CAJUNS DOWN HILLTOPPERS FOR FIRST ROAD VICTORY...March 16, 2001

CAJUNS DOWN HILLTOPPERS FOR FIRST ROAD VICTORY...March 16, 2001 BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - It was a case of quality over quantity for Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns Friday night at Nick Denes Field. Despite being outhit by host Western Kentucky, Louisiana-Lafayette grabbed a 5-3 victory over the Hilltoppers in the Sun Belt Conference opener for both teams in chilly, rainy Bowling Green. The unfavorable conditions wreaked havoc with both defenses, as each squad combined for seven errors that made the first six, and seven of the eight runs, unearned. In fact, three Louisiana-Lafayette pitchers did not allow a single earned run as the Cajuns rolled to their eighth straight victory. "We knew the past on (Western Kentucky starter Ryan) Hutchison, pounding it in," Cajun head coach Tony Robichaux said. "We were looking for a chance to bunt him and we did. And the only runs we gave them, we truly gave them." The Cajuns' Tim Ramon (4-0) and Hutchison locked up in a classic duel, as Ramon struck out 12 without walking a batter as he won his fourth straight start. Hutchison, meanwhile, tossed a complete game, allowing one earned run while scattering four hits. "We knew Tim would be good and he just gives you a chance to win," said Robichaux, whose team won for the first time on the road this season. "He bends, but he doesn't break and that's all you can ask from a starting pitcher." Hutchison's breaking point came in the fourth inning and was part of his own doing. Hutchison (4-3) committed two of the three 'Topper errors in the inning, which led to four unearned Cajun runs. The first miscue came when the senior right-hander failed to field Neil Simoneaux's sacrifice bunt successfully. Then, with runners on first and third, Hutchison attempted to pick Simoneaux off third. However, third baseman Nick Turner was nowhere near the bag, allowing Simoneaux to score easily.

Doug Vicknair and Robert Shelton then made Hutchison's errors even more costly, delivering RBI singles that helped the Cajuns to the early 4-0 lead. From there, it was all Ramon. For the third time in four starts, Ramon did not allow an earned run as he tied his career high with 12 strikeouts. The only time Ramon showed any kind of weakness was in the fifth when he allowed a pair of unearned runs.

Louisiana-Lafayette vs Western Kentucky

NCAA Box Score Game Play-by-Play

Box Score

2001 Louisiana's Ragin' Cajun Baseball Louisiana-Lafayette at Western Kentucky Mar 16, 2001 at Bowling Green, Ky. (Nick Denes Field) Louisiana-Lafayette 5 (16-7,1-0 WKU1) Name (Pos) AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB Avg BUNDY, Chase lf........... 4 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 SNEED, Bryan rf........... 4 1 1 0 0 1 3 0 0 BAILEY, Bret rf........... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 SIMONEAUX, Neil ss........ 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 PAVLICH, Matt cf.......... 4 1 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 TIESING, Tyler dh......... 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 SALOOM, Brad 2b........... 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 POCHE, Jess 1b............ 2 1 0 0 2 1 5 0 1 PREAU, Kevin pr........... 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ATWOOD, Scott 1b.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 VICKNAIR, Doug c.......... 3 0 1 1 1 0 11 1 0 KABEL, Mike c............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 SHELTON, Robert 3b........ 4 0 1 1 0 2 1 2 0 RAMON, Tim p.............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 TOWNSEND, Cory p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 O'BRIEN, Gordon p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals.................... 32 5 4 2 5 6 27 7 6 Western Kentucky 3 (13-6,0-1 WKU1) Name (Pos) AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB Avg FOX, Matt lf.............. 5 1 2 1 0 1 1 0 0 HOUDEK, Brian 2b.......... 3 0 1 0 0 1 1 5 0 JOHNSON, D.J. 1b.......... 5 0 2 1 0 1 14 1 1 TURNER, Nick 3b........... 5 0 3 1 0 1 0 4 2 CATTELL, Ryan c........... 3 0 0 0 0 1 6 0 2 PACHOLKE, Jeff dh......... 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 LOWER, David cf........... 3 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 MILLER, Brent ph.......... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 CECIL, Jerry cf........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 RODRIGUEZ, Luis ss........ 4 1 0 0 0 1 0 4 2 CLELAND, Tim rf........... 4 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 HUTCHISON, Ryan p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 Totals.................... 36 3 8 3 0 12 27 16 10 Score by innings: R H E ---------------------------------------------- Louisiana-Lafayette 000 400 001 - 5 4 4 Western Kentucky 000 020 001 - 3 8 3 ---------------------------------------------- E - SIMONEAUX 2; VICKNAIR; SHELTON; TURNER; HUTCHISON 2. LOB - Cajuns 6; Western Ky. 10. 2B - PAVLICH; TURNER 2. SB - PREAU. SH - SIMONEAUX; HOUDEK. SF - CATTELL. Louisiana-Lafayette IP H R ER BB SO AB BF ERA NP RAMON, Tim.......... 8.0 7 2 0 0 12 31 34 118 TOWNSEND, Cory...... 0.1 1 1 0 0 0 3 4 11 O'BRIEN, Gordon..... 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 8 Western Kentucky IP H R ER BB SO AB BF ERA NP HUTCHISON, Ryan..... 9.0 4 5 1 5 6 32 38 126 Win - RAMON 4-0. Loss - HUTCHISON 4-3. Save - O'BRIEN (2). WP - HUTCHISON. CI - VICKNAIR. HBP - by TOWNSEND (HOUDEK). Umpires - Home:Pete Tolban 1st:Nate Valdiva 3rd:Larry Short Start: 5:56 pm Time: 2:31 Attendance: 86

University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

CAJUNS DOWN HILLTOPPERS FOR FIRST ROAD VICTORY...March 16, 2001

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