The USA BaseBlog is a web site feature found only on the baseball page at www.usajaguars.com. David Kaye, USA baseball's athletic media relations contact, provides an all-access look into Jag baseball. This is the seventh entry in a series counting down the 10 best games of the 2009 baseball season.

No. 4 - USA at Louisiana-Lafayette, April 17 (Moore Field)

Thank you for taking the time to browse the baseball page. If you have a question or comment, please feel free to  e-mail me. The 2009 USA Baseball Season Outlook is now available online. A bit of sad news to report -- senior RHP Dan Goldberg has informed the coaches he will not be able to be a part of the 2009 team. Goldberg missed all of last season and this fall while rehabbing from shoulder surgery.

The series opener of South Alabama's trip to Lafayette, La. comes in as the fourth-best game on the Jags' 2009 schedule. It's probably easy to estimate which three opponents ranked ahead of the Ragin' Cajuns, but if you need help guessing, this game ranked highest among all Sun Belt Conference opponents.

USA's series with Louisiana-Lafayette is the fifth-most played in the Jags' 44-year history. Only the series with New Orleans (138), Western Kentucky (119), Alabama (97) and Jacksonville (91) have been played more often than the 78 times USA has met the Ragin' Cajuns. Despite not quite being at the top of the list, many of today's players consider Louisiana-Lafayette the Jags' biggest rival.

While Lafayette has won nine of the last 10 meetings, the Jags still hold a 47-31 advantage in the overall series. Included in those 47 wins is a 17-game winning streak that started in 1992 and ended in 1997. Both teams have met for at least one three-game series in 16 of the past 17 seasons. The teams did not meet in 2004, but they played two series in 2000. 

USA has won 10 of those 17 series, but Louisiana-Lafayette has won 5 of the 8 played on its home field, including sweeps in 2000 and 2007. The Friday night game in Lafayette is the choice for the fourth-best game because the winner of the Friday game has gone on to win the series in 15 out of 17 times. That team has gone on to sweep the series seven times.

The Ragin' Cajuns return six of nine position starters from a team that went 30-29 in 2008. Scott Hawkins returns for his senior season after being the only hitter to hit .300 a year ago. His 40 RBI were nine more than anyone else on a team that managed to finish above .500 despite being outscored by 58 runs.

While the Ragin' Cajuns have only a few holes to fill in the offense, they are left with plenty of question marks on the pitching staff. Of the four pitchers to make 10 or more starts in 2008, only sophomore Michael Cook (5-5, 4.79) returns. ULL is left to deal with the departures of Hunter Moody (9-2, 3.26), Brent Solich (3-5, 5.95) and Danny Farquhar (3-8, 4.95). However, junior closer Justin Robichaux (3-0, 2.30, 9 saves) returns to provide stability in the bullpen.

ULL took the 2008 series by winning the first game 9-3 and the finale 8-6. USA won Saturday's game 9-2. The Jags got all three runs on solo homers in the opener (Sean Laird, Jake Overstreet and Ryne Jernigan), but Eric Gonzalez took the loss with 6.2 innings and six runs allowed.

USA overcame an early 2-0 deficit by scoring nine unanswered runs in the middle game. Overstreet and Ray Kruml led off the bottom of the third with back-to-back homers to get the Jags even before Ryan Bohanan delivered what would be the game-winning hit with a homer to lead off the bottom of the fourth. Lance Baxter worked 7.0 innings and allowed just two runs on five hits to earn the win.

The series finale was tied 4-4 after six innings, but ULL got one in the seventh and another in the eighth to go up 6-4. The Jags answered when Ryan McCrory delivered a two-out, two-run double to even the score at 6-6 in the bottom of the eighth. Greg Johnson went back out to the mound for the top of the ninth after working 1.2 innings of relief, and the Ragin' Cajuns put up a pair of runs to win the game 8-6. Johnson did not allow any runs in 10 of 11 appearances in which he worked an inning or less in 2008, but his numbers weren't as good in longer outings.

ULL and USA met again in the SBC tournament, but this time the game was at on Lafayette's home field. The Ragin' Cajuns got a complete-game, four-hitter from starting pitcher Brent Solich, and ULL went on to win 8-1 before being eliminated by losing to New Orleans in consecutive games.

I've been asking some of the players which road trip they enjoy the most in Sun Belt play. The majority say Lafayette, and many of those say the fans are some of the craziest in college baseball. One player in particular told me their fans absolutely hate South Alabama, and looking at attendance numbers, it's safe to say they consider the Jags their biggest rival. 

USA last played in Lafayette in 2007, and that series drew a season-high 7,624 fans -- an average of 2,541 per game. Only two other games at Tigue Moore Field drew more than that number in 2007. That series ranks as the third-highest attendance in the history to Tigue Moore Field, while ULL's 2003 series against USA holds the record with 9,032 fans. It'll be interesting to see if this season's attendance can top either of those.

Notes:  USA leads the all-time series 47-31 ... The Jags hold a 31-12 advantage at Stanky Field, while ULL holds a 17-15 advantage at Tigue Moore Field and a 2-1 advantage at neutral sites ... USA hit six homers in four games against ULL in 2008, but all six were solo shots ... USA second baseman Zach Grichor played on the same team at Navarro Junior College as ULL right-handed pitcher Garrett Larsen in 2008 ... There are a few numerical similarities between the two schools ... ULL's Tigue Moore Field has a capacity of 3,755, while Stanky Field's capacity is 3,575 ... Lafayette's enrollment is 15,081, while USA's is 14, 279 ... USA's winning percentage at Stanky Field is .737, while ULL has won at a .726 rate at Moore Field.

TOP 10 GAMES OF 2009 COUNTDOWN

Click below to view previous entries in the USA BaseBlog ...
Jan. 3, 2009 - "Counting Down the Top 10 Games of 2009 -- No. 5 USA vs. UC Irvine (March 8)
Dec. 29, 2008 - "Counting Down the Top 10 Games of 2009 -- No. 6 USA vs. Vanderbilt (March 17)
Dec. 26, 2008 - "Interview with Coach Kittrell"
Dec. 24, 2008 - "Counting Down the Top 10 Games of 2009 -- No. 7 USA vs. Southern Miss (May 12)
Dec. 20, 2008 - "Counting Down the Top 10 Games of 2009 -- No. 8 USA vs. Mississippi State (March 24)
Dec. 14, 2008 - "Counting Down the Top 10 Games of 2009 -- No. 9 USA vs. Baylor (March 6)
Dec. 11, 2008 - "Counting Down the Top 10 Games of 2009 -- No. 10 USA vs. Troy (May 16)
Dec. 4, 2008 - "Meet Corey Powell"
Nov. 25, 2008 - "Seven for 2010, Plus 10 for 2009"
Nov. 21, 2008 - "Recruiting for 2010" 
Nov. 14, 2008 - "Signing On"