On Campus: Cajuns Are Ragin' Their Way Back Into Regional Contention

SUGAR LAND, Texas—Louisiana-Lafayette entered the season ranked No. 13 and as the Sun Belt Conference favorite. But the Ragin’ Cajuns scuffled a bit in the first half of the season and were 18-14-1 a couple weeks ago coming off a tough stretch of a series at Coastal Carolina and facing Louisiana State in the Wally Pontiff Classic in Metairie, La.

Since then, however, Louisiana has done anything but scuffle. The Cajuns have found their stride and have won nine straight games, the second-longest winning streak in the nation, behind only Creighton’s 11-game run. The streak, which was extended Tuesday with an 8-1 victory against Texas at Constellation Field, has pushed the Cajuns (27-14-1,13-4-1) to No. 49 in RPI and back into range for an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament should they falter in the Sun Belt Conference tournament.

Coach Tony Robichaux identifies Louisiana’s 18-2 victory against Nicholls State a week before the winning streak began as the start of the team’s turnaround. The Cajuns’ offense had sputtered in the first half of the season, but came together that night for season highs in runs and hits (21).

Robichaux said it was against Nicholls that Louisiana’s hitters collectively locked in on the approach they needed.

“I think when you have an approach like that, it’s so much more difficult for a pitcher,” he said. “Pitchers were wriggling through our lineup. They’d work around the guy with approach and get the guy out that was spinning.”

Louisiana is averaging seven runs per game during the winning streak, up from the 5.3 runs it averaged in the season’s first 31 games.

Louisiana’s M.L. Tigue Moore Field has undergone renovations this year, and the construction disrupted the Cajuns’ fall practice schedule. Robichaux said they calculated that they lost about 700 at bats during the fall. As a result, hitters weren’t seeing the ball well early in the season and started pressing.

“Since we’ve turned this around, I think we believe we can hit now,” Robichaux said. “Our horse just stumbled out of the gate. I’m just glad he didn’t lay down. He got up and started running. Hopefully we can keep him running to the finish line.”

Outfielder Steven Sensley is one of the Cajuns who has gotten locked in at the plate. During the winning streak, he is 15-for-34 with five home runs. That hot streak has pushed his season batting line to .338/.411/.566 with seven home runs and 32 RBIs, all team highs.

Sensley combines with seniors Ishmael Edwards (.315/.378/.494), Brad Antchak (.275/.356/.388) and Joe Robbins (.289/.358/.440) to form a strong, experienced core at the top of the order.

Louisiana has pitched well all season, led by ace Gunner Leger (8-1, 1.27) and bullpen ace Wyatt Marks (2-1, 1.32, 79 SO, 47.2 IP). Its 3.03 team ERA ranks 11th in the country, and its .980 fielding percentage ranks 16th. Now with the offense on track, Louisiana has the complete team it envisioned at the start of the season.

“Once we started playing good baseball all together, I knew this team was going to hit a roll and we were going to get things going at the end of the season,” Robbins said.

Louisiana will look to extend its streak this weekend at Texas-Arlington (23-17, 13-5). The series also holds significant implications in the Sun Belt race, as the Mavericks enter the weekend just a half-game behind the Cajuns in the Sun Belt West Division.

As the season approaches its final month, Robichaux wants his team to keep the mindset that has worked so well for it of late. He said he has emphasized to the Cajuns that the reward for success is the opportunity to do more. It is a message they have embraced.

“Now, when I close the huddle after a win, I ask them, ‘What did you earn the right to do?’” Robichaux said. “They say, ‘To do more.’ Because they have to keep that mentality. And if we can do that, I don’t know if we’re going to win every game down the stretch, but it gives you a better chance to compete night in and night out.”

News and Notes

Atlantic Coast Conference: Clemson announced this week that Seth Beer will return to USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team this summer. Beer, the 2016 Freshman of the Year, didn’t have an easy summer at the plate last year, hitting .178/.315/.267 with one home run in 17 games. Beer is having another strong season for No. 6 Clemson and goes into this weekend’s series at No. 3 North Carolina batting .285/.461/.616 with a team-high 12 home runs and 43 walks and 22 strikeouts. . . North Carolina State coach Elliott Avent won his 1,000th career game Tuesday when the Wolfpack defeated North Carolina Central, 13-0. Avent is in his 28th season as a head coach, 21 at NC State and seven at New Mexico State. Avent’s career record is now 1,001-699, including 775 wins with the Wolfpack.

Big 12 Conference: The Big 12 continues to top the conference RPI leaderboard this season, as all nine of its teams rank in the top 100 and have winning records. With seven teams ranked in the top 50 of RPI, the conference could be on its way to a landmark postseason. Since losing Missouri, Nebraska and Texas A&M in conference realignment, the Big 12’s high-water mark for teams in the NCAA Tournament is five in 2014. The conference this season has a good chance to at least match the six NCAA Tournament bids it got in 2011 and could have the most postseason teams it’s had since eight Big 12 teams made the 2009 tournament. Oklahoma State coach Josh Holliday said he thinks every team in the league has improved from last season. “I’ve always felt like Big 12 baseball was better than it was celebrated,” he said. “Getting three teams in Omaha last year piqued people’s interest and then a couple teams ran out to big records early this season and earned some respect.” . . . The Kansas City Chiefs selected Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes on Thursday with the 10th overall pick in the NFL draft. Mahomes, the son of former major league pitcher Pat Mahomes, was also a talented baseball player and was drafted 1,120th overall by the Tigers in the 2014 MLB draft. Mahomes went on to Texas Tech to continue playing both sports, but dropped baseball before the 2016 season to concentrate on football. He appeared in just three games on the diamond for the Red Raiders, two as a hitter and one as a pitcher.

Big Ten Conference: Purdue has won five straight games, continuing its turnaround under first-year coach Mark Wasikowski from last season’s dismal 10-44 record. The Boilermakers (23-18) have not trailed in the last 39 innings, dating back to the seventh inning of their comeback win April 19 at Indiana State. It is the longest such streak for Purdue since May 2012, when it was on its way to winning the Big Ten regular-season title.

Pac-12 Conference: No. 1 Oregon State (32-3) picked up another honor this week at the athletic department’s Academic Achievement Gala. The Beavers were honored for having the top male team GPA at the university with a 3.2898 mark in the fall quarter and a 3.3015 mark in the winter quarter.

Southeastern Conference: Mississippi State’s pitching staff took another hit this week, as freshman righthander Graham Ashcraft was ruled out for the rest of the season due to a hip injury that will require minor surgery to repair. Ashcraft had not pitched since April 4, and went 2-0, 5.62 in 10 appearances. He struck out 25 batters and walked 16 in 24 innings. The eighth-ranked Bulldogs (29-14) have lost eight pitchers to injuries, and none are expected to return this spring.

Other conferences: The American Athletic Conference is again one of the most hotly contested in the nation. No. 20 Houston and Tulane are tied for first place, and the top five teams are separated by just one game. All eight teams have .500 or better overall records and seven are ranked in the top 100 in RPI, helping the AAC rank fifth in conference RPI. The tightly packed standings have set up a wild finish in the final four conference weekends of the season. “I don’t know that there’s a conference in the country that’s as evenly balanced,” Houston coach Todd Whitting said. “Every team you play every weekend there may be a little bit of difference to them, but not really. They all have three really good starters, everybody’s got a great guy out of the pen and they’ve all got lineups that can hit. It’s been that way for a couple years now.” . . . Alabama-Birmingham coach Brian Shoop won his 1,000th career game last Friday with a 14-9 victory against Louisiana Tech. His career record is now 1,000-614-1 in 27 seasons—10 at UAB and 17 at Division II Birmingham-Southern (Ala.). Shoop’s milestone victory came against Louisiana Tech coach Lane Burroughs, who grew up attending Mississippi State camps, where Shoop often served as an instructor. “You don’t ever want to be the answer to a trivia question, but if there’s anyone want to see get that win it’s Brian Shoop,” Burroughs said. “He’s a great man of character. I’m very happy for him and what he’s been able to accomplish.” . . . UC Irvine found a surprise guest at Anteater Ballpark on Thursday.