University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Florida Atlantic
UL Victorious in 1,000th Game at "The Tigue"
3/27/2010 2:45:00 AM | Baseball
Louisiana scored runs in each of the first six innings to build a comfortable lead and cruised to a 9-3 win over Florida Atlantic in the 1,000th game at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field.
Each hitter in the Cajuns' lineup collected at least one hit and Zach Osborne turned in his sixth quality start of the season (in as many outings) as Louisiana (12-10, 3-4 Sun Belt) improved to 3-0 on Friday night in Sun Belt play.
The two teams continue the three-game series on Saturday with a 3:07 p.m., fist pitch. The game will be televised on the Sun Belt Network and marks the network's first-ever baseball broadcast. T.J. Geith will start for the Cajuns and face Mike Gipson of FAU (13-8, 4-3 Sun Belt).
Osborne tossed a complete game for the second consecutive outing and improved his season record to 3-1. He retired the final eight Owls batters that he faced and held the visitors hitless in the final three innings.
Chad Keefer extended his career-best hitting streak to 14 games with a two-run home run in the fourth inning that allowed the Cajuns to answer a two-spot from FAU in the top half of the inning that had sliced the Cajuns lead to 4-2.
Ryan Garton, making his first start of the season, took the loss for FAU. He surrendered seven runs and 11 hits in just 3 1/3 innings.
Jeff Moore, the great-nephew of M.L. "Tigue" Moore, threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Louisiana snapped a three-game FAU win streak in the series and now holds a 5-4 edge (4-2 at "The Tigue").
Garton hit the first two Cajuns he faced then a wild pitch during Jordan Poirrier's at bat moved Brian Bowman and Matt Goulas to second and third base.
Bowman would score on a Poirrier double to center field. That was followed by a Keefer sacrifice fly to left that scored Goulas for a 2-0 lead.
UL stretched the lead to three runs in the bottom of the second when Justin Robichaux scored on a Goulas double.
The Cajuns got another timely hit in the third when a two-out RBI single by Greg Fontenot scored Alex Fuselier who doubled with one out.
The Cajuns ended the night 7-for-14 in two-out situations and posted four 2-out RBI.
Three consecutive two-out doubles led to a pair of FAU runs in the top of the fourth that trimmed the UL lead to 4-2.
Keefer got the two runs back for the Cajuns with a line drive home run over the right field fence. Fuselier followed with a single back up the middle, advanced to third on a throwing error and pushed the UL lead to 7-2 when he scored on a Robichaux sacrifice fly.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
