Cajuns Comeback Stops South Alabama

MOBILE, Ala.-Of all the ways to win a baseball game, Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns found one of the strangest ways to notch its 41st win of the season. Out of position players, pinch-hitter John Zorich, a Cajuns pitcher by trade, was hit by a pitch with nobody out in the tenth inning, giving the top-seeded Cajuns a most unlikely 3-2 win over #8 South Alabama in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament in Mobile, Ala.

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Zorich, who hit for the Cajuns during their fall season, was sent up to pinch hit for winning pitcher Matt Pilgreen (6-0) who had worked out of trouble in the ninth and tenth innings. Zorich had a 1-2 count, fouled off three pitches and took ball two before being hit by South Alabama reliever Matt Peterson to score Jefferies Tatford with the winning run.

None of that would have been possible, however, if the Cajuns (41-14) hadn't rallied for two runs in the ninth inning to tie the game after being shut down by Jaguars starter Joey Doan for most of the night. Doan, who had not allowed an earned run in his two previous starts, carried a shutout into the ninth. But Matt Casbon led off the ninth with his second hit of the ninth. Pinch hitter Blaine Lafleur, who had only ten at bats on the season before this game, singled up the middle and pinch-runner Dustin Miller wound up at third and Lafleur took second when Ray Kruml misplayed the ball in center.

Reliever Chris LaGrow (1-2) came in and gave up a run-scoring single to Devon Bourque to make it 2-1. After Josh Logan struck out, Matt Hicks laid down a perfect safety squeeze to score pinch-runner Kolin Hatfield to tie the score.

Then in the tenth, LaGrow hit Tatford and Nolan Gisclair to put runners at first and second. Justin Robichaux singled to load the bases. Coach Tony Robichaux then sent up the left-handed hitting Zorich who got his first career run batted in.

After South Alabama (29-25) left the bases loaded in the first against Cajuns' starter Danny Farquhar, the Jags got a second inning run on a double by Ryne Jernigan, a single by Kruml and an RBI single by Lance Heisler. The Jags added to their total in the third on a two out single by Chris Davis that scored David Doss, who led off the inning with a double.

But Farquhar didn't allow any more runs after that, although he gave up twelve hits in eight innings of work. South Alabama had other chances, the best one in the fifth, when Clint Toomey walked and Doss singled. Then, with two outs, Davis singled to right, but Gisclair nailed Toomey with a perfect throw to the plate.

The Jags had another great chance in the ninth after a leadoff double and a fielder's choice put runners at the corners with no outs. But Pilgreen snuffed out the threat with a popup, strikeout and another popup to keep the score 2-0 and set the stage for the ninth inning rally.

Doan went eight innings for the Jags, giving up eleven hits. The Cajuns stranded nine runners through the first eight innings.

Doss had four hits to lead the Jaguars, and Kruml added three. Bourque had three hits from the number-nine spot in the Cajuns batting order, while Logan, Casbon and Gisclair added two apiece.

The Cajuns will now face #4 Troy, a 7-0 winner over #5 Louisiana-Monroe, in a winners bracket game at 7:30 Thursday night from Eddie Stanky Field. Hunter Moody (8-3) will get the start for the Cajuns.

-Ragin' Cajuns-

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