University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
28-15
Northwestern State
21-17
Louisiana Scores Early, Often In 15-3 Win Over Demons
4/26/2023 10:46:00 PM | Baseball
Ragin' Cajuns set for three-game SBC series at home against No. 6 Coastal Carolina
Jackson Nezuh and three relievers combined to limit Northwestern State (21-17) to seven hits in the game while Louisiana (28-15) recorded its most hits since a season-high 18 on March 25 at South Alabama.
After Louisiana failed to score in the first inning, Conor Higgs led off the second with a double into the left-field corner off Chase Prestwich (4-3) before scoring on Carson Roccaforte's double to right. Veillon, who went 3-for-4 then hit a double to drive in Roccaforte before Max Marusak lifted an RBI single to left for a 3-0 lead.
Higgs added an RBI double in the third for the Ragin' Cajuns and scored when Julian Brock hit the next pitch for an RBI single through the right side.
DeBarge, who was 3-for-5 with three RBI, drove in a pair of runs it the fourth with an RBI single for an 8-1 lead before Veillon drove in Roccaforte with an RBI single in the fifth.
Louisiana added three more runs in the sixth to take a 12-1 lead, taking advantage of four walks and an error. DeBarge added an RBI single in the seventh before Mason Zambo lined a two-run single to center in the eighth.
Nezuh (6-3) fanned five batters and allowed one base runner in 2.0 innings for the Ragin' Cajuns before Steven Cash, Brendan Moody and Ben Tate closed out the game. Prestwich, the first of nine pitchers used by Northwestern State, allowed one run and fanned one in 1.1 innings to suffer the loss.
Gray Rowlett hit an RBI double in the fourth inning for the Demons before Jeffery Elkins hit a solo homer to left in the seventh and Hayden Knotts had a pinch-hit, RBI single in the eighth.
Louisiana will return to Sun Belt Conference play beginning on Friday when it hosts No. 6-ranked Coastal Carolina (26-13, 13-5 SBC) in a three-game series. First pitch for Friday's opener is 6 p.m.
The series continues on Saturday at 4 p.m. before concluding with a 10 a.m. contest on Sunday. All three games will be streamed live on ESPN+ with fans able to listen to the game in the Lafayette area on KPEL-FM (96.5) and worldwide on the Varsity Network app.
Single-game tickets are available by visiting the Louisiana Athletics Box Office at the Cajundome or purchasing by visiting Account Manager. For more information call the Louisiana Athletics Box Office at the Cajundome at (337) 265-2104.
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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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Nezuh, Jackson (6-3)
L: Prestwich, Chase (4-3)
Batting:
2B: Rowlett, Gray 1 ; Horton, Cole 1
HR: Elkins, Jeffrey 1
RBI: Elkins, Jeffrey 1 ; Knotts, Hayden 1 ; Rowlett, Gray 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Elkins, Jeffrey 1 ; Dattalo, Michael 1 ; Haze, Jake 1
CS: Farrell, Jacob 1
Batting:
2B: Higgs, Conor 2 ; Roccaforte, Carson 1 ; Veillon, Will 1
3B: Hood, Heath 1
RBI: Robichaux, Ben 1 ; Zambo, Mason 2 ; DeBarge, Kyle 3 ; Higgs, Conor 2 ; Brock, Julian 2 ; Roccaforte, Carson 1 ; Taylor, John 1 ; Veillon, Will 2 ; Marusak, Max 1
SH: Hood, Heath 1
SF: Taylor, John 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Robichaux, Ben 2 ; DeBarge, Kyle 1 ; Hood, Heath 2 ; Higgs, Conor 2 ; Roccaforte, Carson 3 ; Veillon, Will 2 ; Amedee, Lee 1 ; Marusak, Max 2
SB: Robichaux, Ben 1 ; Veillon, Will 2 ; Marusak, Max 2
CS: DeBarge, Kyle 1
HBP: Roccaforte, Carson 1
