ragin’ Cajuns have won four SBC Tournament titles, including three straight from 2014-16.
Louisiana meets South Alabama (31-22) for the 17th time in SBC Tournament play with the Ragin’ Cajuns holding a 9-7 advantage. The Ragin’ Cajuns and Jaguars meet in the SBC postseason for the first time since Louisiana claimed a 5-1 victory in 11 innings in the 2015 Championship.
GAME 55 PREVIEW
No. 4 Louisiana (33-21) vs. No. 5 South Alabama (31-22)
DATES/TIMES (time is subject to change)
Wednesday, May 25 – 4 p.m.
LOCATION/SITE
Riverwalk Stadium (7,000) | Montgomery, Ala.
PITCHING MATCHUPS
Louisiana – LH Brandon Talley (3-3, 4.16 ERA)
South Alabama – RH Matt Boswell (6-4, 4.67 ERA)
RANKINGS
Louisiana – Unranked
South Alabama – Unranked
RADIO/TV/LIVE STATISTICS
Radio – KPEL-FM (96.5)
Streaming – ESPN+
Live Stats – CajunStats.com
SERIES RECORD
South Alabama leads, 69-52
LEADING OFF
• Louisiana has won nine of the last 11 contests in postseason play against the Jaguars.
• Louisiana claimed two of three games against South Alabama during the regular season in Lafayette beginning with an 11-inning victory in the opener and 6-3 decision in the rubber game.
• Louisiana defeated Texas State and App State in Pool C play in last year’s event at Riverwalk Stadium before falling in extra innings to Georgia Southern in the semifinals.
SCOUTING LOUISIANA
Led by first-team All-Sun Belt Conference members Carson Roccaforte (.392-16-66) and Julian Brock (.306-6-31), Louisiana finished the regular season as the SBC leader in earned run average (4.21), hits allowed per nine innings (8.39), stolen bases (126), stolen bases per game (2.33), triples (24), triples per game (0.44) and WHIP (1.37).
Heath Hood (.341-4-32), Connor Kimple (.321-9-36) and Montgomery, Ala., native Tyler Robertson (.319-3-29) each hit over the .300-mark for the Ragin’ Cajuns during the regular season.
The Ragin’ Cajuns claimed the 2021 SBC West Division title last season and went 2-0 in Pool C play before falling to Georgia Southern in the semifinals.
SCOUTING SOUTH ALABAMA
Mile Simington hit .386 during the regular season to lead defending SBC champion South Alabama with Erick Orbeta hitting .337 and Hunter Stokes .314.
Right-hander Matt Boswell, the starter in Wednesday’s contest, ended the regular season as the Sun Belt Conference leader in strikeouts (89), and ranked tied for fourth in the league in wins (6), tied for seventh in walks allowed (19) and 10th in opponent batting average (.241).
Boswell tossed a complete game with eight strikeouts and one walk and allowed five runs on four hits in nine innings in a 6-5 win over Louisiana on March 26 in Lafayette.
UP NEXT
The winner of the Louisiana-South Alabama game will face the winner of top-seeded Texas State and No. 10-seed ULM on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The loser will face the loser of the Texas State-ULM on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. in an elimination game.
Fans are encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin' Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here [apps.apple.com] for iOS/Apple platforms and here [play.google.com] for Android platforms.
For the latest updates on Ragin' Cajuns baseball, follow on Facebook (RaginCajunsBaseball), Twitter (@RaginCajunsBSB) and Instagram (@RaginCajunsBSB) or check RaginCajuns.com.
------------------------------------------------------------
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
To reach the newsroom or report a typo/correction, click HERE.
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox. Select from these options: Breaking News, Evening News Headlines, Latest COVID-19 Headlines, Morning News Headlines, Special Offers