LSU Blast Ragin Cajuns, 11-2

Photo By: Jonathan Mailhes

2/24/2021
By: Terrill J. Weil
Da Boot Sports


   
   LAFAYETTE, LA::  The Tigers (2-1) traveled down the road to Lafayette to play the UL Ragin Cajuns (3-1) on Wednesday night and would come away a 11-2 victory over their in-state rivals. LSU continued to show case the strength of their pitching staff, while at the plate the LSU hitters had a solid night with 14 hits and showed patience at the plate drawing seven base on balls. The Tigers would also benefit from five Cajun errors. 


   The Tigers would get on the scoreboard first in the top of the second inning. Mitchell Sanford would start the inning off with a lead off walk.
   Gavin Dugas would follow with a single off of the UL pitcher's glove putting runners at 1st and 2nd with no outs.
   Jordan Thompson would be next up to the plate and would hit a routine fly ball to left field, that would be dropped by Cajun outfielder Conner Kimple. The error would load the bases with no outs.
   Alex Milazzo would ground out to short stop, scoring Sanford from third while moving the other runners up.   
   Two batters later Cade Doughty would single, then advance to second on an error by the UL short stop Sam Riloa. Thompson and Dugas would both score on the play to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead. 

   The Tigers would manage another run in the top of the third to increase their lead to 4-0, but would miss an opportunity to deliver a huge blow to the Cajuns as they would leave two runners in scoring position.  
   UL would get on the board in the bottom of the inning as Bren Breaux would hit a solo home run over the right field wall. We would go to the 4th with LSU up, 4-1.

   LSU would plate a run in the top of the 6th when UL pitcher Austin Perrin would walk Dylan Crews home with the bases loaded. The Tigers would hold a 5-1 lead going to the 7th. 

   The Tigers would pad their lead with a run scored in the top of the 7th inning... 6-1 LSU..

   The Cajuns would try to mount a comeback in the bottom of the 8th as LSU pitcher Alex Brady would struggle.
   Brady would give up a lead off single, then back to back walks to load the sacks with no outs. Carson Roccaforte would then hit a RBI single to right field, running the score to 6-2, and chasing Brady from the ball game with the bases still full with no outs.
   Senior Devin Fontenot would enter the game for the Tigers and quickly get his team out of trouble. Fontenot would grab a line drive hit back at him, then double up the runner on 1st base. Kevin Fitzgerald would step up to the plate next for UL, for Fontenot to strike out swinging for the third out of the 8th inning.  

   The Tigers would add five insurance runs in the top of the 9th as freshmen Brody Drost would hit a two run homer over the right field fence. After back to back singles by Milazzo and Crews, Cade Doughty would hit a double to bring home Milazzo for a 9-2 lead. Tre' Morgan would then single in Crews, followed by a ground out RBI by Cade Beloso.. 11-2 Tigers. 

   Freshmen Theo Millas would make his first appearance as a LSU Tiger in the bottom of the 9th and would get the Cajun hitters three up-three down to end the ballgame.   FINAL: 11-2 LSU.....

“It was a great team victory for us tonight; I thought we played well in all facets of the game,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “I thought we really swung the bats well all night, and the story of the game was the two freshmen pitchers, Edwards and Hellmers. Garrett got us off to a great start, and Will looked fantastic in his two innings. Getting an early lead really helped both of those guys and allowed them to challenge the hitters.  We had a lot of great at-bats, and it was just a total team effort. I’m really proud of the guys; it was fun to win a game on the road against a really good team.”


   With the win, LSU is now 3-1 on the season.. Up next the Tigers will host Youngstown State on Friday night at 7:00pm. Then play two games on Saturday. First against Youngstown State at 2:00pm, then against Nicholls at 6:30pm.

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