University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Arkansas State
Hit Batter in the Eleventh Lifts Cajuns
4/27/2007 5:00:00 AM | Baseball
LAFAYETTE-Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns needed 11 innings to come away with a 6-5 win over Sun Belt Conference opponent Arkansas State on Friday night at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field.
The Ragin' Cajuns (31-12, 14-5 SBC) trailed 4-2 heading into the eighth inning, before a two-run homerun tied the score at 4-4. The Indians regained the lead in the top of the ninth with a solo homer from Brandon Eller. The Cajuns tied the score in the bottom of the ninth inning as Xavier Alexander hit his first homerun as a UL player. His solo shot in the bottom of the ninth tied the score at 5-5.
Tied 5-5 in the bottom of the 11th inning, the Cajuns loaded the bases with one out. The Cajuns popped up to shallow centerfield for the second out of the inning. Kolin Hatfield stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs and was hit by the first pitch thrown to him to score the lead runner and give the Cajuns a 6-5 victory.
The Ragin' Cajuns improved to 18-1 at the home this season and won their first extra inning game since UL downed the
Offensively, the Cajuns collected eight hits on the night. UL drew six walks in the game with a pair of intentional walks. Three of the Cajuns' walks came in the 11th.
Scott Hawkins and Kolin Hatfield both had a pair of hits on the night. Hawkins tied the game in the bottom of the eighth inning with his team leading 12th homerun of the season. Hatfield had a pair of hits in the game, but his hit by pitch in the bottom of the 11th inning drove in the winning run for the Cajuns.
Alexander finished the game 1-for-1 with a homerun, two runs scored, an RBI and a walk.
Jonathan Lucroy drew three free passes on the night including an intentional walk.
Danny Farquhar (3-3) picked up the win for the Cajuns. He entered the game in relief and pitched the final 3.0 innings for UL. He surrendered just one hit?Eller's solo homer in the top of the ninth. Farquhar struck out six of the 10 batters he faced on the night.
Starter Buddy Glass left the game after just 3.0 innings of work. He surrendered four runs?two earned runs?on six hits, striking out one and walking another.
Gregory Harmon entered the game in relief of Glass. The sophomore worked 4.2 scoreless innings, surrendering just two hits on the night. Harmon fanned three batters and walked two.
Matt Pilgreen bridged the gap between Harmon and Farquhar. Pilgreen struck out the only batter he faced on the night.
The Cajuns were the first to scratch the scoreboard. In the first inning, Matt Hicks led off the inning with a double to left field. Lucroy singled through the left side of the infield with one out to plate Hicks for the first run of the game. Scott Hawkins walked to give the Cajuns a pair of baserunners. Hatfield followed with an RBI single up the middle to give UL a quick 2-0 advantage.
The Indians took the lead in the third inning. The lead off batter for ASU reached base on a throwing error by the Cajuns. The runner stole second base to move into scoring position. The next batter walked to give ASU a pair of base runners. Back-to-back singles brought home the first run of the inning and gave
In the eighth inning, Lucroy led off the inning with a five-pitch walk. Hawkins lifted a 0-1 pitch over the left field wall for his 12th homer of the season. The two-run shot tied the score at 4-4.
Trailing 5-4, Alexander entered the game to pinch hit for Devon Bourque. Alexander connected on his first homerun in a Cajuns' uniform. The solo homerun knotted the game at 5-5 and sent the Cajuns into extra innings.
The score would remained tied until the 11th inning. Alexander led off the inning with a four-pitch walk. He moved to second on a wild pitch. After a failed bunt attempt recorded the first out, the Indians intentionally walked Tatford. The Ragin' Cajuns loaded the bases as Lucroy walked. Hawkins popped up to shallow centerfield for the second out of the inning. With two outs and the bases juiced, Hatfield stepped to the plate. He was hit by the first pitch he saw to drive in the winning run.
The Ragin' Cajuns and Indians will play the second game in the three-game series on Saturday afternoon. First pitch is slated for
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