University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Arkansas State
Big Inning Goes ASU's Way Saturday
3/13/2010 11:45:00 PM | Baseball
Arkansas State broke a 1-all tie with a five-run, fifth inning and held on for a 6-2 victory over Louisiana Saturday afternoon at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field in the middle game of the Sun Belt opening weekend series.
Louisiana (9-5, 1-1 Sun Belt) had runners on first and second - with one run already having scored - and no outs in the bottom of the seventh. ASU starting pitcher Ross Humes retired the next three hitters to keep the lead at 6-2.
Then in the eighth inning ASU reliever John Koch hit Jordan Poirrier and Chad Keefer on consecutive at bats to load the bases with the potential tying run coming to the plate. Koch was able to induce a double play off the bat of Matt Goulas to stop the threat.
UL reliever Randall Bulliard turned in a solid performance, entering in the sixth and holding the Red Wolves scoreless over four innings while scattering three hits.
With the win the Red Wolves (9-5, 1-1 Sun Belt) evened up the series with the Cajuns. The rubber match is set for 1 p.m., on Sunday with UL's T.J. Geith (2-0, 3.79 ERA) facing ASU's Jacob Lee (1-1, 3.07 ERA).
Alex Fuselier extended his team-high and career-best hitting streak to 11 games, going 2-for-4. Keefer was a perfect 3-for-3 as he stretched his current hitting streak out to six games.
Taylor Hubbell was charged with his first loss of the season for the Cajuns. He allowed six earned runs on eight base hits over five innings of which five hits and five runs came in the fifth inning.
The loss ended Louisiana's four-game winning streak. UL is now 4-3 on its current 10-game homestand.
Hubbell and Humes retired the opposition in order in the first inning and both worked around the leadoff batter getting aboard the basepath in the second inning.
The Red Wolves plated the game's first run in the third inning. Cody Pace doubled to lead off for ASU and wound up scoring on a one-out, RBI single by Michael Faulkner.
A leadoff double to left center by Brian Bowman in the bottom of the fourth helped the Cajuns score their first run off of Humes. Kyle Olasin sacrificed Bowman over to third then a grounder by Poirrier drove him home to knot the score at 1-all.
Pace's second double of the afternoon came with one out in the top of the fifth and jumpstarted a rally for the visitors. That was the first of five consecutive base hits which culminated in a three-run home run by Todd Baumgartner that opened a 6-1 lead for ASU.
Louisiana chopped into the Red Wolves' lead in the seventh. Keefer doubled to lead off and moved to third on a single to shallow center by Goulas. Fuselier dropped down a bunt single to plate Keefer with UL's second run.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
