Mirror Images? Cajuns Open Series with Georgia Southern

If you go to Georgia Southern's baseball statistics and took away the names, you'd almost think you were looking at the numbers of the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns.

Both have a left-handed Friday night starter who had great success last year.  Both have a freshman right hander throwing on Sunday.  Both teams have, at times, struggled to score runs.  Both teams are at the top of the league in team ERA.  Neither team is afraid to go to its bullpen if necessary.

There are a lot of similarities between the Cajuns and Eagles as they prepare to begin their three game Sun Belt series tonight at 6pm at J. I. Clements Field in Statesboro.

All games will be heard on 96.5 KPEL-FM with Saturdays game scheduled for 6pm and Sunday's contest at noon.

Louisiana (19-10, 8-4 Sun Belt) and Georgia Southern (17-12, 6-6)  are 1-2 in the league in ERA with the Cajuns tops at 3.06 while Georgia Southern second at 3.15.  Georgia Southern averages about a run per game more than the Cajuns, that figure boosted by scoring 29 runs in two midweek games this week.  In league play, the Eagles have scored exactly two more runs than the Cajuns.

Both have stingy starting rotations.  The Cajuns go with sophomore lefty Gunner Leger (3-2, 2.79) goes for the Cajuns tonight.  Junior lefty Evan Challenger (4-2, 2.44) gets the start for the Eagles. Challenger handcuffed the Cajuns a year ago, allowing just one run on two hits with nine strikeouts in a 2-1 win.  Saturday, Sophomore Wyatt Marks (3-2, 4.17) will get the start after a dominating performance against Arkansas State last Saturday.  Freshman Chase Cohen (2-2, 2.70), who has allowed no earned runs in four of his seven starts, will go for Georgia Southern.  A pair of freshmen, Louisiana's Nick Lee (5-1, 2.70) and Georgia Southern's Brian Eichorn (3-1, 2.19) are the starters.

The place where the two differ statistically is defensively, where the Cajuns are tops in the league with a .978 fielding percentage (25 errors) while Georgia Southern is ninth with a .962 percentage.

Georgia Southern was swept at home by Texas State last weekend, scoring only three runs in each game against a strong Bobcats' pitching staff.