Ragin? Cajun News
5/3/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
WKU HOLDS ON TO EDGE CAJUNS
May 3, 2002
?LAFAYETTE – Western Kentucky broke open an early pitching duel with five runs during a three-inning stretch, and the visiting Hilltoppers held off a late rally to take a 5-4 Sun Belt Conference win at Louisiana-Lafayette Friday at "Tigue" Moore Field.
?WKU starter Ryan Bicondoa (8-2) went eight innings and gave up four runs, while three Hilltoppers got three hits as WKU (32-11, 12-3 SBC) won its first game at UL Lafayette since 1995.
?Chase Lambin paced the Cajuns (30-16, 12-4 SBC) with two hits, including his team-leading ninth home run of the season. Bryan Sneed added three hits and an RBI. Justin Gabriel (8-2) took his first loss in SBC action after giving up 11 hits and four earned runs in 7 1/3 innings.
?The game started out as a classic matchup between two of the league's best pitchers. The first three innings took under 50 minutes, and the Cajuns were the first team to dent the scoreboard when Lambin hit an opposite-field blast in the fourth.
?The Hilltoppers, though, came back with a run of their own in the fifth and scored three more in the sixth. Antone Towns provided a two-out, RBI single and the Hilltoppers added a crucial run on two errors by Cajun second baseman Justin Bourque.
?The Cajuns did scratch two runs across in the bottom of the frame – keyed by Sneed's run-scoring single and a suicide squeeze by Brad Saloom. After both teams added another run in the late innings, however, WKU closer Matt Wilhite shut the Cajuns down with a flawless ninth to earn Bicondoa his seventh straight win.
?The loss snaps a seven-game conference winning streak for the Cajuns. The two teams will continue the series at 2 p.m. Saturday.
--LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE--
