COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Baseball team makes its 19th appearance in the NCAA postseason beginning on Friday when it faces familiar foe Texas in the NCAA Bryan-College Station Regional at Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.

First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. The game will be televised live on ESPN2 with Roy Philpott (pxp) and Xavier Scruggs (color). Fans in the Lafayette area can listen to the game on KPEL-FM (96.5) and worldwide on the Varsity Network app.

Louisiana (40-18), the No. 2 seed in the four-team field, will compete in its third consecutive NCAA Regional under head coach Matt Deggs, beginning with a 2022 visit to College Station. The Ragin’ Cajuns earned an at-large berth to the 2023 NCAA Coral Gables Regional where they opened against eventual regional champ Texas (35-22).

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The Ragin’ Cajuns look to return to the NCAA Super Regional for the fifth time in school history and the first since back-to-back trips in 2014 and 2015.

Kyle DeBarge (.361-21-67) and Trey LaFleur (.361-11-39) lead Louisiana at the plate with Duncan Pastore (.321-4-35), Jose Torres (.306-2-31) and John Taylor (.300-9-37) following. The Ragin’ Cajuns will send right-hander Carson Fluno (4-0, 2.94 ERA) to the mound with Texas countering with right-hander Max Grubbs (5-4, 3.41).

Texas’ top three hitters – Jared Thomas (.355-15-45), Max Belyeu (.349-18-53) and Jalin Flores (.345-17-52) – have accounted for 50 of the Longhorns’ 109 home runs hit this season. Thomas has been perfect in stolen bases this season with a team-high 16 for the Longhorns.

The winner will face the winner of Friday’s opening game between No. 3 national seed Texas A&M (44-13) and SWAC Tournament champion Grambling (26-26) on Saturday at 8 p.m. The losers in Friday’s opening day will meet in an elimination game on Saturday at 2 p.m.

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The winner of the College Station Regional will meet the winner of the NCAA Santa Barbara Regional in the best two-of-three series to advance to the College World Series.

Fans are encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin' Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here for iOS/Apple platforms and here for Android platforms.

For the latest updates on Ragin' Cajuns baseball, follow on Facebook (RaginCajunsBaseball), Twitter (@RaginCajunsBSB) and Instagram (@RaginCajunsBSB) or check RaginCajuns.com.

NCAA BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION REGIONAL
FRIDAY – May 31
No. 22 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (40-18) vs. Texas Longhorns (35-22), 5 p.m.
No. 4 Texas A&M Aggies (44-13) vs. Grambling Tigers (26-26), Noon

DATE/TIMES (dates and times are subject to change)
Friday – May 31, 5 p.m.
Saturday – June 1, 2 or 8 p.m.
Sunday – June 2, 2 or 7 p.m.
Monday (if necessary) - TBD

LOCATION/SITE
Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park (6,100) | Bryan-College Station, Texas

PITCHING MATCHUPS
FRIDAY – 5 p.m.
LOUISIANA | RH Carson Fluno (6-2, 190, Sr., Sun Prairie, Wis.)
’24 Stats: 4-0, 2.94 ERA, 52.0 IP, 35 H, 20 R, 17 ER, 19 BB, 47 K, .186 OppBA

TEXAS | RH Max Grubbs (6-1, 200, So., Arlington, Texas)
’24 Stats: 5-4, 3.41 ERA, 68.2 IP, 73 H, 35 R, 26 ER, 15 BB, 46 K, .268 OppBA

RANKINGS
Louisiana – 22nd (D1 Baseball); 21st (Baseball America); 23rd (USA Today Coaches’); Receiving Votes (NCBWA)
Texas – 19th (Perfect Game)
Texas A&M – 3rd (NCBWA, USA Today Coaches); 4th (D1 Baseball, Baseball America); 5th (Perfect Game)
Grambling – Unranked

RADIO/TV/LIVE STATISTICS
RADIO (Pregame Show starts 30 minutes prior to first pitch)
Station – KPEL-FM 96.5 / The Varsity Network App
Talent – Jay Walker (pxp); Anthony Babineaux (color)

TV/STREAMING (ESPN Family of Networks)
Talent – Roy Philpott (pxp), Xavier Scruggs (color)

LIVE STATS
CajunStats.com

SERIES RECORD
vs. Texas – Texas leads, 34-8
vs. Texas A&M – A&M leads, 14-9
vs. Grambling – Louisiana leads, 13-4

TICKETS
• NCAA Regional All-Session online sales have ended. Limited single-session tickets may be available at the Blue Bell Park Box office starting 90 minutes prior to first pitch for each game.

LEADING OFF
• The Sun Belt Conference regular-season champion Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns makes its 19th overall appearance in the NCAA Baseball postseason beginning on Friday when it faces Big 12 member Texas on the opening day of the NCAA Bryan-College Station Regional.
• All games will be televised live on the ESPN Family of Networks with Roy Philpott (play-by-play) and Xavier Scruggs (color) providing commentary.
• Fans in the Lafayette area can listen to all the games in the postseason on KPEL-FM (96.5) and worldwide on the Varsity Network app with Jay Walker (play-by-play) and Anthony Babineaux (color) on the call.
• Louisiana makes its third straight appearance in the NCAA Regionals after earning the Sun Belt Conference’s automatic berth in 2022 (College Station) and an at-large berth in 2023 (Coral Gables).
• Louisiana and Texas will meet for the second consecutive year in the NCAA Regionals with the Longhorns earning a 4-2 win in the opening game of the 2023 NCAA Coral Gables Regional.
• Louisiana makes its third appearance in the postseason in College Station, going 2-2 overall in 2007 and 1-2 in 2022.
• Louisiana opened in 2007 with wins over Ohio State and host Texas A&M before falling twice to the Aggies and missing an opportunity to reach the Super Regional.
• Head coach Matt Deggs, a native of Texas City, was an assistant coach at Texas A&M from 2006-10 under former coach Rob Childress.
• Eight of Louisiana’s 34 players on the current roster are from the state of Texas.
• Louisiana finished as one of 13 teams nationally to win 40 or more games during the regular season.
• The Ragin’ Cajuns have pitched seven shutouts this season to rank second nationally behind Texas A&M (10).

SERIES HISTORY VS. NCAA REGIONAL FOES
• Louisiana and Texas meet for the second straight year in the NCAA postseason and fourth time overall with the Longhorns holding a 34-8 overall lead in the series.
• The Cajuns and Longhorns have met three times in NCAA Regional play with games in the 1999 Houston Regional (Louisiana, 13-6), 2010 Austin Regional (Texas, 4-2), and 2023 Coral Gables Regional (Texas, 4-2).
• Louisiana and Texas A&M last met in the 2022 College Station Regional with the Aggies rallying for a 9-6 win. In the all-time series, the Aggies hold a 14-9 lead.
• The teams have met six times in the NCAA postseason beginning with two games at the 1991 South II Regional in Baton Rouge (Texas A&M, 16-4; Louisiana, 13-10).
• Louisiana and Texas A&M faced off three times in the 2007 College Station Regional with Louisiana winning the first game, 5-4, before the Aggies took two games (4-1, 5-2) to advance to the Super Regional.
• Louisiana and fellow UL System school Grambling have met 17 times on the diamond in school history with the Ragin’ Cajuns holding a 13-4 lead.
• UL and GSU would meet for the first time in postseason play.

BASEBALL IS STRONG IN THE BAYOU STATE
• For the second time in the state’s history, six schools from within the Pelican State are playing this weekend in the NCAA Baseball Regionals.
• Louisiana is joined by Grambling (College Station), LSU (Chapel Hill), Louisiana Tech (Fayetteville), Tulane (Corvallis) and Nicholls (Corvallis) as in-state teams in the field of 64.
• The last time six in-state teams played in the postseason was in 2000 with both Louisiana and LSU reaching the College World Series.

“NOTE-Y” THINGS FOR YOUR USE
• Louisiana pitching has held opponents to a paltry .226 average at the plate in 2024 ... if the season ended today, that would finish second behind the previous school-record (.225) set in 1983.
• Louisiana is 38-4 this season when it outhits its opponent and 2-12 when opponents have more hits.

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