University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Cajuns Bash Aggies Again 14-4, This Time Behind Merendino's Grand Slam
5/7/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Cajuns Bash
Aggies Again 14-4, This Time Behind Merendino's Grand Slam
Louisiana-Lafayette's
Kraig Schambough earned his school-record 11th career save
LAS
CRUCES, N.M.
–
Senior
second baseman
Justin Merendino delivered a second inning grand
slam, helping jumpstart the offense, while the bullpen
held its ground to lead the 19th-ranked Louisiana's
Ragin' Cajuns to a 14-4 win over New Mexico State here
Saturday night at Presley Askew Field.
The win moved Louisiana-Lafayette (41-10, 13-4 Sun Belt) to 31 games over .500 for the second time this season, while extending the Cajuns' Sun Belt Conference road winning streak to seven games.
The win also clinched Louisiana-Lafayette's first-ever series win at Las Cruces. The Cajuns are now 4-4 all-time at New Mexico State.
Louisiana-Lafayette also handed New Mexico State (24-22, 9-8 Sun Belt) its second consecutive Sun Belt Conference home loss after starting conference with a perfect 6-0 record in Las Cruces.
Louisiana-Lafayette
starting pitcher
Austin
Faught (10-0) joined teammate Kevin Ardoin with his
10th victory this season. Faught allowed four runs – two of
them earned – on six hits with six strikeouts through 5 2/3
innings.
Senior Kraig Schambough earned his fourth save of the season, which broke the school record with his 11th career save, passing Mike Gautreau on the all-time list. Schambough scattered two hits with two strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings of relief.
New Mexico State starting pitcher Jason Conner (7-4) allowed nine runs on eight hits while walking four batters with four strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings.
Similar to Friday night, Louisiana-Lafayette scored the game's first run in the first inning. After a John Coker lead-off strikeout, Josh Landry reached on a fielding error by NMSU shortstop Robby Schildgen. Jonathan Lucroy then walked, followed by Dallas Morris who delivered a two-RBI double down the left field line, scoring Landry and Lucroy to give the Cajuns an early 2-0 lead.
Also,
similar to Friday night, Louisiana-Lafayette's lead didn't
last as the Aggies scored two runs in the bottom of the
first inning to tie the game at 2-2. Vince Rodden singled up
the middle and later advanced to second on a fielding error
by Micah Cockrell.
With one out, freshman Luke Hopkins singled through the side to score Rodden for the Aggies' first run of the night. Schildgen, who had reached earlier on Cockrell's error, later scored the equalizer on a wild pitch.
The Cajuns would answer with a five-run second inning to take a 7-2 lead. Phillip Hawke and John McCarthy drew consecutive walks. Justin Morgan was then hit by a pitch to load the bases for Justin Merendino.
Merendino would make Conner pay for his mistake with a grand slam over the left center field wall, giving the Cajuns a four-run cushion.
It was Merendino's second grand slam and the Cajuns' fifth this season. On Friday, Cockrell hit his second grand slam this season during the Cajuns' 21-8 win over the Aggies. The Cajuns had four grand slams combined over the previous two seasons (1 in 2003, 3 in 2004).
Lucroy
would later drive in Coker with an RBI single through the
left side to plate the Cajuns' seventh run of the night.
The Aggies scored a run in the bottom of the second on Mark Aranda's sacrifice fly to right field, cutting the Cajuns' lead to 7-3.
New Mexico State added another run in the third to cut the Cajuns' lead to 7-4 with Adam Harvey's solo home run – his ninth home run of the season – to left field.
Louisiana-Lafayette scored two more runs in the fourth inning to increase its lead back to five runs, 9-4. Merendino led off with an infield single and then scored on Coker's RBI double down the left field line. Coker later advanced to third on Landry's fly out to center field.
Morris then plated his third run of the game with an RBI single through the left side, scoring Coker for the resulting five-run advantage.
Louisiana-Lafayette padded its lead with a three-run seventh inning, capped off by a two-run into the left center field gap by Landry, increasing the Cajuns lead to 12-4. With one out, NMSU pitcher Tyler Sturdevant walked the bases loaded before hitting Coker, which gave Coker his first multi-RBI game this season.
Landry then plated Merendino and Adam Massiatte to give the Cajuns an eight-run advantage.
The Cajuns added a pair of insurance runs in the ninth to increase their lead to 14-4. Massiatte led off with a double to left center field. With one out, Coker singled to left field, scoring Massiatte for the Cajuns' first run of the final frame. Pinch hitter Jefferies Tatford plated Coker with an RBI double to left center field to give the Cajuns a 10-run lead.
Schambough retired the Aggies side in the ninth to clinch the Cajuns' 41st win of the season.
Coker went 3-for-5 with three RBI, while Morris went 2-for-6 with three RBI. Morris now has eight RBI in two games against New Mexico State in the three-game series. Merendino drove in four runs, going 2-for-3 with three runs scored.
Hawke went 0-for-3, which snapped a 10-game hitting streak, while McCarthy snapped a nine-game hitting streak after also going 0-for-3.
The Cajuns pitching staff silenced the Aggies' bats, especially power-hitter Mark Aranda, who went 0-for-4 with a sacrifice fly RBI. Hopkins went 2-for-5 with an RBI, while Jason Long added a pair of hits.
Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns will conclude its three-game series Sunday against New Mexico State in a scheduled 2:05 p.m. (CST) first pitch.
Louisiana-Lafayette 14, NMSU 4 (May 07, 2005
at Las Cruces, N.M.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Louisiana-Lafayette. 250 200 302 - 14 12 1 (41-10,
13-4 SUN BELT)
New Mexico State.... 211 000 000 - 4 8 2 (24-22,
9-8 SUN BELT)
----------------------------------------------------------------------Pitchers:
Louisiana-Lafayette - Faught, A; Schambough(6). New Mexico
State - Conner; Sturdevant(5); Hearne(7).
Win-Faught, A(10-0) Save-Schambough(4)
Loss-Conner(7-4) T-3:20 A-292
HR UL - Merendino, J (6).
HR NMSU - Harvey.
-Ragin' Cajuns-
