Feb. 25, 2005

LAFAYETTE, La.-Joe Raccuia's Marist baseball squad will begin its 2005 season this weekend at the Mardi Gras Ball Tournament on the campus of Louisiana-Lafayette. The Red Foxes will face the Ragin' Cajuns on Friday at 6:30 p.m. (CST), Texas State on Saturday at 6 p.m. (CST) and Miami (OH) Sunday at 10 a.m. (CST).

Marist will be led this season by a strong contingent on the mound, starting with 2002 MAAC Pitcher of the Year Scott Chambers and George Heath will also take the mound this weekend for the Red Foxes, who finished with a 17-10 mark in league play last season.

Host Louisiana-Lafayette is 7-0 this season with a three-game sweep over Louisiana Tech and wins over Southern, St. John's, Northwestern State and Nicholls State. John McCarthy leads UL Lafayette with a .458 average and six RBI. Kevin Ardoin and Austin Faught lead the way on the mound with a 2-0 record and an ERA of 0.64 each in two starts. The duo has 25 strikeouts between them in 28 innings pitched.

Texas State enters the tournament at 8-2 overall, with wins over Texas-Pan American, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Angelo State and New Mexico. Nolan Mast is the Bobcats' top hitter at .433 with one home run, six RBI and a pair of stolen bases. Ryan Bennett has had a fast start on the hill in the early going with a 2-0 mark in his first three starts with a 2.25 ERA and six strikeouts in 16.2 innings.

The Redhawks of Miami will open its their season in Louisiana as well. Mike Ferris is the school's leading returning hitter with a .361 average last season to go with 21 home runs and 62 RBI in addition to 15 doubles. Graham Taylor led the Redhawks with a 3.57 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 106 innings.

The Red Foxes will head to Tulane next weekend to take on the nation's top-ranked team in a three-game series.