Welcome everyone to another edition of #TriplePlay!
Turn One: Going Out In Style
This may have been the last weekend at the Old Tigue before the renovations are made (insert “this isn’t even my final form” joke here), but what a way to go out. Getting a clean sweep over in-state rivals UL Monroe and winning a share of the Sun Belt Conference regular season title is a pretty good end to a stadium that has produced several memories over the years. The Cajuns felt like they could take this one easily, but UL Monroe was right there for most of the series responding to any offensive flurries with some of their own, especially on Friday.
Turn Two: Doing Your Job
The Saturday game was an interesting situation for the Ragin Cajuns. You had South Alabama’s rubber match with Troy start before the Cajuns took on UL Monroe to complete the sweep. Coach Tony Robichaux kept his players in the dark about what was going on in Alabama until later in the game to keep them on their toes. When he did tell them, the Cajuns unleashed an offensive flurry that was too much for the Warhawks to overcome. It was just the spark the Cajuns needed to get the much-needed win to get the one seed in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
Turn Three: In the Driver’s Seat
Because of the Cajuns late-season surge and South Alabama’s misfortunes, they are in the driver’s seat with the number-one seed at the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. The Cajuns will be on the right side of the bracket with teams like Arkansas State and Troy, while teams like South Alabama and Little Rock (this is the only team the Cajuns lost a series to in conference play) on the other, this leads to some interesting decisions for Robichaux. The biggest of which is: Who will he start on Wednesday? You would think that this would be Gunner Leger by a long shot. But it’s not that simple. If you throw out your ace early on, you’re handcuffing yourself for the rest of the tournament. If it were me, I’d put Wyatt Marks in that slot. Marks will have rested for over a week and has improved the last couple of starts. That way you can put Leger in for a matchup against a more formidable foe like Troy or host team Texas State. After that, it’s anything goes.
-Clint Domingue