Tim Buckley, The Advertiser, May 4, 2017

Click here for time lapsed video of construction of Tigue Moore Field at Russo Park.

UL baseball coach Tony Robichaux was asked Monday about playing Georgia Southern this weekend, and he started to correct the inquisitor by suggesting he thought it actually was Texas State that was coming to town.

Robichaux was wrong.

It is Georgia Southern this weekend, followed by Texas State the weekend after that.

“See,” said Robichaux, who seemed genuinely confused. “There you go. That’s how far I look ahead.”

The opponent, Robichaux suggests, does not matter to him nearly as much as what is going on what his own club, which will have a pitching change this weekend as Colten Schmidt replaces struggling Nick Lee in the starting rotation.

And after what happened last weekend — losing all three games in a Sun Belt Conference series at Texas-Arlington — there is plenty to address in that regard.

“That’s all I really worry about, is how they think,” Robichaux said of his 27-17-1 Ragin’ Cajuns, who because of the rough weekend no longer are nationally ranked.

Robichaux, who took personal responsibility for what happened in Arlington, is sincere in the assertion that his attention is pointed exclusively inward.

“Really,” he said, “we never really worry about who we’re playing.

“In the whole history of my career, I don’t think it’s your opponent that does you in. Nobody ran in front of our shortstop and made him miss the ball (last) weekend. Nobody did anything to us that we didn’t do to ourselves.

“So I really stay focused on us,” the Cajun coach added. “I think it’s us that has to fix us.”

The repair effort may start with reinforced defense, something that uncharacteristically failed UL against the Mavericks.

In a doubleheader last Sunday, the Cajuns committed a combined eight errors — five in their first-game loss, three in the second.

“The defense has been good all year,” Robichaux said.

But at UTA, he added, “we had a poor weekend.”

Now Robichaux said he simply needs his Cajuns to get “realigned,” to “fix what occurred” and to “get back to who we were.”

“We just have to move on,” he said, and I really think we can.”

Robichaux believes the return of senior third baseman Joe Robbins, who took a ball off the arm early in the doubleheader, should help.

“I think when Joe (Robbins) gets back on the field … that’s a lot of it,” Robichaux said.

But that’s not all.

One big change for UL has lefty Schmidt starting Saturday.

Schmidt missed most of the season with an arm injury, but he’s 1-0 with a 1.00 ERA in 9.0 innings over three appearances since making his UL debut.

The juco-transfer pitched 4.1 innings last Friday night at UTA in relief of Lee, who is 5-4 with a 5.74 in 11 starts this season.

Robichaux also believes the Cajuns will get a boost Friday night from the mere presence of starting pitcher Gunner Leger, who had his scheduled start last weekend pushed back two days by tightness in his back.

With Leger (8-2, 1.63 ERA) and Sunday starter Hogan Harris (3-1, 2.63), UL now has an all-lefty weekend starting staff.

“Our team,” Robichaux said, “believes we can beat anybody on the night that (Leger) takes that mound, and I think he sets a good tempo for the whole weekend.”

Another thing that could help is the break from baseball the Cajuns have had the past few days.

It’s exam week at UL, but Robichaux’s club a least had a short respite to heal both physically and mentally before what is bound to be a challenging stretch.

The Cajuns open an eight-game homestand Friday night, but the eight outings come over just a 10-day span.

Between the Georgia Southern and Texas State weekend series, Louisiana Tech visits on Tuesday night and McNeese State visits for a makeup game Wednesday night.

“I think the rest is gonna be good for ’em,” Robichaux said.

“I think a lot of things got out of line, out of our routine, going into (last) weekend, and we just didn’t play the way we needed to play.

“But they’ve been there all year defensively, so I don’t think it will be a big issue,” he added. “(I’m) disappointed that we couldn’t play better, but I also believe that we can be better for this weekend.”

LAGNIAPPE: Leger is 5-0 with a 0.52 ERA in five starts at The Tigue this season. … The start time for Sunday’s game has been moved from 1 p.m. to noon to accommodate Georgia Southern’s travel schedule. … For a second straight season, UL junior closer Dylan Moore (1-1, 2.93 ERA, eight saves) has been name to the College Sports Information Directors Association (CoSIDA) Academic All-District 6 Baseball Team. Moore owns a 4.0 GPA majoring in political science with an emphasis in pre-law.

   RAGIN’ CAJUNS BASEBALL

   WHO: UL (27-17-1, 13-7-1 Sun Belt) vs. Georgia Southern (30-15, 13-0)

   WHERE: M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field at Russo Park

   WHEN: 6 p.m. Friday, 6 p.m. Saturday, noon Sunday

   RADIO: KPEL 96.5 FM with Jay Walker

   TV: None

   INTERNET: RaginCajuns.com with Dan McDonald

   UL PITCHERS

   Friday night: LHP Gunner Leger (8-2, 1.63 ERA)

   Saturday: LHP Colten Schmidt (1-0, 1.00)

   Sunday: LHP Hogan Harris (3-1, 2.63)  

     

   ABOUT THE OPPONENT: Georgia Southern has won six of its last seven, including the last two outings of a three-game Sun Belt series against Arkansas-Little Rock last weekend. … Starter Evan Challenger, who moves back into the Friday-night spot this week, was named Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week following last Saturday’s three-hit, complete-game shutout of Little Rock. … Leading hitters: Mason McWhorter (.336), Steven Curry (.335), Ryan Cleveland (11 homers, 38 RBI)

   ABOUT THE CAJUNS: UL, which had won nine in a row, has dropped three straight after getting swept at Texas-Arlington last weekend. … The Cajuns lead the all-time series 4-3. … Leading hitters: Steven Sensley (.339, eight homers, 33 RBI), Todd Lott (.313), Ishmael Edwards (.309)