Buy Photo UL coach Tony Robichaux talks to pitcher Gunner Leger and other Cajuns during an NCAA Tournament win over Arizona last season. UL is ranked as high as 13th in the 2017 preseason. (Photo: LEE CELANO/THE ADVERTISER)Buy Photo

Arizona stayed alive in the NCAA Lafayette Regional, beating Sam Houston State 6-5 late Sunday night.

The win by the Wildcats sets up a rematch at 1 p.m. Monday between Arizona and UL, which beat the Wildcats 10-3 earlier Sunday.

If UL loses its 1 p.m. game, a 7 p.m. game will be played between UL and Arizona to determine the Regional winner. If UL wins the 1 p.m. game, it advances to a Super Regional for a third straight year.

And that presented Ragin’ Cajuns coach Tony Robichaux with a major decision: does he start Wyatt Marks or Evan Guillory at 1 p.m.?

After Sunday’s game, Robichaux knew only this:

“We are back to a right-hander,” Robichaux said. “We’ll see which one it’s gonna be.”

And on Monday he had his decision: It will be Guillory.

Guillory (5-5, 3.98 ERA) was chased early in his lone Sun Belt Conference Tournament start, exiting in the first inning 4-0 with no outs on the board.

That leaves Marks (5-6 with a 4.26 ERA) available for a possible 7 p.m. game.

Arizona has not named its starters during the Regional until shortly before gametime.

“It’s not that big of a deal,” Robichaux said of Arizona waiting late to announce its decision.

“If he’s fortunate enough to win,” the Cajun coach added with reference to Arizona coach Jay Johnson, who did get that win, “we’ll wait until (Monday) an hour before the game and get the starter, then get prepared and ready to roll.”

The answer: Arizona will start ace Nathan Bannister, a righty with a 10-2 record and a 2.56 ERA. Bannister threw 7.0 innings (96 pitches) in Arizona's Regional win over Sam Houston State just last Friday night.

TROSCLAIR’S BAT

UL second baseman Stefan Trosclair went 2-for-3 at the plate Sunday with three RBI and two runs scored, including a solo home run.

His recent hot streak at the plate perhaps not-so-coincidentally has coincided with the Cajuns’ current 12-game win streak.

But the issue of whose streak came first – his or theirs – is almost akin to a chicken-or-egg question. Because he is not alone in having a hot bat.

“We used to say this: ‘If he goes, we go,’ ” Robichaux said.

“But I think what he’s learned in the streak is that it doesn’t have to be him. And because that pressure got taken off of him, I think that’s what’s made him better now.

“He doesn’t feel he just has to carry the team all the time. He doesn’t,” the Cajun coach added. “And through this streak our hitters have done a great job, throughout the lineup. They’re tough outs.”

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DELAY, DELAY

UL’s game Sunday was supposed to have been played Saturday night, but was postponed because of inclement weather earlier in the day.

It also was supposed to have started at 1 p.m. Sunday, but actually started at 1:45 due to a storm moved quickly through the area.

FINAL WORDS

Robichaux left his club with some final words Sunday, even not knowing if he'd be facing Arizona or Sam Houston.

Either way ...

“We want to try to start plowing forward,” he said, “because … for us to believe that this is gonna be easy is a lie. It’s doable.

“That’s what I told them at the end of the huddle today, you know: ‘It’s not gonna be easy, but it’s doable.’ ”