University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Arkansas State
Cajuns Score Early and Never Look Back
3/27/2011 10:30:00 PM | Baseball
Louisiana wasted little time taking control of game two of a Sunday doubleheader with Arkansas State, scoring a run only two batters into the game and plating six runs over the first three innings en route to a 10-4 win.
With the win the Ragin' Cajuns (12-11, 3-3 Sun Belt) claimed the weekend Sun Belt series from the Red Wolves (12-13, 2-4 Sun Belt), their first SBC series victory over Arkansas State since 2007. UL also moved its overall season record back above .500.
Jordan Poirrier led the Cajuns offense going 4-for-5 with three runs scored and three RBI. Lance Marvel, Mike Petello and Michael Strentz each tallied two RBI.
The Cajuns received another strong outing from starting pitcher T.J. Geith who lasted 6 1/3 innings and scattered seven hits while surrendering three runs. Geith improved his season mark to 2-2.
The bulk of the Cajuns damage came off of ASU starting pitcher Brad Allen. Allen gave up nine hits and was responsible for six of the Cajuns 10 runs scored.
Louisiana returns to M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field for four games next week. First up is a midweek affair with Northwestern State on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Then over the weekend UL hosts Florida Atlantic in a matchup featuring the two teams that tied for the 2010 Sun Belt regular season championship.
The Cajuns built a lead merely minutes into the doubleheader's second game.
Alex Fuselier drove a triple into the right field corner and crossed home plate on a Greg Fontenot single - the second at bat of the game - for a 1-0 lead.
A wind-blown double by Poirrier advanced Fontenot to third base then Marvel singled to left field to plate them both and up the advantage to 3-0.
Two batters into the third inning Louisiana would extend the lead. After Fontenot led off with a single, Poirrier ripped his third home run of the doubleheader and it was 5-0.
Petello followed Poirrier's blast with a single to right field and stole second base with two outs. Strentz increased the UL lead to 6-0 with an RBI single to center field.
Geith kept the Red Wolves off the scoreboard and worked around leadoff hits in the fourth and fifth innings by inducing double play balls.
ASU would scratch for four runs over the next three innings, but in was in response to the exact amount of runs the Cajuns scored in the same time frame so Louisiana did not lose any ground.
To erase any doubt of an ASU uprising following an RBI single by Ryan Emery in the sixth inning, Petello delivered a two-run home run to center field in the top of the seventh to move UL's lead to 9-1.
BASES NOTED: Louisiana now leads the all-time series with Arkansas State 67-33, overall, and is 35-21 vs. ASU under Tony Robichaux's direction...The Cajuns are 28-17 all-time in Jonesboro...With the win, UL improved to 5-0 in game three of a weekend series and 5-2 on Sundays...For the fifth straight game the Cajuns tallied double figures in base hits...In the ASU series the Cajuns scored 27 runs, pounded out 40 base hits (18 extra base hits) and slugged .670...Jordan Poirrier finished the series hitting .571 (8-for-14) with six extra base hits (three home runs) and seven RBI...UL set a season-high with six stolen bases with two apiece coming from Greg Fontenot and Michael Strentz...Louisiana has now won four of its past five games after falling a season-high two games below .500 after last Saturday's loss to La.-Monroe...In his last three starts, T.J. Geith has worked 18 1/3 innings and allowed just 13 hits and five earned runs lowering his ERA from 9.82 to 4.56...On Sundays in Sun Belt play the Cajuns have pushed across 21 runs (11 vs. La.-Monroe/10 vs. Arkansas State)...For the season Jordan Poirrier has seen 19 of his 27 hits (70 percent) go for extra bases and he now leads the team with a .648 slugging percentage.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
