Bobcats Travel for SBC Series at No. 24 UL Lafayette

by, Joshua Flanagan

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Bobcats head to Louisiana to play No. 24 UL Lafayette this weekend with games at 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. The Ragin’ Cajuns are the third ranked team the Bobcats have played this season, dropping games to No. 3 Texas A&M and No. 19 Rice. Currently, ULL sits second in the Sun Belt Conference while the Bobcats are looking to move up from fourth in the SBC.

Series Info: Texas State at No. 24 UL Lafayette

Site: M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field – Lafayette, La.

Dates: Friday, April 22 – Sunday, April 24

Time: Friday – 6 p.m. | Saturday – 6 p.m. | Sunday – 1 p.m.

Probable Pitching Matchups

Friday: #21 RHP Lucas Humpal (5-2, 2.55 ERA) vs. #17 LHP Gunner Leger (4-2, 2.56 ERA)

Saturday: #27 RHP Jeremy Hallonquist (3-3, 2.84 ERA) vs. #31 RHP Wyatt Marks (3-4, 5.20 ERA)

Sunday: #9 LHP Cory Geisler (3-1, 2.80 ERA) vs. #46 RHP Nick Lee (6-1, 2.96 ERA)

The Series

The Bobcats trail in the all-time series vs. UL Lafayette, 16-8. Texas State has lost the last two meetings against UL Lafayette, but beat the Ragin’ Cajuns in the opening round of last season’s Sun Belt Conference Championship Tournament. Head Coach Ty Harringtonstands at 7-12 against ULL, but the Bobcats have won a game in each series against the Ragin’ Cajuns since joining the Sun Belt Conference.

Last Meeting

The Bobcats upset UL Lafayette in the opening round of the SBC Championship Tournament last season, but fell twice to the Ragin’ Cajuns later to be eliminated. In the last meeting, a 6-2 Bobcat loss, Tanner Hill led the offense with two hits while Cory Geisler andCedric Vallieres each knocked in an RBI. Lucas Humpal tallied four strikeouts while Blake Whitter struck out two.

On the Ragin’ Cajuns

The UL Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns have won five of the team’s last six games and nine of the last 11. This year, ULL has swept Sam Houston State, beat Rice and Tulane, and took two of three against Southland Conference leader Southeastern Louisiana.

Kyle Clement has missed a few games this season but still leads the team with a .354 batting average while Joe Robbins owns the team lead in hits (43) and home runs (9). He is slugging .609 and has stolen six bases with a .323 batting average. In addition to that duo, Brian Mills is hitting .300 for the only other Ragin’ Cajun hitting .300 or better.

The Ragin’ Cajuns do have power, knocking 27 home runs this season with four hitters boasting three or more this year. In addition to the team’s power, it is aggressive around the bases with 37 steals on 62 attempts this season.

While UL Lafayette is historically known for its offense, the team’s pitching has been stellar this season. Led by Friday night ace lefty Gunner Leger (2.56 ERA, 38 strikeouts to nine walks), the team has a 3.33 ERA. Dylan Moore has nine saves this season with just a 0.66 ERA in 15 appearances and 27.1 innings pitched. Opponents are hitting .083 against him and .226 against the squad.

On the Bobcats

The Bobcats have dropped five games in a row and seven of the last eight so Texas State is looking to bust out of the slump at No. 24 UL Lafayette.

Texas State has shown a powerful offense this season with 34 home runs, seven more than UL Lafayette, including Tanner Hill’s 13 which sits him tied for seventh in the country. In fact, the Bobcats lead the conference in home runs, slugging percentage, total bases and at bats while sitting second in hits, triples and total plate appearances, so they certainly have the firepower to compete against the Ragin’ Cajuns.

With 378 hits, 223 runs, 198 RBIs and 106 extra-base hits, the Bobcats have eight players hitting .296 or better and seven Bobcats with 27 hits or more, led by Jonathan Ortega and his 54 hits.

The Bobcats will start their senior trio of Lucas Humpal, Jeremy Hallonquist and Cory Geisler. They have combined for 116 strikeouts to just 38 walks. The highest ERA among the trio is just 2.84 while Pasquale Mazzoccoli is tied for the conference lead in saves with nine.

A Look Ahead

After No. 24 UL Lafayette, Texas State will travel to Texas for the midweek game before hosting Troy at Bobcat Ballpark next weekend.