MONROE, La. -- The ULM baseball team will conclude the 2013 campaign as it welcomes in-state rival UL-Lafayette for a three-game Sun Belt Conference series beginning Thursday night at 6 p.m. Game two of the series is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday, followed by Saturday's finale at 6 p.m.
FIRST PITCH
• ULM will wrap up the 2013 regular season as it welcomes in-state rival UL-Lafayette to Warhawk Field for a three-game series beginning Thursday night... The Ragin' Cajuns won all three meetings in Lafayette earlier this season.
• ULM will bid farewell to its group of seniors prior to first pitch Saturday night... Senior night festivities will begin at 5:30 p.m.
• Justin Stawychny recorded his first multi-homer game of his career as he belted a pair in the finale at Middle Tennessee (May 12)... The sophomore's three-run HR in the sixth gave ULM a 3-2 lead and he hit his second of the game in the 10th as he snuck one in along the foul pole in left.
• Dalton Herrington extended his hitting streak to 11 games as he ledoff the second inning at Middle Tennessee (May 12) with a single through the right side... Herrington has also reached base safely in 13 straight games.
• ULM's comeback attempt at Middle Tennessee (May 11) came up just short as the Warhawks fell, 7-6... In the 9th, Corben Green connected on a two-run homer and Chris Dudley had a RBI double but that concluded the scoring for the Warhawks in the final frame.
• Seven different Warhawks tallied multiple hit performances in the series opening win at Middle Tennessee (W, 11-3, May 10)... In the game that spanned two days due to rain, ULM was led by Dalton Todd (two hits, three RBI [career-high]), Dalton Herrington (two hits, four RBI [career-high], two runs) and Brandon Alexander (three hits, two RBI, two runs).
• Cale Wine earned the win after limiting the Blue Raiders (May 10) to just three runs in five innings of work... Wine's outing lasted just 71 pitches but he was removed when the game resumed Saturday.
SAYING GOODBYE
The Warhawk baseball team will say goodbye to its group of seniors prior to first pitch on Saturday night. ULM fans are encouraged to arrive early to the ballpark as the program bids farewell to its departing group of student athletes at 5:30 p.m.
ULM/UL-LAFAYETTE SERIES
ULM and UL-Lafayette have met on the baseball diamond 121 times with the Ragin' Cajuns leading the all-time series, 69-52. In Sun Belt meetings (dating back to 2007), the Ragin' Cajuns lead the all-time series, 11-7. Each team has recorded a sweep in the last two series meetings. ULM swept UL-Lafayette to close out the regular season in 2012 (May 17-19) and the Ragin' Cajuns returned the favor as they swept the Warhawks in Lafayette to open the 2013 conference season (March 15-17).
SCOUTING THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
The UL-Lafayette baseball team enters the final weekend of the season with a 35-17 overall record and a 16-11 mark in league play. If the conference tournament were to begin this week rather than next, the Ragin' Cajuns would claim the tournament's number three seed by virtue of a series win over Florida Atlantic (31-20, 16-11). Depending on how the final weekend turns out, the Ragin' Cajuns could be seeded anywhere from second to fifth in next week's conference tournament held at M. L. Tigue Moore Field in Lafayette, La.
Tyler Girouard leads the team with a .374 batting average, while Dex Kjerstad sits just three points back and a team-best 76 hits. Seth Harrison leads the club with 53 runs scored, with Kjerstad sitting second at 49. Caleb Adams is the Ragin' Cajuns leader in RBI with 44, followed by Dylan Butler with 40 RBI.
As a pitching staff, the Ragin' Cajuns have surrendered 237 earned runs (266 total) in 458.2 innings for a combined ERA of 4.45. UL-Lafayette has struck out 339 batters while walking just 145 and opponents are batting .280 off of the Ragin' Cajun pitching staff. The visitors will send Austin Robichaux to the hill in the series opener Thursday night. The sophomore right-hander is 7-2 on the season with a 3.26 ERA in 85.2 innings of work. He has struck out 68, while surrendering just 20 walks and limiting opponents to a .246 batting average. Cody Boutte will get the nod in game two of the series. The southpaw is 8-3 on the year with a 5.26 ERA in 77.0 innings on the mound. He has recorded 54 strikeouts, walked 24 batters and opponents are batting just below .300 off of the junior.
