University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
South Alabama
Geith Recovers Then UL Takes Series
4/24/2011 9:15:00 PM | Baseball
T.J. Geith didn't allow a rocky fourth inning determine the outcome of his performance and for the second straight day the Ragin' Cajuns came from behind to defeat South Alabama taking a 5-4 victory on Sunday afternoon at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field.
Geith, who surrendered four runs and a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning, came back stronger over the final five innings holding the Jaguars to just three hits on his way to his first nine-inning complete game in a Cajuns uniform.
Louisiana (23-18, 10-8 Sun Belt) scored single runs in the sixth and seventh inning to pull into a 4-all tie and completed the comeback in the eighth inning when pinch hitter Ryan Leonards pushed a bunt up the first base line to score Brian Bowman from third with the go-ahead run.
Head coach Tony Robichaux picked up his 600th win as Cajuns skipper. Robichaux, in his 17th season at Louisiana, improved to 600-400-1 in a Cajuns uniform.
The Ragin' Cajuns claimed the series from the Jaguars (22-18, 9-9 Sun Belt) marking their first Sun Belt series win since the FAU weekend (April 1-3).
UL continues the current seven-game homestand next week with a midweek game against Southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday and Sun Belt series over the weekend against UALR.
Louisiana's rally started in the sixth inning when Chris Sinclair tripled off the wall in the right field and scored on a Jordan Bourque ground out.
The Cajuns kept the pressure on USA starter Clinton Paris in the seventh inning recording three hits that led to the tying run. It also sent Paris, who held the Cajuns to two runs on six hits over the first five innings, into the dugout.
Reliever Cory McGinnis entered with runners on the corners and escaped by inducing a force play at home and nabbing a grounder up the middle by Sinclair for the third out.
A fielding error with two outs and single by Brad Hook put two Jaguars aboard in the eighth inning. Geith caught Trey Sorrells swinging at a pitch out of the zone for the third out.
McGinnis started the Cajuns half of the eighth inning with the lone walk issued by USA pitching and it proved to be costly. Bowman, who pinch ran for Bourque, stole second and advanced to third on a Matt Goulas sacrifice bunt and that set the stage for Leonards, a true freshman, who delivered the bunt that pulled the Cajuns ahead.
A one-out single by Taylor White in the ninth inning kept the USA hopes alive. The Cajuns ended the game on the next at bat as Geith forced Nolan Earley into a 4-6-3 double play.
The top of the lineup delivered for the Ragin' Cajuns as Alex Fuselier, Greg Fontenot, Mike Petello, Jordan Poirrier and Lance Marvel combined to go 9-for-20 with three runs scored and two RBI.
Fontenot, Fuselier, Marvel and Petello each recorded two hits marking the team-leading 15th multiple-hit games for Fontenot and Petello.
Geith, who tossed a complete game in an 11-0 win over La.-Monroe in seven innings on March 20, collected his second complete game of the season and his longest outing in a UL uniform. He improved to 4-3.
The Cajuns jumped ahead for the first time in the series scoring a pair of runs in the first inning. Fontenot and Petello reached base on singles giving UL runners on the corners. The duo executed a double steal to tack the first run on the scoreboard.
Marvel added a two-out single up the middle of the infield to plate Petello with the second run of the inning.
The score remained the same until the Jaguars registered four consecutive hits off of Geith before an out was recorded in the fourth inning.
An infield single by Jake Overstreet led off the inning and successive singles by Jordan Patterson and Jeff DeBlieux plated him with the Jaguars' first run. Brad Hook doubled into the right field corner to clear the bases and vault USA into a 3-2 lead.
Following a sacrifice bunt, the fourth run of the frame came home on a sacrifice fly from Logan Kirkland.
Geith began to settle down and the Cajuns chipped away at the Jaguars lead beginning in the sixth inning.
BASES NOTED: The Cajuns and Jaguars played on Easter Sunday for the first time since March 27, 2005 (USA won 6-2 that day)...Louisiana converted two double play opportunities increasing the season total to 40 double plays turned...The Cajuns have turned 19 double plays in Sun Belt action (18 games)...In the month of April - a span of 17 games - the Cajuns have turned 24 double plays...Sunday's game brought an end to back-to-back weeks of five games for the Cajuns who finished 5-5 during the 10-game, two-week stretch...The Cajuns own 34 series victories against South Alabama with Tony Robichaux at the helm for 30...With the win the Cajuns are assured of a winning record at "The Tigue" for the 16th consecutive season...Louisiana a 15-5 at "The Tigue" in 2011...Mike Petello hit .500 (7-for-14) in the series and tied with Greg Fontenot for the team-lead with three runs scored...Fontenot registered eight assists in the series increasing his career total to 484 leaving him 16 assists shy of joining Mark Lalande as the only two players in program history with 500 career assists...Both UL wins over USA over the weekend came by one run, improving the Ragin' Cajuns to 8-6 in one-run games...An opponent scored five runs or fewer for the 28th time in 41 games (Cajuns are 20-8)...Dating back to April 6, 2010, the Cajuns pitching staff has held the opposition to single-digit runs in 71 of the last 73 games.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
