University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Arkansas State
Cajuns Complete Sweep of Arkansas State
4/2/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
LAFAYETTE-Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns baseball team used a four run eighth inning to down Arkansas State 6-2 on Sunday at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field. The Cajuns (15-11, 4-2 Sun Belt Conference) swept the home conference series.
The sweep was the first home conference sweep since April of 2004. The Ragin' Cajuns claimed all three games against New Mexico State on April 9 and 10. UL swept only one conference opponent in 2005, taking all three games versus UNO in New Orleans.
Tied 2-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Cajuns scored four runs to secure the victory and the sweep.
Alex Preciado led off the inning with a single to right field. Jonathan Lucroy laid down the sacrifice bunt to advance Preciado to second base. The Cajuns got their second base runner of the inning as Scott Hawkins was hit by pitch. Both runners advanced into scoring position as Arkansas State's pitcher Tim Egart threw a wild pitch over the head of pinch hitter Tim Santiago. Egart regrouped after the wild pitch striking out Santiago. With two men on and two outs, Jefferies Tatford lined a 1-2 pitch down the right field line for a two RBI double. The double gave the Ragin' Cajuns the lead at 4-2.
The Cajuns added some insurance runs in the inning as Devon Bourque hit an RBI single to plate Tatford. John McCarthy brought Bourque home as he tripled into the left centerfield gap giving UL a 6-2 advantage they would not relinquish.
Starting pitcher Jason Fernandez was masterful on the mound for the Cajuns. The junior allowed just one run on four hits, while recording a career-high 12 strikeouts on the day. Fernandez recorded six straight strikeouts at one point in the game and retired 8-of-9 batters in that stretch with a strikeout.
Fernandez was not the only Ragin' Cajuns pitcher who pitched well on the day. The UL bullpen was once again composed. The relievers allowed one run on four hits in 2.1 innings of work. They combined for four strikeouts and issued no free passes.
Danny Farquhar earned his second win of the season in relief.
Closer Chad Beck saw his streak of consecutive strikeouts come to an end at six. He entered the game in the ninth inning and struck out the first Indian batter he faced giving him six straight Ks dating back to Tuesday night's game against Southeastern Louisiana. With a 0-2 count, the next batter popped up to the shortstop ending Beck's streak. Beck closed out the game striking out the next batter.
The Cajuns offense combined for 10 hits on the afternoon, marking the 13th time this season UL has recorded double-digit hits.
McCarthy and Preciado both had a pair of hits for the Cajuns. Preciado scored the winning run in the eighth inning as Tatford drove in his team leading two runs with his game winning double.
The Cajuns had four stolen bases on the day. Jameson Parker stole a pair while, Josh Landry and McCarthy both had one a piece. The game marks the fifth time this season that both McCarthy and Parker have a steal in the same game. The Ragin' Cajuns are currently 5-0 when the tandem both steal a base.
In the first inning, Parker broke a 0-for-7 streak on the weekend lining a base hit into centerfield. He advanced to second base as Landry drew a base on balls. The two baserunners executed a double steal to move into scoring position. Parker came around to score on an RBI ground out by Preciado giving the Cajuns a 1-0 after one inning of play.
Arkansas State tied the game at 1-1 in the sixth inning. Jeremy Lyons was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. He advanced to second on a wild pitch and reached third base courtesy of a Fernandez balk. Kevin Kull, Jr. doubled down the left field line to knot the score at one apiece.
The Cajuns responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the sixth inning. Preciado singled through the left side and moved to second base as Hawkins was hit by a pitch. Grant Derouen singled through the right side of the infield to plate Preciado and give Louisiana a 2-1 lead.
The Indians tied the score in the top of the eighth inning. Tyler Doke reached base on a check-swing single back to the pitcher. A pair of singles moved Doke to third base. With the bases loaded, Michael Williams, Jr. singled through the right sided to even the score at 2-2.
UL used the big eighth inning to pull away from ASU and Beck closed out the game retiring all three batters he faced.
The Ragin' Cajuns return to action on Tuesday, April 4, as they travel to Natchitoches to face Northwestern State at 6:30 p.m. The Cajuns will remain on the road for a second midweek game with Louisiana Tech on Wednesday, April 5 in Ruston. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m.
-Ragin' Cajuns-
