Louisiana Baseball Starkville Preview
After an incredible seven-game run through the Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Baseball team will make its 20th appearance in the postseason when it faces Cincinnati in the NCAA Starkville Regional on Friday at Dudy Noble Field.
First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Louisiana (39-23), ranked No. 25 by D1Baseball, earned an at-large berth in the 64-team field – and their fourth appearance in the past five seasons – after winning five games last week and reaching the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game for the third time since 2022.
Lee Amedee, coming off an All-Tournament performance at the SBC Championships, leads Louisiana at the plate with a .311 average. The senior has belted seven home runs on the season – including three last week – and leads the Ragin' Cajuns with 52 RBI.
The freshmen tandem of Colt Brown (.307-5-50) and Noah Brown (.296-2-18) is next in hitting for Louisiana with Maddox Mandino (.270-0-17) coming off an All-Tournament performance where he was 11-for-25 (.440) in six games.
Cody Brasch (6-2, 2.04 ERA) will start on the mound in the opener for Louisiana. The right-hander recorded a win and a save in two appearances at the SBC Championships.
The Ragin' Cajuns face Big 12 member Cincinnati (37-20), ranked No. 24 by D1Baseball. The Bearcats earned their eighth all-time appearance in the NCAA postseason and its third since 1974. UC earned a berth in 2019 (Corvallis Regional) and went 1-2 last season in Knoxville.
DH/C Enzo Infelise was named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year. Three Bearcats were named to the First Team: first baseman Quinton Coats, pitcher Nate Taylor and Infelise.
Taylor (6-3, 3.86 ERA), who will start for the Bearcats on Friday, broke the UC single-season strikeout record (112) in his final home start. The junior is now 11 away from tying the career record, and his 21 wins (with only seven losses) are also tied for that program record.
Coats is fourth nationally for home runs (28), fifth in total bases (181) and sixth in RBIs (78), padding the school record in the first two. He is also one RBI from tying that record.
The three-time Big 12 Player of the Week recently homered and doubled three times apiece against Texas Tech, hitting .568. He has reached safely in 28-straight games.
Comment