University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
South Alabama
Ragin' Cajuns Wrap Up Regular Season With 12-5 Win Over Jaguars
5/18/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Sunday, May 18, 2003
LAFAYETTE - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns baseball team finishes the 2003 regular season with a 12-5 win over the South Alabama Jaguars here on senior day at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field. The Ragin' Cajuns received a complete game performance from senior pitcher Andy Gros and a seven run fifth inning from the offense to defeat the SBC regular season champions on the final day of conference play.
UL Lafayette (28-28) finishes tied for second in the conference with a 15-9 record and will receive the third seed as the hosts in the 2003 SBC tournament. South Alabama (39-15) falls to 16-7 in the Sun Belt and will return to Moore field later this week as the number one seed in the conference tournament after taking two of three against the Cajuns to finish the regular season.
Senior starter Andy Gros (7-6) pitched a complete game on senior day and the Cajun bats produced 12 runs on 17 hits, including a span of seven consecutive hits in the fifth inning to take the third and final game of the series.
Louisiana-Lafayette picked up an early run in the first inning after Dallas Morris led off the inning with a single and tagged up from third with one out on a sacrifice fly by Bryan Sneed.
South Alabama went ahead with a two run third inning that started on a Cajun infield groundball error to lead off the inning. With two outs in the inning USA shortstop Brett Parker hit a two-run homerun off Gros to give the Jaguars a 2-1 lead.
The Cajuns tied the game in the fourth inning when Phillip Hawke hit a one-out double to right field that scored Corey Coles from third, who reached base on a lead off single.
UL Lafayette took control of the game with seven consecutive hits to open the fifth inning. The seven straight hits was just one short of a season high eight straight earlier in the year against New Orleans.
Shortstop Ray Dees drove in the go-ahead run in the inning with a double to left center field that scored Josh Landry from third and knocked USA starter Tommie Major out of the game. Dallas Morris continued the string of hits against Jaguar reliever Billy Fullam with a single up the middle that scored Jason Wilson. Corey Coles, Bryan Sneed, and Phillip Hawke followed with three straight RBI singles that gave the Cajuns a five run lead with no outs in the inning.
Fullam got Ryan Core to hit into a fielder's choice ground ball for the first out of the inning before Tony Neal took over on the mound for USA. Brad Saloom and Josh Landry greeted Neal with RBI singles that gave the Cajuns a 9-2 lead. Neal got Jason Wilson to ground into a double play to end the damage.
South Alabama added two runs in the sixth and a final run in the ninth, but couldn't overcome the seven run deficit. USA catcher Jason Gross drove in both Jaguar runs in the sixth with a double to the center field wall and Ben Froemming scored the final Jaguar run after a led off triple in the ninth inning.
The Cajuns added three insurance runs in the seventh inning highlighted by a two-run triple from junior second baseman Brad Saloom.
Gros picks up his fifth win in his last five starts after holding the Jaguar bats to five runs (three earned) on nine hits with four strikeouts and no walks in nine innings. He has now allowed just five earned runs in his last 30 innings pitched.
Major (9-3) suffers just his third loss of the year for the Jaguars after giving up five runs (four earned) on six hits in four innings.
Seniors Bryan Sneed and Jason Wilson each went 2 for 4 on the day to lead the Ragin' Cajuns in their last regular season game at Moore field. Josh Landry and Phillip Hawke each drove in two runs on two hits and Brad Saloom drove in three more after going two for three with a walk.
UL Lafayette (28-28, 15-9 Sun Belt) will return to action this Wednesday night as they host the SBC tournament here at M.L. “Tigue” Moore field with a scheduled 6:30 p.m. first round game.
-Ragin' Cajuns-
