CAJUNS SEASON COMES TO END AT LSU?June 2, 2002
6/2/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
CAJUNS SEASON COMES TO END AT LSU
June 2, 2002
?BATON ROUGE – All season long, Louisiana's Ragin' Cajun baseball team put its hopes on the arms of Justin Gabriel and Andy Gros.
?On Sunday, though, head coach
Tony Robichaux had to rely on someone else. And LSU got to them.
?The top-seeded Tigers (44-20) had their backs against the wall but came through in flying colors by taking two games from the Cajuns (39-23) by identical scores of 12-2 to claim the NCAA Regional at Baton Rouge Championship. The Cajuns had their season ended.
?LSU left fielder Matt Heath hit two home runs and had a big part in creating more tension in an already pressure-filled Alex Box Stadium to lift the Tigers into next weekend's NCAA Super Regional at national seeded Rice.
?The Tigers also got stellar pitching performances from Jake Tompkins and Brian Wilson. The duo was key in holding UL Lafayette to just four runs and 15 hits on the day. For his efforts, Tompkins was named the regional's Most Outstanding Player.
?For the Cajuns, meanwhile, it was a frustrating end to a good season. After cruising into Championship Sunday thanks to great pitching performances from Justin Gabriel and Andy Gros, the Cajuns had a hard time getting outs Sunday.
?Corey Coles gave up two home runs in the first inning of Sunday's first game, as LSU quickly went ahead 3-0. After UL Lafayette made it 3-1 in the fifth, the Tigers scored single runs in the fifth and sixth to break ahead. In the seventh, the game got even more interesting.
?Heath cracked a two-run home run to put LSU up 7-1. As he rounded the bases, it was apparent that he said something to the Cajun dugout. The Cajun bench cleared but order was quickly restored.
?When Heath came up to bat again in the ninth, Cajun reliever Donnie Bair hit Heath on the first pitch. Bair was ejected, along with head coach
Tony Robichaux. By NCAA rules, Bair was also suspended for the Cajuns' next four games and Robichaux had to sit out the second game.
?LSU shortstop Aaron Hill added to the "fun" later in the inning when his bat flew out of his hands into the Cajun dugout. Home plate umpire Randy Wetzel ruled that Hill did it on purpose, suspending him for the final game as well.
?No shenanigans took place in the second game, but LSU made sure there was action with seven runs in the middle innings to break open a 1-1 tie. The Cajuns went through six pitchers in giving up 17 hits. Heath added a home run and went 2-for-5 with three RBIs, while J.C. Holt went 4-for-6 with three runs scored.
?The Cajuns did place three on the All-Tournament team. Gros, who shut out the Tigers Saturday, was a unanimous choice as a pitcher and joined shortstop Chase Lambin and outfielder Bryan Sneed on the 12-player squad. LSU put seven players on the team while Tulane and Southern each had one.
?The Tiger win in the first game snapped the Cajuns' eight-game win streak in NCAA Regional games.
--LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE--
