Pitching and Defense Help Cajuns End Losing Skid

Contact: Matt Hebert

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LAFAYETTE – On a night that Chris Griffitt and Caleb Kellogg combined for the third shutout of the season by the Ragin' Cajuns pitching staff, it was a pair of defensive plays that closed out a 1-0 victory over Western Kentucky Saturday evening at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field and brought an end a season-high, eight-game losing streak.

In fact, the Cajuns defense, led by newly added catcher Adam Todd, recorded all three outs in the top of the ninth inning to even up the weekend series with WKU.

Protecting the 1-0 lead, Kellogg walked Blake Crabtree to start the ninth. On a sacrifice bunt attempt by pinch hitter Jordan Cessna, Kellogg attempted to force out Crabtree at second base, but his throw sailed into center field allowing Crabtree to advance to third base and still no outs were recorded.

WKU attempted a safety squeeze to try and even the score, as Steve Hodgins dropped down a bunt. Kellogg promptly flipped the ball to Todd at home who applied the tag on Crabtree for the first out. In a heads-up move, Todd fired a strike to third base to catch Cessna attempting to advance to third base during the play at home plate to complete a double play.

On a 1-2 count to WKU leadoff hitter Ivan Hartle, Hodgins broke for second base and Todd completed his trifecta of ninth inning outs when he connected with Jace Conrad for the caught stealing of Hodgins which ended the contest.

“It's huge for us to end the losing streak,” head coach Tony Robichaux said. “We've been trying to get the guys to relax and stop pressing. We just had to get back to pitching and playing defense, and credit our defense tonight.”

The Cajuns (14-16, 4-7 Sun Belt) now go for their first Sun Belt series win since the opening weekend of league play when the two teams meet in the rubber match on Easter Sunday. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.

Louisiana will start either left-hander Jordan Harrison (2-1, 3.16 ERA) or right-hander Joe Zimmermann (0-1, 7.31 ERA). The Hilltoppers (13-18, 5-6 Sun Belt) are scheduled to start righty Taylor Haydel (2-2, 1.93 ERA).

The defense may have left the lasting impression on the contest. However, it was the pitching from both sides that told the story.

Griffitt scattered five hits and tied his season-high with eight strikeouts in setting the tone for the Cajuns. The junior college transfer from Bossier Parish CC turned in his longest outing of the season lasting 6 1/3 innings which topped his best of 5 2/3 set in each of his previous three starts.

Griffitt did not allow a Hilltopper to move past second base and he retired the side in order in the third and fourth inning. After holding FAU lefties 0-for-9 at the plate last weekend, Griffitt stifled the WKU lefties holding them 0-for-8.

Kellogg, making his first appearance since March 17 at La.-Monroe after dealing with rotator cuff issues, pitched 2 2/3 innings of one-hit relief for his third save of the season.

“We haven't been scoring a lot of runs lately, so we knew our pitchers had to protect our hitters,” Robichaux added. “(Chris) Griffitt came out and did that.

“I can't say enough about (Caleb) Kellogg…he got some big outs. He's a difference maker that we've been missing the last two weekends. When your difference maker is not out there on the field that affects your team, and it showed up the last two series.”

WKU starter Tim Bado turned in a stellar effort despite being saddled with the hard-luck defeat. Bado went the distance for the Toppers, holding UL to one run on five hits while striking out eight over eight innings.

UL broke a scoreless duel between Griffitt and Bado and got the only run they wound up needing in the third inning.

A leadoff walk by Daniel Nichols followed by a bunt single from Conrad set the stage for the eventual game-winning tally.
Todd, in only his fourth at bat of the season since rejoining the team last week, laid down a sacrifice bunt on the first offering from Bado to advance runners to second and third base. Brian Bowman lifted a fly ball to Ryan Hutchison in right field to allow Nichols to score for a 1-0 Cajuns lead.

Griffitt escaped the only threat WKU posed against him in the fifth inning by continuing his recent dominance of left-handed hitters. The Toppers had picked up two baserunners on a one-out walk by Crabtree and subsequent single from Ryan Huck. Griffitt caught Hodgins, a lefty, looking at strike three for the second out and fielded a comebacker from Hartle to retire the side.

A pair of singles in the seventh inning gave UL runners on the corners with one out and a chance to extend the lead. Bado was able to hold the WKU deficit at one run as he struck out Nichols on a called third strike and forced Conrad to ground out to second base for the final out.

Kellogg delivered his biggest pitch of his relief stint in the WKU half of the eighth inning after Hutchison doubled down the left field line to give the Toppers runners on second and third. Kellogg's final offering of the frame was swung on and missed by David Simmons for a strikeout that kept the shutout intact.

BASES NOTED: The ceremonial first pitch was thrown by Private First Class Dillon Guillory, a Lafayette native and Teurlings Catholic product, who lettered for the Cajuns from 2008-10 at first base and catcher…He forewent his senior season (2011) to enlist in the U.S. Army...He is currently stationed in Italy serving in the U.S. Army as an Airborne Paratroooper…Brian Bowman's sacrifice fly in the third inning allowed UL to register the game's first run, marking the 19^th time in 30 games the Cajuns scored first…Bowman's sacrifice fly was set up by Adam Todd's first career sacrifice bunt on the previous at bat…Todd, who rejoined the team last week after sitting out 2011 to focus on academics, started at catcher for the second straight night…Louisiana's posted its third shutout of 2012 (W, 1-0 vs. Wichita State on Feb. 18 & W, 5-0 at La.-Monroe on March 16) and the first nine-inning shutout at “The Tigue” since Taylor Hubbell went the distance in a 1-0 win over Siena on Feb. 27, 2011…Left-handed batters are 0-for-17 against Chris Griffitt in his last two starts…Cajuns pitching held the opposition to single digits for the 29^th time in 30 games and for the 14^th straight game since allowing 11 to Southern Miss on Sunday, March 11…WKU is 0-for-2 in stolen base attempts off of Cajuns catcher Adam Todd…Time of the game was two hours, 19 minutes marking the third game this week for UL that was played in less than two hours, 30 minutes…The Cajuns improved to 24-8 vs. WKU at “The Tigue” and upped their all-time series lead to 40-24…UL posted a shutout of WKU for the first time since March 22, 2003 when Andy Gros pitched a complete game in a 1-0 triumph at Nick Denes Field in Bowling Green…It was the Cajuns' fourth shutout all-time vs. the Hilltoppers and first at “The Tigue” (4/7/12 in Lafayette; 3/22/03 in Bowling Green; 5/3/98 in Bowling Green; March 24, 1996 in Bowling Green).

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Pitching and Defense Help Cajuns End Losing Skid

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