When it comes to the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns, the depth that they have in the pitching staff is unreal.
Some baseball programs would kill to have at least half of the depth that they have. Nearly every pitcher in the staff could be a starter any given day.
One of those guys was Evan Guillory. For his first two years as a Ragin Cajun, he started all but one game and amassed a 10-6 record in 32 appearances. While he seemed to be the Cajuns starter for the midweek, Coach Tony Robichaux wound up making some adjustments to his role.
He decided to move him over to the bullpen to become more of a bridge guy to help win the weekend series. This may have been the best thing to happen to the junior out of Jennings, as he’s started to flip the switch.
During his last appearance on Friday against Arkansas State saw him come in relief of Nick Lee in the top of the fifth with the bases loaded. Typically this wouldn’t be the ideal place to be for a pitcher, but Robichaux had faith in him.
“That was a critical out because even though they wouldn’t have got a lot, they could’ve changed the momentum.” Robichaux said of the bases loaded situation Guillory was put in. “Momentum usually changes in the fifth inning. We tell them anytime the reliever gets the first batter he faces out, 90 percent of the time you’ll get out of the inning with no trouble. It’s when you don’t get the first guy you face out when you run into trouble.”
He finished the game allowing only two hits on the night and striking out four. “My mindset was to throw strikes, keep the ball down, and get a ground ball.” Guillory said of what he did in relief, “You know I’m in there with some fastballs and try to keep them at the knees and it worked out.”
While the junior had been one of the primary starters for the Cajuns, he loves the opportunity because of the difference between being a starter and coming out of the pen.
“My tech has been better coming out of the bullpen because as a starter, you’re expected to go six or seven innings. You’re saving for the later innings because you don’t want to blow everything out of the tank. When you’re in the pen, you just give it everything you’ve got.”
While he’s been coming out of the pen and letting it all hang out, these five game weeks require one more arm to try and get the team going in the right direction at this point of the season. He’ll have to flip the switch in the opposite direction on Tuesday night as he’ll start off on the bump when the Cajuns hit the road to take on Tulane.
The junior’s A-game will have to be on display against the Green Wave because they are just as hot as the Cajuns are as they’ve won four straight heading into this crucial game when it comes to RPI.
-Clint Domingue