University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Hawke, McCarthy Lead Cajuns to 16-7 Win Over Blue Raiders on Senior Day
5/15/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Hawke, McCarthy
Lead Cajuns to 16-7 Win Over Blue Raiders on Senior Day
Louisiana-Lafayette's magic number to clinch the outright
Sun Belt Conference title is now two games
LAFAYETTE
–
A six-run eighth
inning capped off a four-inning, 11-run outburst as the
18th-ranked Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns took a 16-7
victory over Middle Tennessee on Senior Day here Sunday
afternoon at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field. Prior to the
Cajuns' final home game of the 2005 season, the Cajuns
honored their 16 seniors as well as three players who
graduated at home plate during Senior Day festivities.
With the win, Louisiana-Lafayette (44-12, 15-6 Sun Belt) moved a game closer to clinching their first outright Sun Belt Conference regular season championship since 1997. After a 5-3 New Mexico State win on Sunday, the Cajuns' magic number decreased two games.
Although New Mexico State is in third place, the Aggies (13-8) have the fewest conference losses behind the Cajuns and South Alabama (15-9), which is in second place has finished its Sun Belt schedule.
The loss for Middle Tennessee (26-22, 14-10 Sun Belt) eliminated the Blue Raiders from a possible regular season championship.
Louisiana-Lafayette
senior reliever and Carencro native Kraig Schambough (5-1)
earned his fifth win of the season, allowing three runs on
six hits while striking out one in three innings of work.
Senior Jered Salazar closed the game, allowing one run on
three hits with three strikeouts in two innings of relief.
Middle Tennessee starting pitcher Chase Swing (1-3) received the loss, allowing six runs on seven hits with two strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings. The Blue Raiders bullpen combined to allow 10 runs on 11 hits over the final 3 2/3 innings.
For the third time in the series, Middle Tennessee scored the game's first runs in the first inning. After Eric McNamee drew a lead-off walk, Adam Warren struck out swinging. McNamee stole second base and later advanced to third on a Nate Jaggers fly out to center field.
Michael McKenry then plated McNamee with an RBI to right field to give the Blue Raiders a 1-0 lead. Jeff Beachum then doubled to left field, scoring McKenry to increase the Blue Raiders' lead to two runs.
Louisiana-Lafayette matched Middle Tennessee with a two-run first inning to tie the game. John Coker singled to right field, followed by Justin Merendino who singled to left field. Coker was later caught stealing at third. After Josh Landry drew a one-out walk, Dallas Morris cleared the bases with two-RBI double to left field.
Louisiana-Lafayette then took its first lead of the game in the third inning with Landry's seventh home run of the season - solo shot to right field - to give the Cajuns a 3-2 lead.
Middle Tennessee tied the game at three apiece in the fourth inning on Josh Archer's RBI double to right center field that allowed Nathan Hines to score.
That, however, didn't last for long as Phillip Hawke broke the 3-3 tie with a two-run home run over the right field fence, giving Louisiana-Lafayette a 5-3 advantage. Hawke's 10th home run of the season
- and 28th of his career - moved him into a fourth-place tie with Justin Hemme on the school's career home run list.
The
pitching carousel began the fifth inning, as four Middle
Tennessee pitchers allowed four runs on four hits while
facing eight Ragin' Cajuns batters. Coker singled to center
field and later stole second base. After Merendino lined out
to Swing, Josh Anderson came in to face Landry.
Landry made the Blue Raiders pay, delivering an RBI double to left center field which scored Coker to give the Cajuns a 6-3 lead. Jeff Kasser then replaced Anderson after he allowed Landry to reach base.
Morris then singled through the left side, advancing Landry to third. Jonathan Lucroy then reached on a fielding error by Beachum, which allowed Landry to score for a four-run Cajuns lead.
McCarthy followed with a two-RBI double to left center field, scoring Lucroy and Morris to extend the Cajuns' lead to six runs, 9-4.
Allan Woodward then replaced Kasser and was able to strike out Cockrell for the second out of the inning. McCarthy was later thrown out in a run down trying to score.
Louisiana-Lafayette added an insurance run in the seventh inning, as McCarthy scored on Morgan's RBI sacrifice fly to right field, extending the Cajuns lead to 10-6.
Also,
in the seventh inning, Hawke was intentionally walked and
figuratively walked into the record books. That walk gave
Hawke the school record for career walks (154) and tied the
single-season mark of 55 walks, tying Joe Burnett for the
mark.
McNamee's solo home run in the eighth inning cut the Cajuns lead to three runs, 10-7, but it wasn't enough as Louisiana-Lafayette scored six runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to take a commanding 16-7 lead.
How fitting that on Senior Day all six seniors in the starting lineup each had an at bat and another senior scored a run as a pinch runner. With one out, Morris was hit by a pitch. Lucroy then singled up the middle, advancing Morris to second. After Dees entered as a pinch runner for Lucroy, Kyler Wetherington replaced Woodward as the Blue Raiders pitcher. McCarthy's RBI single through the right side plated Morris for an 11-7 Cajuns lead.
After Cockrell was hit by a pitch, Hawke doubled to left center field, scoring McCarthy and Dees to extend the Cajuns lead to 13-7. Cockrell later scored on Morgan's sacrifice fly to center field. Merendino's two-RBI triple scored Coker and Hawke to give the Cajuns a nine-run lead.
Every starter in the Cajuns lineup had at least one hit with six players finishing with at least two hits. Hawke paced the Cajuns, going 2-for-3 with a home run and four RBI. McCarthy went 4-for-5 with three runs batted in, while Merendino extending his season-high hitting streak to 12 games. Merendino went 2-for-6 with two RBI.
A day after pounding out 10 singles, Middle Tennessee had six extra-base hits (four doubles, two home runs). The Blue Raiders had five extra-base hits in their 10-1 win over the Cajuns Friday night.
Beachum went 4-for-5 with two RBI, while Archer went 3-for-5 with two RBI.
Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns will return to action Tuesday when they travel to Thibodaux to face their final Southland Conference opponent in Nicholls State at 6:30 p.m.
Louisiana-Lafayette 16, Middle
Tennessee 7 (May 15, 2005 at Lafayette,La.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------Middle
Tennessee.... 200 101 210 - 7 14 2 (26-22, 10-10 Sun Belt)
Louisiana-Lafayette. 201 240 16X - 16 18 0 (44-12, 15-6 Sun
Belt)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pitchers: Middle Tennessee - Swing; Anderson(5); Kasser(5);
Woodward(5); Wetherington(8). Louisiana-Lafayette - Moody,
H; Schambough(5); Salazar, J(8).
Win-Schambough(5-1)
Loss-Swing(1-3) T-3:37 A-2555
HR MT - McNamee (3); Archer (3).
HR UL - Landry, J (7); Hawke, P (10).
Game notes:
Anderson faced 1 batter in the 5th.
Kasser faced 3 batters in the 5th.
Schambough faced 1 batter in the 8th.
-Ragin' Cajuns-
