University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Southeastern Louisiana
Hawkins Powers Cajuns Past Lions
3/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Freshman Scott Hawkins had four runs batted in on the night to lead the Cajuns.
HAMMOND, La.-Designated hitter Scott Hawkins played the best game of his young career on Tuesday night leading Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns baseball team past in-state foe Southeastern Louisiana, 9-5.
The freshman finished the game 3-for-4 on the evening at the plate. Hawkins drove in four runs on the night, while scoring a pair. The Collierville, Tenn., native hit his first homerun of his career.
Offensively, the Cajuns erupted for 13 hits on the night. The 13 hits marks the fourth time in the last six games the Ragin' Cajuns have collected 10 or more hits. Despite the number of hits, UL only had a pair of extra base hits ? Hawkins homerun and a double by third baseman Grant Derouen.
The Ragin' Cajuns took advantage of three hits in the first inning to take a 2-0 lead over the Lions. John McCarthy started the game with a single up the middle. McCarthy advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Devon Bourque and moved to third on a Jameson Parker single. Parker moved to second base on a wild pitch giving the Cajuns a pair of runners in scoring position. Following a Cajuns strikeout, Hawkins singled up the middle to plate the runners and give UL an early 2-0 advantage.
The Cajuns added a run in the top of the sixth inning. Hawkins hit his fist homerun of his young UL career to give the Ragin' Cajuns a 3-0 lead after five and a half innings of play.
Cajuns starting pitcher Jason Fernandez rebounded from his rough outing against South Alabama pitching six shutout innings. The hurler, who was on a limited pitch count, did not allow a hit in the first three innings. Fernandez struck out nine batters in six innings of work.
In the seventh inning the Cajuns added some insurance runs. Bourque led off the inning with a walk and stole second to give UL a runner in scoring position. A wild pitch advanced Bourque to third base. Jonathan Lucroy singled through the left side of the infield to plate Bourque. Hawkins singled to centerfield and advanced on a fielding error by the centerfielder. Lucroy came around to score on a wild pitch. Derouen doubled to continue the inning and plate Hawkins and give the Cajuns a 6-0 lead.
In the eighth inning, Devery Van De Keere singled up the middle to start the inning for the Cajuns. He advanced to third on a McCarthy single through the right side. McCarthy stole second base to give the Ragin' Cajuns two runners in scoring position with no outs. UL loaded the bases as Bourque drew a base on balls. Parker singled to give the Cajuns their first run of the inning. Lucroy hit an infield single to score another runner. Hawkins stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and no outs. The freshman lifted a ball to right field for a sacrifice fly to plate the third Cajuns runner of the inning. UL would not score another run in the inning and headed to the bottom of the inning with a 9-0 lead.
The Cajuns allowed the Lions to get back into the game in the bottom of the eighth inning. Southeastern Louisiana led off the inning with a single. With a 3-2 count on the batter pitcher Gregory Harmon hit the Lions batter to give SLU a pair of runners with no outs. Harmon walked the next batter to load the bases. The freshman allowed his first run of the season as Richard Imhoff hit a single through the left side.
Brandt Sanders entered the game in relief of Harmon. Sanders walked the first batter he faced to plate another Lion runner. Sanders induced a double play to record the first two outs of the inning however the ground ball plated another SLU runner. The Lions score another run as Kyle Ginn doubled over Derouen's head. Southeastern Louisiana would score another run as Tony Suarez singled over Parker's head. The Lions finished the inning scoring five runs on four hits to cut the lead to 9-5.
Reliever Chad Beck entered the game in the bottom of the ninth. The junior transfer struck out all three batters he faced to secure the win for the Cajuns.
The Ragin' Cajuns will return to action on Wednesday as they take on Northwestern State at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field. The game, which is an added game to the schedule, is slated to begin at 6:30 p.m. UL will host their first home Sun Belt Conference series on Friday-Sunday as the Cajuns take on Arkansas State. Game times are 6:30 p.m. on Friday, 2:05 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m.
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