Baseball: Seven Named All-Sun Belt, Trahan Tabbed as Top Freshman

LAFAYETTE – Seven members of the Ragin’ Cajuns baseball team earned All-Sun Belt Conference honors and Blake Trahan was named Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year, the league announced here Tuesday evening at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field during Family Night ceremonies which kicked off the 2013 Sun Belt Conference Championship.
 
It’s the second-highest amount of All-Sun Belt selections for Louisiana, tied with the 2000 squad, and the most since the program received nine honors in 2005.
 
Trahan becomes the first player in program history to be named freshman of the year in the Sun Belt Conference era (1992-present).
 
Austin Robichaux, Dex Kjerstad and Seth Harrison received first team All-Sun Belt honors. Representing the Cajuns on the second team was Trahan, Tyler Girouard, Caleb Adams and Ryan Leonards.
 
The Cajuns have now been represented on the All-Sun Belt team in 21 of the program’s 22 seasons in the league. The seven selections to the 2013 squad increased the total number of All-SBC selections in the Tony Robichaux era to 62.
 
Louisiana joined South Alabama in garnering the league-high number of All-Sun Belt selections with seven. Troy’s five selections was the next highest tally.
 
Kjerstad and Harrison become the first Cajuns outfielders to receive first team honors since Corey Coles in 2003. Robichaux’s first team honor marks the sixth time in the past nine seasons a Cajuns pitcher was named to the first team.
 
Trahan was the only freshman to start in the Cajuns lineup in 2013, starting 54 of the team’s 55 games at shortstop. He hit safely in 43 of 54 games played and has maintained a batting average above .300 since Feb. 20 (51 straight games). The Kinder, La., native has accrued 151 assists, ranking him eighth in the Sun Belt Conference and has committed only seven errors in his last 137 chances.
 
Robichaux pitched at least seven complete innings in seven of his 10 Sun Belt weekend starts. The son of Cajuns head coach Tony Robichaux has two nine inning complete games to his credit, coming in back-to-back weekends (4/6 vs. Troy & 4/12 at UALR). He limited foes to two earned runs or less in nine of 14 games started and surrendered 21 walks in 92 1/3 innings (Top 10 in Sun Belt in fewest walks allowed).
 
Kjerstad leads the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns with 26 multiple-hit games. The former Texas Longhorn posted 11 games with three hits and 14 total with three-plus hits. He leads the Sun Belt Conference with 83 base hits and .377 average (.408 in league play). Kjerstad is hitting .411 since 3/19 with 23 multi-hit games.
 
Harrison leads the Cajuns with 55 runs scored, which ranks Top 30 nationally, and has scored at least one run in 35 of 50 games. He ranks second on the UL squad with 21 multiple-hit games, 26 extra base hits and 112 total bases. The Cypress, Texas, native has been proficient in bunts, leading team with nine (9) bunt singles in addition to five (5) sacrifice bunts.
 
Girouard, selected as the second team third baseman, has spent several weeks ranked in the Top 5 in the Sun Belt Conference in average, slugging percentage and on-base percentage. His average has been above .360 since March 10 and hovered above the .400 mark from March 15-April 12. The Lafayette native and Teurlings Catholic product presently ranks second in the Sun Belt with a .376 average, has 17 multiple-hit games and his 37 RBI are a personal best.
 
Adams was selected at the designated hitter slot. He leads the Cajuns with 13 home runs and 46 RBI. In early March, he became first Cajun with three home runs in a game since 2007 and finished the month with six home runs and 20 RBI. Adams has the second-highest home run tally in the Sun Belt Conference and ranks Top 25 nationally. His .631 slugging percentage is third amongst SBC players who meet the statistical minimum to qualify.
 
Leonards’ ability to play multiple positions landed him the second team utility position. Of his 43 games started he has made 23 starts at second base, 13 starts in left field, five starts in center field and two starts at DH. He’s also seen playing time at first base and third base. The Crowley, La., native reached 50 base hits for the second straight season and is one of the Cajuns top performers in bunts with eight sacrifices and seven singles. Leonards has eight games of three hits and his 29 RBI are personal best.
 
The Ragin’ Cajuns begin play in the 2013 Sun Belt Conference Championship at “The Tigue” on Wednesday, May 22 against FIU at 7:30 p.m.
 
2013 Sun Belt Baseball All-Conference First Team
Daniel Wright (Arkansas State, Senior, SP)
Austin Gomber (Florida Atlantic, Sophomore, SP)
Austin Robichaux (Louisiana, Sophomore, SP)
Shane McCain (Troy, Junior, SP)
Hugh Adams (Florida Atlantic, RS-Senior, RP)
Aramis Garcia (FIU, Sophomore, C)
Ryan Huck (WKU, Senior, 1B)
Robby Campbell (South Alabama, Senior, 2B)
Tyler Vaughn (Troy, Junior, SS)
Logan Pierce (Troy, Senior, 3B)
Dex Kjerstad (Louisiana, Junior, OF)
Seth Harrison (Louisiana, Junior, OF)
Danny Collins (Troy, Junior, OF)
Dustin Dalken (South Alabama, Senior, DH)
Jordan Patterson (South Alabama, Junior, UTIL)
 
2013 Sun Belt Baseball All-Conference Second Team
Chance Cleveland (UALR, Senior, SP)
Matt Bell (South Alabama, Junior, SP)
Kyle Bartsch (South Alabama, Senior, RP)
Whitt Dorsey (South Alabama, Senior, C)
Trae Santos (Troy, Junior, 1B)
Johnny Thomas (Middle Tennessee, Senior, 2B)
Blake Trahan (Louisiana, Freshman, SS)
Tyler Girouard (Louisiana, Sophomore, 3B)
Nathan Pittman (Florida Atlantic, Senior, OF)
Ryan Stephens (Middle Tennessee, Jr., OF)
Nolan Earley (South Alabama, Senior, OF)
Caleb Adams (Louisiana, Sophomore, DH)
Ryan Leonards (Louisiana, Junior, UTIL)
 
2013 Sun Belt Baseball Player of the Year
Jordan Patterson (South Alabama, Junior, UTIL)
 
2013 Sun Belt Baseball Pitcher of the Year
Shane McCain (Troy, Junior, SP)
 
2013 Sun Belt Baseball Freshman of the Year
Blake Trahan (Louisiana, SS)
 
2013 Sun Belt Baseball Ron Maestri Coach of the Year
Mark Calvi, South Alabama
 

— Ragin’ Cajuns —

Matt Hebert
Assistant Sports Information Director
University of Louisiana

Cox Communications Athletics Center
201 Reinhardt Drive
Lafayette, LA   70506

Office: (337) 482-6330
Cell: (337) 288-6023
E-mail: matth@louisiana.edu
www.ragincajuns.com