Louisiana
Louisiana Wraps Up Home Schedule Against Texas State
LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Baseball team wraps up its 33-game home schedule beginning on Friday when it plays host to Texas State in a three-game Sun Belt Conference series at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field at Russo Park.
First pitch for Friday’s opener is scheduled for 6 p.m. The series resumes on Saturday at 4 p.m. before concluding on Sunday at 1. All three games will be streamed live on ESPN+ with fans able to listen to each game in the Lafayette area on KPEL-FM (96.5) and worldwide on the Varsity Network app.
The weekend series against defending SBC regular-season champion Texas State (33-16, 15-9 SBC) will be a busy one as Louisiana (32-18, 14-10 SBC) will honor its graduation class in a pre-game ceremony on Saturday before honoring its eight-man senior class – Zack Crain (Manager), Jerry Couch, Jake Hammond, Heath Hood, Max Marusak, Cooper Rawls, Will Veillon and CJ Willis in a post-game ceremony on Saturday.
Sunday’s home finale will feature the annual Mother’s Day First Pitch with the Ragin’ Cajuns Baseball mothers throwing the ceremonial First Pitch to their sons.
Louisiana looks to remain in the upper half of the Sun Belt Conference standings after earning a three-game sweep last weekend at ULM. The Ragin’ Cajuns close out the regular-season beginning on Thursday with a three-game series (May 18-20) at nationally-ranked Southern Miss before defending their SBC Tournament championship from May 23-28 at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Ala.
Six players – Conor Higgs (.395-5-25), Kyle DeBarge (.361-5-29), Hood (.349-4-31) and Julian Brock (.344-10-55), Carson Roccaforte (.331-3-37) and John Taylor (.326-6-39) – are hitting above .300 on the season for Louisiana.
Four players – Hood (32), Veillon (22), Roccaforte (20) and Marusak (20) – have stolen 20 or more bases on the season for the Ragin’ Cajuns, one of two Division I schools to achieve that feat.
Jackson Nezuh (7-4, 7.29 ERA) will earn the start in Friday’s opener for Louisiana with right-hander Carson Fluno (1-0, 5.06) taking the mound on Saturday. Hammond (3-3, 3.67 ERA) will start in Sunday’s finale for the Ragin’ Cajuns.
Davis Powell (.369-5-29) leads Texas State at the plate with freshman Chase Mora (.325-15-48) leading the Bobcats in home runs. Jose Gonzalez (.285-11-50) leads the team in RBI with August Ramirez (.275-10-30) joining Mora and Gonzalez with 10-plus home runs.
Texas State will send right-hander Levi Wells (7-2, 4.57 ERA) to the mound on Friday with Zeke Wood (2-2, 4.63 ERA) taking the mound on Saturday. Right-hander Tony Robie (5-2, 3.91 ERA) will earn the start in Sunday’s game.
Single-game tickets are available by visiting the Louisiana Athletics Box Office at the Cajundome or purchasing by visiting Account Manager [am.ticketmaster.com]. For more information call the Louisiana Athletics Box Office at the Cajundome at (337) 265-2104.
Fans are encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin’ Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here [apps.apple.com] for iOS/Apple platforms and here [play.google.com] for Android platforms.
For the latest updates on Ragin’ Cajuns baseball, follow on Facebook (RaginCajunsBaseball), Twitter (@RaginCajunsBSB) and Instagram (@RaginCajunsBSB) or check RaginCajuns.com.
GAMES 51-53 PREVIEW
Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (32-18, 14-10 SBC) vs. Texas State Bobcats (33-16, 15-9 SBC)
DATE/TIMES (dates and times are subject to change)
Friday – May 12, 6 p.m.
Saturday – May 13, 4 p.m.
Sunday – May 14, 1 p.m.
LOCATION/SITE
M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field at Russo Park (6,015) | Lafayette, La.
PROMOTIONS
SATURDAY
Pre-Game (Ragin’ Cajuns Baseball On-Field Graduation Ceremony)
Post-Game (Ragin’ Cajuns Baseball Senior Day Ceremony)
SUNDAY
Pre-Game (Mother’s Day First Pitch)
Family Day (Anthem Buddies, Kids Run the Bases Post-Game)
PITCHING MATCHUPS
FRIDAY – 6 p.m.
LOUISIANA | RH Jackson Nezuh (6-1, 180, Jr., St. Cloud, Fla.)
’23 Stats: 7-4, 7.29 ERA, 63.0 IP, 70 H, 54 R, 51 ER, 23 BB, 72 K, .285 OppBA
TEXAS STATE | RH Levi Wells (6-0, 191, Jr., La Porte, Texas)
’23 Stats: 7-2, 4.57 ERA, 61.0 IP, 58 H, 32 R, 31 ER, 25 BB, 79 K, .246 OppBA
SATURDAY – 4 p.m.
LOUISIANA | RH Carson Fluno (6-1, 185, Jr., Sun Prairie, Wis.)
’23 Stats: 1-0, 5.03 ERA, 3 Sv., 34.0 IP, 38 H, 23 R, 19 ER, 13 BB, 36 K, .275 OppBA
TEXAS STATE | RH Zeke Wood (6-4, 210, Sr., Paris, Texas)
’23 Stats: 2-2, 4.63 ERA, 46.2 IP, 43 H, 29 R, 24 ER, 20 BB, 54 K, .256 OppBA
SUNDAY – 1 p.m.
LOUISIANA | RH Jake Hammond (6-3, 230, Sr., Monroe, La.)
’23 Stats: 3-3, 3.67 ERA, 49.0 IP, 43 H, 23 R, 20 ER, 20 BB, 50 K, .243 OppBA
TEXAS STATE | RH Tony Robie (6-5, 210, Jr., Mansfield, Texas)
’23 Stats: 5-2, 3.91 ERA, 46.0 IP, 25 R, 20 ER, 20 BB, 41 K, .240 OppBA
RANKINGS
Louisiana – Not ranked
Texas State – Receiving Votes (NCBWA)
RADIO/TV/LIVE STATISTICS
RADIO (Pregame Show starts 30 minutes prior to first pitch)
Station – KPEL-FM (96.5) / The Varsity Network App
Talent – Jay Walker (pxp); Brad Topham (color)
STREAMING (ESPN+)
Talent – Dan McDonald (pxp); Eric Mouton (color – Friday/Saturday); Brennan Breaux (color – Sunday)
LIVE STATS
CajunStats.com
SERIES RECORD
Overall: Louisiana leads, 25-21
In Lafayette: Louisiana leads, 14-10
In San Marcos: Texas State leads, 10-5
Neutral Sites: Louisiana leads, 6-1
SBC Games: Texas State leads, 14-10
Last 10: Texas State, 7-3
LEADING OFF
• Louisiana will wrap up its 33-game home schedule beginning on Friday with a three-game Sun Belt Conference series against Texas State.
• Louisiana will honor its seven-man Senior Class – Jerry Couch, Jake Hammond, Heath Hood, Max Marusak, Cooper Rawls, Will Veillon and CJ Willis in a post-game ceremony on Saturday.
• Head coach Matt Deggs claimed his 100th win at Louisiana in an 8-2 win at Marshall on April 8.
• Cooper Rawls’ 10 wins on the mound in 2023 is tied for second nationally and equals the most by a Cajuns pitcher since Gunner Leger (10) in 2017.
• With four stolen bases on Tuesday at Louisiana Tech, Louisiana increased its season total to 148 on the season to break the school-record (145) set in both 1991 and 2002.
• Louisiana’s 148 stolen bases in 2023 mark the first time the Ragin’ Cajuns have stolen 100-plus bases in back-to-back seasons since 1999-2000 (110/125). Louisiana stole 138 bases in 2022.
• With 32 stolen bases, Heath Hood became the first Ragin’ Cajun since Nathan Nelson (33) in 2000 to eclipse 30+ steals in a season.
• Hood is one steal from tying Nelson for fifth and two from tying Papo Ramos (1992) for fourth in a season in school history.
• Louisiana is one of two Division I schools nationally with four players with 20+ steals in a season.
• Louisiana is third nationally in stolen bases (148) and 11th in fielding percentage (.981).
• Carson Roccaforte’s 21 doubles in 2023 are tied for the fifth-most in single-season in school history; with 42 career doubles, Roccaforte is three shy of tying Dylan Butler (2012-15) for fifth in school history.
• Max Marusak’s nine sacrifice bunts in 2023 are two shy of the single-season, school record shared by Tyler Robertson (2022), Seth Harrison (2014) and Josh Landry (2006).
• The Ragin’ Cajuns lead the Sun Belt Conference and are 10th in the nation in sacrifice flies (30).
• Hood is one triple shy of moving into a tie for fifth place (11) in school history with Ron Robicheaux (1983-86) and Major Swindler (1967-70).
• Roccaforte’s 59 career steals are the third-most in school history trailing Mickey Berry (69, 1977-78) and Papo Ramos (63, 1991-92).
• Hood’s 51 stolen bases are two shy of tying Ruben Rodriguez (1987-88) for sixth in school history.
• Louisiana ranks first in the SBC in fielding percentage (.981), doubles (111), sacrifice flies, shutouts (5), stolen bases, stolen bases per game, WHIP (1.37) and walks allowed per nine innings (4.23).
• Louisiana is 24-6 when scoring six or more runs per game and 26-7 when allowing five runs or less.
• The Ragin’ Cajuns have hit five grand slam home runs during the 2023 season (Julian Brock – 3, Conor Higgs – 1; Max Marusak – 1).
• The Ragin’ Cajuns are 15-3 in games decided by five runs or greater during the 2023 season.
• The Ragin’ Cajuns .981 fielding percentage is on pace to finish as the best mark in school history, eclipsing the previous best (.979) set in 2018.
• Louisiana’s 21 victories at #TheTigue in 2023 have surpassed the season total set last season (19 in 27 games).
WHAT’S ON DECK
• Louisiana closes out the 2023 regular season beginning on Thursday when it travels to Hattiesburg, Miss., to face SBC newcomer and co-leader Southern Miss in a three-game series at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field.
• First pitch for both Thursday and Friday is scheduled for 6 p.m. with Saturday’s regular-season finale set for 2 p.m. All three games will be streamed on ESPN+.
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Louisiana is facing a record-breaking surge of whooping cough cases and is on track to surpass the highest number of reported cases in decades, state health officials said Wednesday.
The state has data on whooping cough, also known as pertussis, going back to the 1990s, said Teresa Sokol, state epidemiologist at the Department of Health. Previously, the highest case count was 214 cases in 2013.
“Our current trajectory with whooping cough cases this year means that we are unfortunately on track to surpass that number of cases, probably before the end of this year,” Sokol said.
During a press conference that incoming LDH Secretary Bruce Greenstein said was about transparency and protecting the public’s health, officials shared updates on both the measles and whooping cough outbreaks. While the state has successfully contained measles, whooping cough cases continue to rise, posing a significant risk to infants too young to be fully vaccinated.
Whooping cough cases rise
As of Wednesday, the state reported 170 whooping cough cases in 2025, surpassing the total of 153 cases recorded in all of last year. Since September 2024, the outbreak has led to 42 hospitalizations, with nearly 70% involving infants under one year old. Two infants have died, marking the first fatalities in Louisiana since 2018.
Newborns are especially vulnerable to whooping cough because they have immature immune systems, said Dr. Margot Anderson, a pediatric infectious disease expert at Tulane University. In older kids, the virus is usually an “annoyance,” but its lengthy contagious period makes it easy to spread.
“We used to call it the 100-day cough,” said Anderson. “They’re contagious for at least three weeks of coughing.”
Infants get their first pertussis vaccine at 2 months. To protect them, Anderson recommended what’s known as “cocooning” – keeping infants away from others until they get their first shot. She also recommended a booster shot during pregnancy to give the baby antibodies.
Five of the 42 hospitalized pertussis patients were vaccinated. Six had an unknown vaccination rate, and the remaining 31 were undervaccinated or unvaccinated.
One in three babies under the age of one who get whooping cough will be hospitalized, said Sokol.
“The younger the baby is, the more likely they’re going to have a severe illness,” she said.
Anyone who is going to be around the infant in early days, such as grandparents or siblings, should be up to date on the pertussis vaccine, which is given as part of the DTaP vaccine for children and the Tdap vaccine for adolescents and adults. Those vaccinecs also protect against diphtheria and tetanus.
It’s likely that whooping cough is going undetected in the state due to less frequent testing, said Sokol. Though Louisiana’s overall case rate for pertussis is lower than the national average, the rate of severe cases requiring hospitalization is significantly higher, at 15% compared to a national average of 5%.
Surgeon General Dr. Ralph Abraham said Louisiana residents should consult health care providers if there are any concerns about a child’s health. He advised parents to seek medical attention if a child has symptoms like high fever, not eating, not drinking, or decreased urinary output.
“I would recommend talking to your health care provider if you have questions about your immunity to these diseases, because there are tests we can do to check your immunity,” Abraham said.
For those who do not have a regular health provider, Abraham recommended visiting a parish health unit.
Measles cases closed
On May 9, Louisiana closed the investigation that stemmed from a travel-related measles case in the New Orleans area in mid-April. One additional case was found through contact tracing, but that case was already past the incubation period when it was identified. According to Dr. Pete Croughan, 75 people were exposed, about half of whom were health care workers.
Two high-risk contacts received post-exposure drugs that are typically given to people who are unvaccinated, “which almost certainly prevented additional cases,” Croughan said.
These cases coincide with a national uptick, with over 1,000 confirmed measles cases across 31 states by early May, the highest annual total since 2019.
Approximately 96% of these cases have occurred in unvaccinated or under-vaccinated individuals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Some parents have asked about giving their children an early measles vaccine before the typical timeline of one year. Anderson advised that since there is no evidence of active spread of measles within the state, early vaccination is generally not necessary, except in cases where a child may travel to areas with ongoing outbreaks.
Recent state policy changes have reduced proactive vaccine promotion, ending mass vaccination events like flu shot fairs and instructing public health employees to direct residents to their health care providers rather than actively recommending vaccines.
Abraham said he would not consider holding vaccine events for pertussis, but said the department was promoting the vaccine on its website, urging residents to speak with their physicians.
Access is a problem Anderson often sees in hospitalized patients with vaccine-preventable diseases.
“We were so interested in this problem of vaccine refusers or skeptics, but oftentimes it’s that they live in Tickfaw, or somewhere really rural, and don’t have transportation,” she said.
Australia’s Woodside Energy and Saudi Aramco have signed an agreement to explore cooperation opportunities that may include the Saudi company buying a stake in the Louisiana LNG project.
The agreement is non-binding, Woodside said, adding that it could involve “Aramco’s potential acquisition of an equity interest in and LNG offtake from the Louisiana LNG project.”
Woodside’s CEO, Meg O’Neill, said the deal was “another demonstration of the ongoing interest Louisiana LNG is generating among high-quality potential investors, following our recent agreement with Stonepeak to acquire a 40% interest in the project’s infrastructure holding company.”
The Australian energy major announced the final investment decision on the $17.5-billion facility in late April, with first production scheduled for 2029. The facility is designed to have three liquefaction trains with a total capacity of 16.5 million tons annually.
This would boost Woodside’s total LNG capacity to 24 million tons annually by next decade, the company said earlier. Woodside also has permits to expand the Louisiana LNG facility by another two trains, which would boost its capacity to a total 27.6 million tons annually.
Woodside bought the former Driftwood LNG project as part of its acquisition of Tellurian for $1.2 billion last year. The deal “adds a scalable US LNG development opportunity to our existing approximately 10 Mtpa of equity LNG in Australia,” Woodside chief executive Meg O’Neill said at the time. Then, this year, reports emerged that Woodside was looking for partners in the projects, seeking to sell up to 50% of the ownership.
The Australian company has already sold a 40% stake in Louisiana LNG to infrastructure investors Stonepeak, with the latter committing to cover $5.7 billion of the total capex for the project, equal to 75% of the 2025 and 2026 capex. Woodside wants to sell another 20-30% in the project. Woodside eyes net operating cash income of some $2 billion annually from Louisiana LNG, beginning the 2030s.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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- British TikTokers Joshua Cauldwell-Clarke and Jason Riley visited Houma, Louisiana, documenting their culinary and wildlife experiences.
- The duo sampled barbecue at Big Mike’s BBQ Smokehouse, trying various dishes including brisket and ribs.
- They then embarked on a swamp tour with Cajun Man Swamp Tours, where they observed and fed alligators.
Two traveling British TikTokers visited Houma for some local flavor and to check out the wildlife.
Joshua Cauldwell-Clarke and Jason Riley are from Nottingham in the United Kingdom, best known from their on-camera reactions to American cuisine as @JohnandJase on TikTok. They currently are traveling through southern Louisiana. They stopped in Houma May 12, where they ate at Big Mike’s BBQ Smokehouse and then went on Cajun Man Swamp Tours.
“That’s the size of my head,” Cauldwell-Clarke said, holding a slab of brisket next to his head. He then took a bite, eyes rolling back as he chewed, “That’s good brisket.”
The two ate three trays of food and many large plastic cups of sides. Owner, operator and pitmaster Mike “Big Mike” Lewis was seated just off camera as the two ate. The meal included mac n cheese balls, ribs, brisket, beans, mac and cheese, green beans and banana pudding.
“They were pretty cool guys,” Lewis said. “It was fun.”
After scarfing down the massive meal, the two headed to the swamps with Captain Billy Gaston giving them an up-close experience with some alligators. Gaston is the owner and operator of Cajun Man Swamp Tours, which operates in Gibson.
“They wanted to wrestle the alligators, but I told ‘em my insurance wouldn’t cover it,” Gaston said.
Instead, he gave the two a long metal pole with a hook with pieces of chicken on the end, and the two fed the gators.
“They’re so strong aren’t they,” Riley said after the gator pulled the chicken from the pole.
While in Houma, the two announced they are having a raffle for Americans to visit the United Kingdom. To enter into the drawing click here, or visit their TikTok.
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