Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns (10-13) vs. #19 LSU Fighting Tigers (16-9)
15th Annual Wally Pontiff Jr. Foundation Classic
DATE/TIME
Tuesday, March 27 – 7 p.m. CT
STADIUM
Shrine on Airline in Metairie, La.
RANKINGS
LSU – No. 19 by Collegiate Baseball; No. 21 by Baseball America
ULL – unranked
RADIO
LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates, including WDGL 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge
Live audio at www.LSUsports.net/live
Live stats at www.LSUstats.com
TV
Cox Sports Television
ONLINE
ESPN3.com (online streaming blacked out in Cox Sports Television markets)
SERIES RECORD
LSU leads the all-time series with UL-Lafayette, 55-25, as the squads first met in 1912. LSU has won five of the last six and 15 of the 21 meetings with ULL since 2000. Tuesday’s game marks the second meeting this season between the teams – ULL posted a 4-3, 10-inning win over the Tigers on March 7 at Moore Field in Lafayette. Tuesday’s game marks the fourth straight year and fifth time overall LSU and the Cajuns will meet in the Wally Pontiff Jr. Classic – the Tigers have won each of the previous four games in 2009, 2015, 2016 and 2017. LSU coach Paul Mainieri has an 11-4 career mark against UL-Lafayette.
ABOUT THE WALLY PONTIFF JR. FOUNDATION CLASSIC
• Wally Pontiff Jr., an all-SEC third baseman at LSU, died in 2002 at the age of 21 due to a heart abnormality. Proceeds from Tuesday’s game will go to the Wally Pontiff Jr. Foundation, which benefits charitable organizations throughout Louisiana.
• LSU is 12-2 in the Wally Pontiff Jr. Foundation Classic, which began in 2004 when the Tigers posted a 9-3 win over Southeastern Louisiana. The Tigers are 1-0 vs. Southeastern Louisiana, 1-1 vs. Rice, 1-1 vs. New Orleans, 4-0 vs. UL-Lafayette, 4-0 vs. Southern Miss and 1-0 vs. Southern University in Wally Pontiff Jr. Classic games. Last season, the Tigers posted an 3-2 win over UL-Lafayette in the Pontiff Classic.
• LSU’s first game at the Shrine on Airline occurred in 1998 vs. Tulane, and the Tigers have an all-time record of 25-12 at the AAA minor league facility.
PITCHING MATCHUP
LSU – Fr. RHP AJ Labas (2-0, 2.25 ERA, 16.0 IP, 2 BB, 10 SO)
ULL – Jr. LHP Hogan Harris (0-1, 8.31 ERA, 4.1 IP, 5 BB, 5 SO)
QUOTING PAUL MAINIERI
“I like the way our team is playing right now, but there are always areas in which we can improve. We’re third in the SEC in hitting right now, but we do need to score more runs. We’ve also had a number of significant injuries, and that certainly is a cause for concern. When we get healthy, we’ll be better. My style of coaching is to constantly encourage improvement on our team. I’d rather keep improving than start a season fast and fade. I think we’re in a good position, especially considering what we’ve had to deal with so far. We’re definitely looking forward to playing in the New Orleans area for the Wally Pontiff Jr. Classic. The game supports philanthropic causes and honors the legacy of a tremendous LSU student-athlete, and we love playing in front of all the great LSU fans in New Orleans.”
ABOUT THE TIGERS
• The Tigers are No. 19 in this week’s Collegiate Baseball poll, marking the 121st consecutive week the Tigers have appeared in the poll … LSU has been ranked every week since the beginning of the 2012 season.
• LSU is 3-3 in the SEC after last weekend’s series at No. 5 Vanderbilt, and the Tigers are only one game out of first place in the Western Division behind Arkansas and Ole Miss.
• The LSU pitching staff was very effective in the Tigers’ series at fifth-ranked Vanderbilt last weekend, limiting the Commodores to a .209 (18-for-86) batting average while allowing only seven runs in three games.
• Freshman right-hander AJ Labas will make his fourth career start in Tuesday’s game. He also started in the March 7 LSU-ULL game in Lafayette, working three shutout innings with four hits no walks and three strikeouts. Labas threw 40 pitches in the outing.
• Freshman leftfielder Daniel Cabrera batted a team-best .538 (7-for-13) in LSU’s four games last week with two doubles, one triple, two RBI and five runs.
• Junior rightfielder Antoine Duplantis hit .467 (7-for-15) last week with one homer, four RBI, two runs and four stolen bases … Duplantis batted .545 (6-for-11) in LSU’s series at Vanderbilt last weekend with one homer, two RBI, two runs and three stolen bases.
• Senior designated hitter Beau Jordan batted .400 (4-for-10) against Vanderbilt with two RBI and one run scored.
ABOUT THE CAJUNS
• UL-Lafayette is hitting .213 as a team this season with 26 doubles, four triples, six homers and 24 steals in 33 attempts. The Cajuns pitching staff has a 3.65 ERA and a .234 opponent batting average.
• The Cajuns’ leading hitter is junior outfielder Gavin Bourgeois, who is batting .311 with five doubles, nine RBI and 16 runs. Senior infielder/outfielder Kennon Fontenot has three doubles, two homers and 14 RBI, and junior infielder Hunter Kasuls has three doubles, one triple, two homers and 13 RBI.