Kevin Foote: What Cajuns need to do to secure Sun Belt crown
Much of the preseason schedule-watching for the UL Ragin’ Cajuns revolved around back-to-back series against Coastal Carolina and Southern Miss in late April.
It’s no secret why with the history of those programs and the fact the Chanticleers were the preseason picks to win the league, followed by the Golden Eagles second.
With three series left in the Sun Belt race, however, this weekend’s road trip to Troy might be the biggest weekend of the entire Sun Belt schedule for the Cajuns — starting at 6 p.m. Friday.
“That’s a tough group over there now,” UL coach Matt Deggs said of Troy. “They’re starting to play great. I’m looking forward to it.”
For the record, the Trojans were picked to finish third in the preseason poll. Troy is currently in sole possession of second place at 32-14 overall and 14-7 in league play.
UL currently stands atop the league standings at 33-13 and 17-4, despite being picked to finish fourth prior to the season.
“They’re going to play hard,” Deggs said. “They’re going to be able to pitch it. They’ve got a really good offense and they play extremely well in their ballpark, very similar to Coastal.”
Much like the Texas State and Coastal series, Troy has a unique ballpark — shallow with a high wall in right field.
“It’s a little different because it’s only half the field — you’ve got from center field over to right that is hitter friendly,” Deggs explained. “I think it’s a fair ballpark. It’s fun to hit it, but if you pitch it well, you can still pitch it well.”
The Trojans have certainly hit it well in Sun Belt play — ranking No. 5 in batting average, third in runs scored, third in on-base, fourth in slugging and second in walks.
Leading the way at the plate are: Ethan Kavanagh (.370, 2 HRs, 44 RBIs), Kole Myers (.363, 9 HRs, 33 RBIs) and Kyle Mock (.338, 7 HRs, 33 RBIs).
That last category is on top of Deggs’ mind after his staff struggled to throw strikes at Coastal.
“The challenge is always within us and it’s to win that freebie battle. We can’t go in like we did at Coastal and be generous with a lot of walks and errors.
“The ability to throw strike one, dominate routine plays and get good pitches and find the barrel is going to be paramount is going to be the key.”
Another interesting stat is the Trojans are second in grounding into double plays with 17 in 21 league games.
UL’s expected rotation is Andrew Herrmann (5-2, 2.70) in game one and Chase Morgan (4-1, 2.73) Saturday, but officially to be announced in the finale.
Troy counters with Garrett Gainous (1-2, 5.08) Friday, followed by Luke Lyon (2-2 ,6.75) Saturday. Lyon has two complete games on the season, while Preseason Pitcher of the Year Grayson Stewart is 2-2 with a 6.75 ERA over 44 innings.
Sun Belt standings
Louisiana 17-4 33-13
Troy 14-7 32-14
Southern Miss 12-9 27-17
Ga. Southern 12-9 23-21
App State 11-9-1 26-14-1
Coastal Carolina 11-10 27-17
James Madison 11-10 25-18
Old Dominion 11-10 24-19
South Alabama 10-11 25-18
Georgia State 10-11 21-23
Texas State 8-13 22-23
UL Monroe 7-14 19-24
Arkansas State 6-14-1 19-24-1
Marshall 6-15 13-29