University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
La.-Monroe
Cajuns Run Rule La.-Monroe in Series Finale
3/20/2011 9:28:00 PM | Baseball
Five Cajuns posted multiple-hit games to lead the offensive charge and starting pitcher T.J. Geith turned in his season-best performance pitching all seven innings, striking out six in the two-hit shutout.
Louisiana (9-10, 1-2 Sun Belt) opened a 6-0 lead after two innings and Geith took care of the rest allowing only single hits to the Warhawks (12-6, 2-1 Sun Belt) in the fourth and sixth inning.
The Ragin' Cajuns will be back in action on Tuesday, March 22 in Baton Rouge at Alex Box Stadium against LSU (16-4). First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.
Louisiana's next Sun Belt series is set for Jonesboro, Ark., Friday-Sunday, March 25-27 on the campus of Arkansas State University.
Alex Fuselier, Jordan Poirrier and Chris Sinclair were tied for the team lead with three hits. Greg Fontentot and Daniel Nichols posted two hits to join them in posting multi-hit games.
The top four hitters in the Cajuns batting order combined to go 9-for-13 and tallied six RBI led by Poirrier's game-high three RBI. UL finished the contest 8-for-14 (.571) with runners in scoring position.
Geith earned his first victory of the 2011 season with the complete game shutout, his first shutout in a Cajuns uniform. The lanky lefty has now tossed 12 innings and surrendered only two earned runs in his last two outings.
Brent Gay started for La.-Monroe and suffered the loss after being touched for five runs (three earned) in 1 1/3 innings pitched. UL added an additional six runs on 11 hits off of reliever Luke Briley over 2 1/3 innings to put the game out of reach.
Louisiana's scoring barrage started early as Poirrier recorded a RBI double to left field in the first inning, scoring Fuselier who led off with a single. A Lance Marvel sacrifice fly and Nichols RBI double upped the advantage to 3-0 before Gay could escape the frame.
The Cajuns tacked on the fourth run of the day in the bottom of the second when Fuselier hit a one-hop single to right field, allowing Sinclair (leadoff walk) to touch home. That play ended the day for Gay.
After reaching base, Fuselier stole a pair of bags before tallying UL's fifth run on an RBI single from Fontenot. During the next at-bat, Poirrier launched his ninth double of the season - and second of the game - which scored Fontenot to give the Cajuns a six run cushion.
UL started the fourth inning with four consecutive hits. Fuselier notched his third hit with a double to left field, then Fontenot followed up with his second RBI hit of the day, hitting a single to right field. After an infield single by Mike Petello, Poirrier's third RBI of the game came on a single up the middle, driving in Fontenot.
Marvel grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, but Petello scored to give UL the 9-0 lead. Two-out hits by Sinclair and Jordan Bourque plated the Cajuns' final runs and pushed the lead past the margin necessary for a run rule on getaway day in SBC play.
La.-Monroe went away quietly over the final three innings of play going down in order in the fifth inning, striking out three times after a leadoff single in the sixth and going down in order in the seventh inning.
BASES NOTED: The Cajuns improved to 62-47 all-time against La.-Monroe and are 8-7 against the Warhawks in Sun Belt games...UL posted its third game of 10-plus runs and fifth of 10-plus hits and remain undefeated this season in such situations...Louisiana recorded its second shutout of the season (shutout Siena 1-0 on Feb. 27)...The Ragin' Cajuns are now 29-29 all-time on Sun Belt opening weekend, but only 3-9 the past four seasons...Jordan Poirrier hit his team-leading eighth and ninth doubles...Alex Fuselier earned his third multi-hit game of the year and his first three-hit contest since going 3-for-4 at La.-Monroe on May 21, 2010...Greg Fontenot had his fourth multi-RBI game of the year and his first since driving in two against Southern Miss on March 6...Chris Sinclair's single in the fourth inning gave the catcher his first multi-hit game in a Cajuns uniform...Sinclair played his freshman season at La.-Monroe before transferring to Western Nevada College last season...The total attendance for the weekend series was 10,279 which is the second largest attended series ever at "The Tigue" and second of 10,000-plus this season (10,603 vs. SEMO)...Louisiana collected five doubles increasing the squad's total for the week to 16...UL's streak of holding the opponent to single digit runs has now reached 51 consecutive games...For the 14th time in 19 games this season, Louisiana held the opponent below five runs.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
