GABRIEL RECORDS SHUTOUT AS CAJUNS BEAT MT?April 26, 2002

4/26/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

GABRIEL RECORDS SHUTOUT AS CAJUNS BEAT MT...April 26, 2002

?MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns scored five runs in the first four innings, and All-American pitcher Justin Gabriel made it stand as the Cajuns took a 5-0 Sun Belt Conference win over Middle Tennessee (21-21, 3-10 SBC) Friday night at Reese Smith Field.

?Gabriel (8-1) gave up only five hits and struck out eight to lift the Cajuns (28-15, 10-3 SBC) to their fifth straight SBC win. The senior left-hander also ran his record to 5-0 in SBC play.

?Offensively, UL Lafayette provided Gabriel with everything in the first four innings. Chase Lambin provided the big blow, as the senior shortstop launched a three-run homer in the fourth inning to break it open.

?The Cajuns used the long ball throughout, hitting three round-trippers on the night. Brad Saloom, who had his first career home run Tuesday, opened the scoring with a second-inning solo shot. Outfielder Corey Coles added his fifth of the season in the third.

?UL Lafayette recorded seven hits on the night, led by two hits from both Coles and catcher Mike Kabel. MT, meanwhile, got a 3-for-4 effort from nine-hole hitter Troy Harp.?

?Other than Harp, however, Gabriel cruised. The only real jam he had to escape occurred in the fifth when he hit three batters to load the bases. He finally got MT's Nate Jaggers to ground out to second and end the threat.

?Gabriel, who lowered his ERA to 2.93 and 1.91 in five conference games, tallied his first career shutout. He improved his career record to 17-5. MT, which dropped its sixth straight contest, only got a runner in scoring position in two other innings. The Blue Raiders stranded 10 runners on base.

?The two teams will continue the three-game series at 2 p.m. Saturday.

--LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE--