University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Saturday, February 17
Lafayette, La.
2:00 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
1-1
6
vs
7
Wright State
1-1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Wright State
0
0
4
2
0
0
0
1
0
7
11
2
Louisiana
0
2
0
3
0
0
1
0
0
6
8
3
Late Inning Homer Helps Raiders Edge Louisiana, 7-6
2/17/2024 6:21:00 PM | Baseball
LAFAYETTE – Pinch-hitter Boston Smith's solo home run in the eighth inning broke a 6-6 tie and Wright State held on to claim a 7-6 win over the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns on a chilly Saturday at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park.
Julian Greenwell led an 11-hit attack for 2023 NCAA Regional participant Wright State (1-1) with three hits with Andrew Patrick and Jay Luikart getting two hits apiece. Louisiana, which finished with eight hits but committed three errors leading to a pair of unearned runs, evened its record at 1-1.
The final game of the three-game series is set for Sunday at 1 p.m. The game 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.
"While we swung the bats a little bit better today, we still left a lot of opportunities out there," head coach Matt Deggs said. "We had a ton of mistakes that might not show up in a box score, but we've got to get them fixed.
"I thought we battled really well today and competed hard, but just made too many mistakes. They (Wright State) made more plays than we did."
Wright State trailed 2-0 after two innings before erupting for six runs over the next two frames to take 6-2 lead.
Greenwell started things for the Raiders in a four-run third inning with a bloop two-out single before scoring on Sammy Sass' RBI double down the left-field line. Luikart added an RBI single up the middle before Conor Higgs' error allowed two runners to score for a 4-2 lead.
Patrick increased WSU's lead to 5-2 in the fourth with an RBI double before scoring on Greenwell's double off freshman Tate Hess.
Louisiana responded with three runs in the bottom of the fourth behind the hitting of Josh Alexander and Trey LaFleur, each finishing 3-for-4 at the plate.
Alexander led off the inning with double to right-center field off WSU starter Ty Roder before scoring two batters later when LaFleur laced a double into the right-field corner. Luke Yuhasz's RBI grounder to short allowed Jose Torres to score from third before LaFleur cut the deficit to 6-5 when Kyle DeBarge reached on a two-out throwing error.
The Ragin' Cajuns knotted the game at 6-6 in the seventh after DeBarge reached on a one-out walk and would later score when Alexander beat out a grounder for a two-out single.
Smith broke the deadlock in the eighth when he hit the second pitch of the inning off Louisiana reliver JT Etheridge (0-1) over the right-center field fence for the Raider's first home run of the season.
Duke Benge (1-0), the fifth of six pitchers for the Raiders, earned the win in his Raider's debut after pitching 1.1 scoreless innings. Brayden Shoetzow pitched the final inning to record his first save.
Yuhasz and Maddox Mandino each collected hits for Louisiana with LaFleur and Yuhasz each driving in a pair of runs. Freshman Chase Morgan, making his collegiate debut, scattered four hits, four runs (two unearned) with three strikeouts in 3.0 innings of work.
Tickets for Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Baseball are available for purchase on-line at RaginCajuns.com/tickets or by calling the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at (337) 482-GoUL (4685).
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.
For the latest updates on Ragin' Cajuns baseball, follow on Facebook (RaginCajunsBaseball), Twitter (@RaginCajunsBSB) and Instagram (@RaginCajunsBSB) or check RaginCajuns.com.
Julian Greenwell led an 11-hit attack for 2023 NCAA Regional participant Wright State (1-1) with three hits with Andrew Patrick and Jay Luikart getting two hits apiece. Louisiana, which finished with eight hits but committed three errors leading to a pair of unearned runs, evened its record at 1-1.
The final game of the three-game series is set for Sunday at 1 p.m. The game 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.
"While we swung the bats a little bit better today, we still left a lot of opportunities out there," head coach Matt Deggs said. "We had a ton of mistakes that might not show up in a box score, but we've got to get them fixed.
"I thought we battled really well today and competed hard, but just made too many mistakes. They (Wright State) made more plays than we did."
Wright State trailed 2-0 after two innings before erupting for six runs over the next two frames to take 6-2 lead.
Greenwell started things for the Raiders in a four-run third inning with a bloop two-out single before scoring on Sammy Sass' RBI double down the left-field line. Luikart added an RBI single up the middle before Conor Higgs' error allowed two runners to score for a 4-2 lead.
Patrick increased WSU's lead to 5-2 in the fourth with an RBI double before scoring on Greenwell's double off freshman Tate Hess.
Louisiana responded with three runs in the bottom of the fourth behind the hitting of Josh Alexander and Trey LaFleur, each finishing 3-for-4 at the plate.
Alexander led off the inning with double to right-center field off WSU starter Ty Roder before scoring two batters later when LaFleur laced a double into the right-field corner. Luke Yuhasz's RBI grounder to short allowed Jose Torres to score from third before LaFleur cut the deficit to 6-5 when Kyle DeBarge reached on a two-out throwing error.
The Ragin' Cajuns knotted the game at 6-6 in the seventh after DeBarge reached on a one-out walk and would later score when Alexander beat out a grounder for a two-out single.
Smith broke the deadlock in the eighth when he hit the second pitch of the inning off Louisiana reliver JT Etheridge (0-1) over the right-center field fence for the Raider's first home run of the season.
Duke Benge (1-0), the fifth of six pitchers for the Raiders, earned the win in his Raider's debut after pitching 1.1 scoreless innings. Brayden Shoetzow pitched the final inning to record his first save.
Yuhasz and Maddox Mandino each collected hits for Louisiana with LaFleur and Yuhasz each driving in a pair of runs. Freshman Chase Morgan, making his collegiate debut, scattered four hits, four runs (two unearned) with three strikeouts in 3.0 innings of work.
Tickets for Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Baseball are available for purchase on-line at RaginCajuns.com/tickets or by calling the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at (337) 482-GoUL (4685).
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.
For the latest updates on Ragin' Cajuns baseball, follow on Facebook (RaginCajunsBaseball), Twitter (@RaginCajunsBSB) and Instagram (@RaginCajunsBSB) or check RaginCajuns.com.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Duke Benge (1-0)
L: Etheridge, JT (0-1)
S: Brayden Shoetzow (1)
Batting:
2B: Andrew Patrick 1 ; Julian Greenwell 1 ; Sammy Sass 1
HR: Boston Smith 1
RBI: Andrew Patrick 1 ; Julian Greenwell 1 ; Sammy Sass 1 ; Jay Luikart 1 ; Boston Smith 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Andrew Patrick 1 ; Julian Greenwell 1 ; Sammy Sass 1 ; Jay Luikart 1 ; Patrick Fultz 1 ; Boston Smith 1 ; Ben Vore 1
SB: Andrew Patrick 1 ; Jay Luikart 1 ; Ben Vore 1
CS: Gus Gregory 1
HBP: Julian Greenwell 1 ; Gus Gregory 1
Batting:
2B: Mandino, Maddox 1 ; Alexander, Josh 1 ; LaFleur, Trey 1
3B: LaFleur, Trey 1
RBI: Alexander, Josh 1 ; LaFleur, Trey 2 ; Yuhasz, Luke 2
SH: Higgs, Conor 1
Base Running:
RUNS: DeBarge, Kyle 1 ; Alexander, Josh 2 ; Torres, Jose 1 ; LaFleur, Trey 2
CS: Yuhasz, Luke 1
HBP: Taylor, John 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
1
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
2
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballIF
/ BaseballLHP/OF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
C
/ BaseballRHP/OF
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