Arkansas State baseball (12-7, 1-0 SBC) opened conference play with an explosive performance at the plate to take down Louisiana (9-8, 0-1 SBC) 11-8 on Friday night at Tomlinson Stadium.
Jelle van der Lelie made his fifth start of the season, surrendering three runs (two earned) on four hits and three walks while striking out eight over 4.2 innings pitched. The righty set a new career high for strikeouts along with a new team high for the season.
Wil French had a career day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two home runs, seven RBIs, and four runs scored. The Second Baseman matches Dylan DeButy for the most RBIs in a game this season and set a new season high for runs scored.
The first two innings belonged to the Red Wolves, beginning with three consecutive strikeouts from van der Lelie in the opening frame. Austen Jaslove put the first run on the board with an RBI-knock in the first before French added three more in the second with a 365-foot home run to right field.
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After recording only one hit in the first four scoreless innings, the Ragin’ Cajuns began to rally in the fifth. Trey LaFluer brought in the first run with a groundout and Kyle DeBarge followed with an RBI-single before scoring on a passed ball to make the score 4-3.
French knocked in a run with a double down the right-field line while another scored on a throwing error from the right fielder in the sixth. Louisiana tied the game at 6-6 in the next frame with a solo-home run from John Taylor and a two-run double from Jose Torres.
The Red Wolves reclaimed the lead when Cason Campbell crossed the plate on a bases-loaded walk before French blew the game open with a grand slam over the right-field wall. DeBarge got two of those runs back for Louisiana with a home run, but A-State held on to an 11-8 lead going into the ninth.
With the bases loaded and the go-ahead run at the plate for Louisiana, Max Charlton forced a pop-out to secure the victory and snap a two-game losing skid.
Charlton earned the win while Blake McGehee (1-1) recorded the loss as Arkansas State wins its first conference opener since 2019 at Troy and breaks a six-game losing streak to the Ragin’ Cajuns.
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Prior to the first matchup against Eastern Illinois on March 9, Jaylon Deshazier was the last batter to record seven-or-more RBIs in a game, doing so on March 3, 2018 at New Orleans. An A-State batter has now accomplished this feat twice over the last six days.
NEXT UPArkansas State looks to clinch the series against Louisiana on Saturday, March 16 at Tomlinson Stadium. First pitch is set for 3:00 p.m. on ESPN+ and can be heard on 95.3/96.9 The Ticket Radio Network along with the A-State Red Wolves mobile app.
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(KMDL-FM) You might not have realized it, but you’re on a roller coaster. No, not the kind of roller coaster you look forward to riding, but the kind of roller coaster only Mother Nature can devise in the form of Louisiana’s annual up and down weather conditions, also known as spring.
READ MORE: Louisiana Parishes That Have the Most Tornadoes
Much of Louisiana was affected by strong storms with heavy rains and gusty winds during the day on Saturday and extending into Sunday morning. By later afternoon yesterday, conditions had improved, and it looked as though the work and school week would be off to a much calmer start.
Heavy Rain Possible in Louisiana To Start the Work Week
The start of the work and school day will be much calmer; however, the ride home on this first day of “extra sunlight” thanks to Daylight Saving Time will include a decent chance of showers and storms. Oh, and there are already reports of thick fog.
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So, after a foggy start this morning, you could be picking up kids from school or driving yourself home from work in a torrential downpour. And you’ll get to do all of this while you’re mentally addled from the twice-a-year time change.
Rain chances are listed at 50% for this afternoon, but they do taper off quickly after the sun goes down. The Weather Prediction Center is forecasting a slight risk of an excessive rain event for portions of Louisiana later today. The area of concern is generally along and well north of US 190.
When Is The Next Threat of Severe Storms in Louisiana?
Tuesday should be a cloudy but breezy and warm day. Then on Wednesday, the rain chances and the next threat of severe storms will move into Louisiana.
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The Storm Prediction Center outlook for Wednesday’s severe weather potential suggests that the northern and central sections of the state might be more at risk for stronger storms than the I-10 corridor might be.
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READ MORE: Who Is Appearing at Patty in the Parc in Lafayette?
We will know more about that potential later this morning when the SPC updates its forecast. The outlook for the remainder of the week, including the Patty in the Parc Weekend event in Downtown Lafayette, looks to be spectacular.
RICHLAND — Tech companies could receive significant tax breaks in Louisiana as data centers break ground in the state.
According to a report by The Advocate, Meta officials told state officials in 2024 that they would need significant tax breaks while negotiating the $27 billion data center project currently being built in North Louisiana.
Based on projections of Louisiana’s tax exemptions and the expected expenditures of the companies, state and local governments could potentially give billions in tax breaks to the tech giants.
Several states, including Louisiana, have seen backlash to data centers as residents worry about potential rising electric costs and strain on water systems.
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Virginia is currently debating whether or not to repeal tax exemptions for the tech companies, as it has cost state and local governments in Virginia $1.9 billion in 2024 alone.
The tax break exempts data centers from state and local taxes for multiple things data centers require, including servers, chillers, electric infrastructure and construction costs.
The scale of the data center projects, which include tens of billions in spending, coupled with Louisiana’s sales tax of 10%, means tax breaks could be worth huge amounts.
Gov. Jeff Landry speaks at an event Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, at Shreveport Municipal Auditorium in Shreveport, La., held to announce that Amazon plans to build data centers in Caddo and Bossier Parishes. He is joined by Roger Wehner, left, vice president of Economic Development for Amazon, and Matt Vanderzanden, CEO of STACK Infrastructure.
