University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Middle Tennessee
Ardoin Clamps Down on Blue Raiders
5/28/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
MOBILE, Ala.- Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns rode the arm of ace Kevin Ardoin to a 6-2 downing of the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders in the second game of the day for the Cajuns. The win improves the UL Lafayette to 34-22 overall with a 3-1 mark in the 2004 Dodge Sun Belt Baseball Tournament.
Ardoin got the ball in the night game against the Blue Raiders and made his presence felt early by sitting the opposition in order in the top of the first.
Brett Carroll singled to third and stole second, but Ardoin held the Blue Raiders off the scoreboard by getting a a pair of strikeouts in the top of the second.
Rhett Buras went deep to center off Middle Tennessee starter B.J. Church giving Louisiana-Lafayette a 1-0 lead in the bottom of inning two.
Troy Harp doubled down the first base line with one down in the third before taking off for third on an infield groundout. Ardoin; however, would hold the tying run 90-feet away by striking out Chuck Akers to get out of the inning.
UL Lafayette went up 4-0 in the bottom of the third when John Coker was hit with a pitch and stole two bags before Justin Merendino tripled to score the run. Brad Saloom chopped a pitch towards the mound for an infield single that scored Merendino from third.
Kevin Preau doubled in Saloom to give the Cajuns the four-run lead.
Ardoin continued to frustrate the Blue Raiders batters, retiring the side in order in the top of the fourth, then followed by striking out the Middle Tennessee side in order in the fifth.
Buras laced a double down the line in left and advanced to third on a Preau sacrifice bunt. Ryan Core plated Buras with a single through the left side to give Louisiana-Lafayette a 5-0 lead.
A pair of fielding errors cost the Cajuns two runs in the top of the eighth after Middle Tennessee loaded the bases with a pair of singles and new Cajuns pitcher Brandt Sanders hit a batter.
Sanders came back to strikeout the last two batters of the inning.
Saloom started the bottom of the frame with an infield single off the ankle of Church. The injured pitcher was lifted for Travis Horchel.
Preau tripled down the right field line scoring Saloom to give the Ragin' Cajuns a 6-2 lead.
Danny Bourne came in to deal for MTSU. Phillip Hawke put a bunt down in an attempt to score Preau from home, but Preau was thrown out at the plate as Hawke reached on a fielder's choice.
Sanders closed out the game holding the contest at 6-2.
Ardoin (6-2) picked up the win tonight throwing seven and one-thirds innings allowing one earned run on seven hits. Ardoin struck out 10 in the outing.
Church (6-1) took the loss allowing six runs on eight hits while fanning 10 of his own.
The Cajuns will play these same Blue
Raiders tomorrow in an elimination game set for 9:30 a.m.
The winner will face Western Kentucky for the Sun Belt
Tournament Championship at 12:30p.m.
