LAFAYETTE ? After scattering three hits during a shutout loss in game one, Louisiana's bats came alive in game two, but the Arkansas State Indians rallied from a four-run deficit in the second contest to complete a doubleheader sweep Saturday at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field.
Louisiana (4-8, 0-2 Sun Belt) was swept in a Sun Belt Conference doubleheader for the first time since May 15, 2004, when the Cajuns were swept by, ironically, Arkansas State (7-4, 2-0 Sun Belt). The twin bill sweep also marked the first time the Cajuns have lost the first two games of a conference-opening series at home since March 28, 1982, against Lamar (also a doubleheader).
Game 1 (Arkansas State 3, Louisiana 0)
Arkansas State's Chase Ware (2-0) became the second pitcher in five games to throw a complete-game shutout against the Ragin' Cajuns, as the Indians took the first game by a 3-0 final count. Ware scattered three hits, while striking out six batters on 109 total pitchers.
For the second consecutive start, Danny Farquhar (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) struggled on the mound as the junior was victimized for three runs ? one earned ? on six hits in eight innings. Farquhar (1-2) walked one batter with eight strikeouts.
Louisiana freshman left fielder Matt Goulas (New Iberia, La.) recorded two of the Cajuns' three hits, going 2-for-4. Nolan Gisclair (Marrero, La.) had the other Louisiana hit, finishing 1-for-3.
Arkansas State's offensive rattled Farquhar in the top of the second as the Indians took the game's first lead, 1-0. Brown and Murray Watts led off the second inning with back-to-back singles.
After a Farquhar's failed pick off attempt allowed Brown to advance to third, Drew Benes' RBI sacrifice fly plated Brown for the 1-0 lead.
Louisiana squandered a prime opportunity to potentially take its first lead of the game as the Ragin' Cajuns loaded the bases in the third inning. With two outs, Josh Logan (Magee, Miss.) reached on walk and later moved to second on a Goulas single to centerfield.
A Justin Robichaux (Crowley, La.) walk loaded the bases for Matt Hicks (Houston, Texas) who grounded out to third base, effectively ending the threat.
The Indians extended their lead to three runs, 3-0, thanks to a two-run home run from Ryan Hudgins in the fifth inning. With one out, Derrick Coleman reached on a Cy Primeaux (Lafayette, La.) fielding error. After advancing to second on a wild pitch, Hudgins later plated Coleman with a two-run blast over the left field wall.
From there, Ware retired 19 of the last 21 Cajuns batters he faced to seal the victory in game one.
Arkansas State 3, Louisiana-Lafayette 0 (Mar 08, 2007 at Lafayette, La.) (Game 1)
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Arkansas State...... 010 020 000 - 3 7 0 (6-4, 1-0 SUN BELT)
Louisiana-Lafayette. 000 000 000 - 0 3 4 (4-7, 0-1 SUN BELT)
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Pitchers: Arkansas State - Ware, Chase. Louisiana-Lafayette - Farquhar, Danny;
Harmon, Gregory(9).
Win-Ware, Chase(2-0) Loss-Farquhar, Danny(1-2) T-2:02 A-1722
Game 2 (Arkansas State 9, Louisiana 5)
Although Louisiana's bats came alive in game two, Arkansas State rallied from a 4-0 deficit to hand the Ragin' Cajuns their second straight loss of the afternoon with a 9-5 decision.
Senior left-hander Hunter Moody (Clinton, La.) was dealt his first loss of the season as the two-time Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week was touched for five runs on six hits. Moody (2-1) struck out a season-low two batters in five innings.
Blaine LaFleur (Opelousas, La.) went 2-for-3 with a double and a triple. Six other Cajuns combined for a base hit. Louisiana's four extra-base hits in game two are a season-high.
Todd Baumgartner paced A-State offensively, going 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBI, while Ryan Hudgins, Brown and Aaron Ferguson each added two hits.
Louisiana scored its first run of the day in the third inning of game two. LaFleur led off with a triple to the gap in left center ? his first career three-base hit and the Cajuns' first of 2008. LaFleur then scored on a Greg Fontenot (Lafayette, La.) RBI groundout for a 1-0 lead.
Two batters later, Tyler Benzel (Groveland, Fla.) drove in Goulas on a RBI double down the left field, giving the Cajuns a 2-0 lead.
The Cajuns added two more runs in the fourth for a 4-0 advantage. Brian Bowman (Lafayette, La.) and LaFleur posted back-to-back one-out doubles with LaFleur's scoring Bowman for a three-run lead. Goulas' RBI single down the left field line scored LaFleur for a four-run cushion.
Moody faced the minimum during the first four innings, allowing one hit before forcing a 6-4-3 double play to end the fourth inning. However, Moody struggled with his control in the fifth inning.
Arkansas State became the first team to score a run against Moody this season. In the fifth, the Indians pushed across two runs, snapping Moody's streak of 17 1/3 scoreless innings to start the 2008 season. With one out, Brown single to left field and Joey Hoffman followed with a four-pitch walk. Drew Benes then laced a RBI double down the left field line to score Brown, cutting Louisiana's lead to 4-1.
Hoffman later scored on a Moody wild pitch for the Indians' second run of the inning.
The Indians continued to rough up Moody in the sixth inning, ultimately running the senior southpaw from the game. Arkansas State loaded the bases with back-to-back-to-back singles to open the sixth. Moody was then lifted by Luke Wagley (Greenwell Springs, La.), but the Indians did manage to score four runs on six hits to take a 6-4 lead.
Louisiana cut the two-run deficit in half, 6-5, in the bottom of the sixth on Fontenot's RBI single to right field.
Leading 6-5 heading into the ninth inning, Arkansas State added three insurance runs for a 9-5 lead. The Indians added three runs in the final frame on four hits capped off by Baumgartner's two-run home run.
Louisiana concludes its Sun Belt Conference-opening series Sunday with the Arkansas State Indians at 1 p.m. Fans can tune into News Radio 105.1 KPEL-FM approximately 30 minutes prior to first pitch.
Arkansas State 9, Louisiana-Lafayette 5 (Mar 08, 2007 at Lafayette, La.) (Game 2)
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Arkansas State...... 000 024 003 - 9 13 3 (7-4, 2-0 SUN BELT)
Louisiana-Lafayette. 002 201 000 - 5 8 2 (4-8, 0-2 SUN BELT)
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Pitchers: Arkansas State - Boeschen, Joel; Kimball, Jordan(4); Bullington, Chris(6).
Louisiana-Lafayette - Moody, Hunter; Wagley, Luke(6); Robichaux, Justin(9); Broussard, Matt(9).
Win-Kimball, Jordan(2-0) Save-Bullington, Chris(3) Loss-Moody, Hunter(2-1) T-2:34 A-1722
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