The long wait is over.

The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns open the 2019 season tonight as they host the Texas Longhorns in a three-game series at M. L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park.  Game times are 6:30 Friday, 2:00 Saturday and 1:00 Sunday.  All three games can be heard on 96.5 KPEL-FM with pre-game starting 30 minutes before the first pitch.

Senior lefty Gunner Leger (10-2, 1.97 ERA in 2017) makes his long-awaited return after missing all of the 2018 season because of injury.  Junior College transfer Brandon Young (Lumberton, TX/Howard JC will get Saturday's start for the Cajuns.  Head coach Tony Robichaux has not announced a Sunday starter.

Texas ranked 16th in the pre-season USA Today Poll and 24th by d1baseball.com will counter with three right-handers.  Sophomore RHP Bryce Elder (6-1, 5.55 ERA in 35.2 innings) will get Friday's start, while junior RHP Blair Henley (6-7, 3.32 ERA in 86.2 innings) gets the start Saturday.  Head Coach David Pierce will turn to Freshman Coy Cobb (Katy, TX) as the Sunday starter.

Robichaux begins his 25th season as head coach of the Cajuns, amassing a record of 886-559-2 with Louisiana.  He sits eighth in career wins among active coaches with 1.152 victories, including his time at McNeese State.  Texas leads the all-time series 31-7 but the Cajuns are 4-3 against the Longhorns with Robichaux at the helm.  This will be the first time Robichaux has faced the Longhorns at Russo Park.

The Longhorns return six everyday starters from a team that finished 42-23, winning the Big 12 title and advancing to the College World Series.  The 'Horns must replace slugger Kody Clemens (.351-24-72) and shortstop David Hamilton (.291-5-37, 31 steals) who was lost for the season because of injury.

The Cajuns, meanwhile, hope to improve on last year's 34-25 record and return four of their top five hitters from a season ago.  The Cajuns, however, lost all three-weekend starters from that squad.

Louisiana will hit the road for five straight games following this series and will return home March 1 against Maryland.

 

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