Ragin? Cajun News

5/14/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

BASEBALL RALLIES PAST NICHOLLS STATE

May 14, 2002

THIBODAUX -- Louisiana-Lafayette first baseman Phillip Hawke came into Tuesday night's midweek contest at Nicholls State mired in his worst slump of the season. He came out of the game with one of his biggest hits of the year.

The Baton Rouge freshman, who had just one hit in his last 18 at-bats, tallied a run-scoring single in the top of the ninth to help the visiting Cajuns (35-18) rally for a 6-5 win over the Colonels (25-26) at Didier Field.

UL Lafayette scored two runs in the ninth in winning its second one-run decision in eight days versus NSU. The Cajuns defeated the Colonels 4-3 in Lafayette last Tuesday.

Justin Bourque led a 12-hit Cajun attack by going 3-for-4 with two runs scored, while Corey Coles added two hits and two RBIs. Coles (5-1) also got the win in relief despite giving up a run on three hits in 2 1/3 innings

NSU was paced by Brad Dantonio, who launched two home runs despite the loss. The top three hitters in the NSU lineup (Dantonio, Bryan James and Chuck Hickman) combined to go 7-for-13 with three RBIs and four runs scored.

The Cajuns, meanwhile, got off to a slow start. NSU scored three runs in the third and eventually stretched its lead to 4-0 in the fourth when Dantonio added his second home run in as many innings But the visitors cut the deficit in half in the seventh on an RBI double by Dallas Morris and Coles' run-scoring single.

UL Lafayette tied it in the eighth when Chad Verret -- who doubled home Ray Dees to start the frame's scoring -- came home after James bobbled Justin Morgan's single. NSU took another lead in its eight-inning at-bat on Hickman's single.

However, the Cajuns answered again thanks to back-to-back hit batsmen by NSU's Kyle Cook. With the bases loaded, Coles tied it with a sacrifice fly, and Hawke -- a defensive replacement in the eighth -- gave the Cajuns their first lead of the night with a single off Colonel reliever Matt Overman.

Coles put the game to rest by striking out the side in the bottom of the inning.

The Cajuns, who used 16 position players and five pitchers on the night, will wrap up the Sun Belt Conference regular season this weekend when Arkansas State visits "Tigue" Moore Field for a three-game set beginning at 6:30 p.m. Friday.

--LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE--