University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

Louisiana Responds To Defeat No. 14 UC Irvine, 7-4
2/19/2022 7:20:00 PM | Baseball
Kimple, Theut spark Ragin' Cajuns in Saturday matinee
LAFAYETTE – For the second straight day, No. 14-ranked UC Irvine used a big fifth inning to erase an early two-run deficit. But after falling behind when the Anteaters used a three-run to take a 4-3 lead, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Baseball team responded with a big fifth-inning of their own.
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Connor Kimple sparked a three-run fifth inning with a two-run home run – his second in as many days – and Louisiana got stellar relief pitching from Jacob Schultz and Dylan Theut to lead the Ragin' Cajuns to a 7-4 victory over UC Irvine before an announced crowd of 4,263 on Saturday at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park.
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The series finale is scheduled for a 12 p.m., first pitch with Louisiana (1-1) sending senior right-hander Jeff Wilson to the mound for his first career start. UC Irvine (1-1) will counter with freshman right-hander Danny Suarez who will make his collegiate debut. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and can be heard in the Lafayette area on KPEL-FM 96.5.
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Tyler Robertson had three hits, an RBI and a stolen base for Louisiana, which dropped its season opener to UC Irvine by an identical score in Friday's season-opener.
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Peyton Havard, making his first career start, allowed a two-out walk and a pair of singles which allowed UC Irvine to take a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Justin Torres drew a two-out walk before moving to second on a Thomas McCaffery single and scoring on Jacob Castro's RBI single to right.
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Louisiana would take a page out of the Anteaters' attack from Friday as the Ragin' Cajuns opened with four straight singles off starter Nick Pinto (0-1), including bunt singles by Robertson and Kyle DeBarge to load the bases.
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Kimple then singled through the right side to drive in Max Marusak and Robertson before Carson Roccaforte's sacrifice fly gave Louisiana a 3-1 lead.
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Havard, which pitched a career-high 4.0 innings while allowing a pair of hits with two strikeouts, issued a leadoff walk to Nathan Church in the third inning before getting Torres to ground into a double play and retiring Castro on a grounder to third.
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UC Irvine would score three times in the fifth inning to claim a 4-3 lead as the Anteaters put runners on the corners after a hit batter and a by Woody Hadeen. Church's RBI single off pitcher Chipper Menard's glove would score Taishi Nakewake before Castro singled up the middle to drive in Hadeen and Church and give UC Irvine a 4-3 lead.
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Louisiana would answer in the bottom half of the frame as the Ragin' Cajuns took advantage of a pair of Anteater errors. Max Marusak reached first after being hit by a pitch before stealing second and moving to third on a throwing error. Robertson then tied the game with an infield single before Kimple gave Louisiana a 6-4 lead when he belted his second home run of the season.
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The Ragin' Cajuns added an insurance run to take a 7-4 lead in the seventh after Marusak drew a walk, stole second, moved to third on a Robertson bunt single and scored on a double play grounder.
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Schultz (1-0), the third of four pitchers used by Louisiana, tossed 2.0 hitless innings and fanned a pair of batters for the Ragin' Cajuns before Theut pitched the final 2.1 innings with four strikeouts for his first career save.
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Castro led UC Irvine at the plate going 2-for-5 with three RBI. Pinto pitched five innings for the Anteaters and allowed six runs – three of them earned – with a pair of walks and five strikeouts.
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Fans are encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin' Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here for iOS/Apple platforms and here for Android platforms.
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For the latest updates on Ragin' Cajuns baseball, follow on Facebook (RaginCajunsBaseball), Twitter (@RaginCajunsBSB) and Instagram (@RaginCajunsBSB) or check RaginCajuns.com.
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Connor Kimple sparked a three-run fifth inning with a two-run home run – his second in as many days – and Louisiana got stellar relief pitching from Jacob Schultz and Dylan Theut to lead the Ragin' Cajuns to a 7-4 victory over UC Irvine before an announced crowd of 4,263 on Saturday at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park.
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The series finale is scheduled for a 12 p.m., first pitch with Louisiana (1-1) sending senior right-hander Jeff Wilson to the mound for his first career start. UC Irvine (1-1) will counter with freshman right-hander Danny Suarez who will make his collegiate debut. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and can be heard in the Lafayette area on KPEL-FM 96.5.
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Tyler Robertson had three hits, an RBI and a stolen base for Louisiana, which dropped its season opener to UC Irvine by an identical score in Friday's season-opener.
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Peyton Havard, making his first career start, allowed a two-out walk and a pair of singles which allowed UC Irvine to take a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Justin Torres drew a two-out walk before moving to second on a Thomas McCaffery single and scoring on Jacob Castro's RBI single to right.
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Louisiana would take a page out of the Anteaters' attack from Friday as the Ragin' Cajuns opened with four straight singles off starter Nick Pinto (0-1), including bunt singles by Robertson and Kyle DeBarge to load the bases.
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Kimple then singled through the right side to drive in Max Marusak and Robertson before Carson Roccaforte's sacrifice fly gave Louisiana a 3-1 lead.
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Havard, which pitched a career-high 4.0 innings while allowing a pair of hits with two strikeouts, issued a leadoff walk to Nathan Church in the third inning before getting Torres to ground into a double play and retiring Castro on a grounder to third.
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UC Irvine would score three times in the fifth inning to claim a 4-3 lead as the Anteaters put runners on the corners after a hit batter and a by Woody Hadeen. Church's RBI single off pitcher Chipper Menard's glove would score Taishi Nakewake before Castro singled up the middle to drive in Hadeen and Church and give UC Irvine a 4-3 lead.
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Louisiana would answer in the bottom half of the frame as the Ragin' Cajuns took advantage of a pair of Anteater errors. Max Marusak reached first after being hit by a pitch before stealing second and moving to third on a throwing error. Robertson then tied the game with an infield single before Kimple gave Louisiana a 6-4 lead when he belted his second home run of the season.
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The Ragin' Cajuns added an insurance run to take a 7-4 lead in the seventh after Marusak drew a walk, stole second, moved to third on a Robertson bunt single and scored on a double play grounder.
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Schultz (1-0), the third of four pitchers used by Louisiana, tossed 2.0 hitless innings and fanned a pair of batters for the Ragin' Cajuns before Theut pitched the final 2.1 innings with four strikeouts for his first career save.
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Castro led UC Irvine at the plate going 2-for-5 with three RBI. Pinto pitched five innings for the Anteaters and allowed six runs – three of them earned – with a pair of walks and five strikeouts.
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Fans are encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin' Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here for iOS/Apple platforms and here for Android platforms.
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For the latest updates on Ragin' Cajuns baseball, follow on Facebook (RaginCajunsBaseball), Twitter (@RaginCajunsBSB) and Instagram (@RaginCajunsBSB) or check RaginCajuns.com.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Schultz, Jacob (1-0)
L: Pinto, Nick (0-1)
S: Theut, Dylan (1)
Batting:
2B: Torres, Justin 1
RBI: Church, Nathan 1 ; Castro, Jacob 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Hadeen, Woody 1 ; Church, Nathan 1 ; Torres, Justin 1 ; Nakawake, Taishi 1
HBP: McCaffrey, Thomas 1 ; Nakawake, Taishi 1

Batting:
HR: Kimple, Connor 1
RBI: Robertson, Tyler 1 ; Kimple, Connor 4 ; Roccaforte, Carson 1
SF: Roccaforte, Carson 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Marusak, Max 3 ; Robertson, Tyler 2 ; DeBarge, Kyle 1 ; Kimple, Connor 1
SB: Marusak, Max 2 ; Robertson, Tyler 1
HBP: Marusak, Max 1
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Monday, May 11
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Saturday, May 02





















