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Baseball: Fresh look keeps Cajuns close going into tourneyTim Buckley, The Advertiser, May 22, 2016
Members of UL’s 58-10 Super Regional team from 2014 had their bushy beards, grown out to caveman proportion during a lengthy run. The crazy kids on the Ragin’ Cajuns’ 2000 College World Series club dyed their hair blond. This year? Fresh haircuts evidently are the bond that the Cajuns, who claimed the No. 1 seed in this week’s Sun Belt Conference Tournament and an SBC co-championship shared with South Alabama thanks to its 6-2 regular season-ending win over UL Monroe on Saturday, will carry into the 2016 postseason. “We all got a nice fade haircut,” Cajuns senior infielder Stefan Trosclair said after UL beat in-state rival ULM for a 19th straight time to overtake South Al for top seed in the tourney that for UL opens with a 7:30 p.m. Wednesday meeting with No. 8 seed Arkansas State. “So we’re gonna try to roll with it into the playoffs – ride this wave we’ve got going,” he added, “and keep playing hard.” Fades are clipped quite close on the sides and back, then taper to various lengths up top. For UL, however, the end of the regular season has been anything but a fade. The No. 19 Cajuns instead have rocketed with six straight wins – including two at South Alabama, a non-conference road victory over the University of New Orleans and three over UL Monroe – to split the SBC title with the Jaguars, who collapsed late and lost four of their last five, including the two to UL and 2-of-3 at Troy this past week. The haircut idea, according to Trosclair, came about when a few guys initially got their locks chopped. “Then we all just kind of came together,” he said, “and said, ‘Let’s all do it.’ And we all did it.” The last holdout? According to Trosclair it was sophomore pitcher Wyatt Marks, a St. Thomas More product who until this weekend sported quite a mop up top. Sitting for the scissors was more painful for Marks, fellow pitcher Evan Guillory guessed, than it was for anyone on the UL roster. “It took us a while to convince him,” Guillory said with a laugh. “But I figured he would do it eventually, because he’s a team player. “But,” Guillory added, “he (also) loves his hair.” 
Locks flow out of the cap on UL pitcher Wyatt Marks (31), who is shown here grimacing after giving up a two-run homer by LSU’s Jake Fraley during the third inning of a game at the 2015 Baton Rouge Super Regional. (Photo: Gerald Herbert, AP) The tight-and-trim Cajuns now head to San Marcos looking to defend the conference tourney championship they won in 2015 by coming through the loser’s bracket and finishing with a title-game win over South Alabama in Troy, Alabama. UL also is seeking its fourth straight NCAA Regional appearance, third straight Super Regional berth and first trip to the College World Series since the bleach-blond bunch went to Omaha in 2000. To do it as Sun Belt co-champs is satisfying indeed for the Cajuns, who after losing the first outing of their three-game series at South Alabama earlier this month did not at all appear likely to lay claim to the SBC Tournament’s No. 1 seed. With five games to go, they were four games out of first in the Sun Belt standings. Even thinking it was possible to catch No. 23 South Al might have been hair-brained to some. But the 37-19 Cajuns pulled off the improbable off anyway. “It shows our competitiveness on the field, and how hard we play,” Trosclair said. “We’re grinders, man. That’s our motto, and we’ve got to stick with it.” 2016 SUN BELT BASEBALL TOURNAMENT at San Marcos, Texas (all times Central and subject to change) WEDNESDAY’S GAMES Game 1, 9 a.m.: No. 6 Georgia Southern vs. No. 3 Arkansas-Little Rock Game 2, 12:30 p.m.: No. 7 Texas-Arlington vs. No. 2 South Alabama Game 3, 4 p.m.: No. 4 Troy vs. No. 5 Texas State Game 4, 7:30 p.m.: No. 8 Arkansas State vs. No. 1 UL THURSDAY’S GAMES Game 5, 9 a.m.: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 Game 6, 12:30 p.m.: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 Game 7, 4 p.m.: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 Game 8, 7:30 p.m.: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 FRIDAY’S GAMES Game 9, 3 p.m.: Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 7 Game 10, 6:30 p.m.: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 8 SATURDAY’S GAMES Game 11, 9 a.m.: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9 Game 12, 12:30 p.m.: Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 10 Game 13, 4 p.m.: *Winner Game 11 vs. Loser Game 11 Game 14, 7:30 p.m.: #Winner Game 12 vs. Loser Game 12 * Game 13 is necessary if the winner of Game 9 also wins Game 11 # Game 14 is necessary if the winner of Game 10 also wins Game 12. SUNDAY’S GAME Championship game, 1 p.m.: Winner Game 11/13 vs. Winner Game 12/14 (ESPN3)
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