Next Up: Road Trip to ULL Opens Week Six
Mar 19, 2012 | Baseball
March 19, 2012
3/20/12
Tulane Green Wave (14-6) at Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns (12-8)
First Pitch: 6:00 (Tue.)
Stadium: M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field
Series: Tulane Leads 41-40
Looking at the Green Wave
Tulane enters the week on a three game winning streak after sweeping their series with Brown over the weekend. The Green Wave will look to get their second midweek win of the season when they travel to M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field to take on Louisiana-Lafayette. This will be the fifth straight midweek tilt against an in-state university for the Olive and Blue, who enter the weekend with a 14-6 overall record.
The Green Wave enter the week with the offense clicking on all cylinders after posting 42 runs in three games over the weekend versus the Bears. After posting 20 runs on Saturday, Tulane scored 14 more on Sunday, marking the first time since 2010 that they put up back-to-back games of 10-plus runs.
Brandon Boudreaux posted two hits in all four games played last week and scored a run in each of those contests. The junior hit .471 overall (eight-for-17) and was named the Conference USA Player of the Week. He had three doubles and three RBIs over the weekend and scored nine runs in four games. Nick Schneeberger has six hits and eight walks in four games last week, leading the team with a .667 on-base percentage.
Jeremy Schaffer continues to move up the career home run charts at Tulane, leaving the park twice more last week. He now has 37 career longballs and is tied for ninth on the career charts with Steve Riley. The senior is just 10 RBIs away from the top-ten and nine doubles shy of cracking the list.
The bullpen continues to leave its mark on the team this season, with nine players tossing over 80 innings and allowing just 15 earned runs. The bullpen ERA is 1.68 and they are limiting opponents to a .186 batting average.
D.J. Ponder owns a 1-0 record with three saves, allowing just two runs on three hits. The senior has 18 innings of work and 19 strikeouts to six walks. Alex Facundus has fanned 17 batters in 16 innings, while Andrew Garner - the bullpen long reliever - has logged 16 innings in six appearances with a 3.31 ERA and .279 batting average against.
Looking at the Ragin' Cajuns
Louisiana-Lafayette won three of four games last week, taking a midweek tilt from Southern before grabbing two of three games in a road series at Louisiana-Monroe. The Ragin' Cajuns are 12-8 overall this season and are 4-1 in midweek games entering their contest with Tulane.
Ryan Leonards leads the team with a .364 batting average and has added 13 walks and one HBP to own a .452 on-base percentage. He has a team-best 28 hits and 17 runs scored, while ranking second on the team with 13 RBIs and 38 total bases. Dylan Butler is the run producer in the ULL lineup, driving in 25 RBIs - 12 more than the next closest teammate - to go along with five home runs and 11 runs scored. Brian Bowman is 12-for-13 in the stole base department for a team that is 28-of-41 in stole bases.
Austin Robichaux will make his fourth start of the season on the mound. The freshman right-handed pitcher is 0-2 with a 3.77 ERA in 14 1/3 innings of work. He has allowed 18 hits, walked six and struck out six batters in four appearances this season. Matt Hicks and Caleb Kellogg have split the closers role this season for the Ragin' Cajuns. Hicks has three saves and a 1-0 record, while Kellogg is 2-2 with a pair of saves in 2012.
Inside the Series
This series dates back to 1946 when the two teams split a pair of meetings. Tulane won the first meeting, 13-11, while ULL claimed the second game 7-1. The overall series couldn't get much closer with Tulane holding a 41-40 edge.
This will be the just the seventh meeting between the two schools in the past ten years, with Tulane winning their last encounter, 2-1, in 2010 at Turchin Stadium. The Green Wave last traveled to take on ULL in 2003 when they dropped at 9-8 decision.
Since 1970, Tulane is 12-19 in games played in Lafayette, La. and 22-18 in home contests. The two schools have met at a neutral site twice, with the Olive and Blue winning both of those meetings.
--www.TulaneGreenWave.com--
