Cajuns Baseball To Face UT Arlington In Clash Of West Division Leaders

THE WEEKEND SERIES
Dates: Friday-Sunday, April 28-30, 2017
Location: Arlington, Texas
Site: Clay Gould Ballpark (1,600)
Times: 6:30 p.m. (Fri) | 2:00 p.m. (Sat) | 1:00 p.m. (Sun)
Opponent: UT Arlington (23-17, 13-5 Sun Belt)
Radio: News Talk 96.5 KPEL-FM
Television: None
Live Stats/Video: www.RaginCajuns.com

STARTING PITCHERS
Friday: LHP Gunner Leger (LA) vs. RHP Kadon Simmons (UTA)
Saturday: RHP Nick Lee (LA) vs. RHP Trae Patterson (UTA)
Sunday: LHP Hogan Harris (LA) vs. LHP Jakob Hernandez (UTA)

ARLINGTON, Texas – The 20th-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball team is set to face UT Arlington in a three-game series that pits the top two teams in the Sun Belt Conference Western Division against each other starting Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Clay Gould Ballpark.

The Cajuns (27-14-1, 13-4-1 Sun Belt) and Mavericks (23-17, 13-5 Sun Belt) are slated to meet in game two of the series on Saturday at 2 p.m. before closing out the weekend on Sunday with a 1 p.m. first pitch.

All three contests can be heard live on News Talk 96.5 KPEL-FM with Jay Walker and Jeff Schneider on the call. Live stats and video are available on RaginCajuns.com.

Louisiana comes into the series on a nine-game win streak after defeating Texas 8-1 in Sugar Land, Texas on Tuesday. The Ragin' Cajuns are unbeaten in their last 18 series including back-to-back sweeps of Arkansas State and Little Rock in conference play.

Junior left-hander Gunner Leger (8-1, 1.27 ERA) comes into the weekend tied for the national lead in victories while boasting the seventh best ERA in the country. Leger will take the mound on Friday and square off against UTA senior right-hander Kadon Simmons (6-2, 3.18 ERA).

The Cajuns will tab right-hander Nick Lee (5-3, 5.44 ERA) to make the start Saturday, while left-hander Hogan Harris (3-0, 2.49 ERA) will close out the weekend on the mound.

The Mavericks will counter with junior right-hander Trae Patterson (4-3, 2.88 ERA) on Saturday and junior left-hander Jakob Hernandez (4-0, 3.28 ERA) on Sunday.

Louisiana enters the series ranked fifth in the Sun Belt offensively hitting .277 with 73 doubles, 12 triples and 27 home runs. Junior Steven Sensley paces the squad with a .338 average including eight doubles, two triples and a team-best seven home runs and 32 RBI. Senior Joe Robbins is second on the team with 32 RBI and five home runs, while Ishmael Edwards has a league-best five triples hitting .315.

The Ragin' Cajuns hold a 29-15 all-time series edge over UT Arlington after taking two of three games from the Mavericks in Arlington a year ago. The Cajuns and Mavs have met 11 times in the last three seasons with Louisiana going 9-2 during that span including a 4-2 record at Clay Gould Ballpark.

UTA has won five straight games coming into the series after sweeping ULM last weekend on the road. The Mavs won a narrow 3-2 decision in the series opener against the Warhawks before rolling to 10-2 and 10-3 victories to complete the sweep.

UT Arlington has won four straight series in conference play since losing two out of three games to Georgia Southern at home in late March.

The Mavericks rank sixth in the Sun Belt in hitting with a .274 average including 55 doubles, nine triples and 22 home runs. Will Olson leads UT Arlington offensively hitting .350 with four doubles, two homers and 17 RBI. Senior Quintin Rohrbaugh has a .319 average, a team-best nine doubles, three home runs and 29 RBI, while Omar Salinas has a team-high seven homers and 33 RBI.

For the latest updates on Ragin' Cajuns baseball, follow Ragin' Cajuns baseball on Facebook (RaginCajunsBaseball), Twitter (@RaginCajunsBSB) and Instagram (@RaginCajunsBSB) or check RaginCajuns.com.

-- Ragin' Cajuns --

Cajuns Baseball To Face UT Arlington In Clash Of West Division Leaders

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Players Mentioned

Ishmael Edwards

Hogan Harris

Nick Lee

Gunner Leger

Joe Robbins

Steven Sensley

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