University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Friday, February 23
Lafayette, La.
6:00 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
3-2
1
vs
2
Rice
2-3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Rice
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
8
0
Louisiana
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
5
1
Owls Get Early Runs To Claim Pitcher's Duel Over Cajuns, 2-1
2/23/2024 9:35:00 PM | Baseball
Series resumes on Saturday at 2 p.m.; Morgan to start for Louisiana
LAFAYETTE – Manny Garza lifted a sacrifice fly in the first inning before adding an RBI single in the third while right-hander Parker Smith pitched 7.0 strong innings to help lead Rice to a 2-1 victory over Louisiana in the first game of a three-game series on Friday at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park.
The series resumes on Saturday with a 2 p.m. start. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with fans able to listen to the game on KPEL-FM (96.5) and worldwide on the Varsity Network app.
Freshman Chase Morgan (0-0. 6.00 ERA) will start on the mound for Louisiana (3-2) with Rice (2-3) countering with southpaw J.D. McCracken (0-0, 1.69 ERA)
Rice capitalized on three walks in the first inning to load the bases on Louisiana starter Jack Martinez (0-1) before Garza lifted a fly ball to left-center to drive in Treyton Rank for a 1-0 lead.
The Owls then laced three straight hits in the third inning after Martinez fanned Jack Riedel for the first out of the frame. Pierce Gallo singled to right before Nathan Becker hit an opposite-field single through the left side and Garza singled up the middle to score Gallo for a 2-0 lead.
That was enough for Smith (1-1) who scattered four hits and struck out five in his second appearance of the season. The right-hander was aided by a pair of double plays as he got Kyle DeBarge and Josh Alexander to ground out after the Cajuns put runners on base.
Louisiana cut the score in half in the sixth beginning with Jose Torres' one-out, bunt single up the third-base line. Caleb Stelly then followed with a bloop single down the right-field line to put runners on the corner before Luke Yuhasz's fly ball to right scored Torres.
Louisiana threatened in the eighth inning after Davion Hickson relieved Smith to begin the frame. Pinch-hitter Lee Amedee was hit by a pitch with one out before pinch-hitter Trey LaFleur singled to right-center field. Hickson then got a pair of ground balls to get out of the inning after getting Stelly to ground out to second and Yuhasz to third.
Becker and Ben Royo had two hits each to lead Rice at the plate while Hickson pitched the final 2.0 innings to earn his first save.
Yuhasz went 2-for-3 at the plate to lead the Ragin' Cajuns, who were held to five hits to tie a season-low.
Martinez scattered four hits and struck out a season-high four batters in 3.0 innings for the Ragin' Cajuns. David Christie pitched 3.0 innings of scoreless relief for Louisiana with Steven Cash fanning six batters in 2.0 innings of work. Blake McGehee pitched a hitless ninth inning for Louisiana.
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.
The series resumes on Saturday with a 2 p.m. start. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with fans able to listen to the game on KPEL-FM (96.5) and worldwide on the Varsity Network app.
Freshman Chase Morgan (0-0. 6.00 ERA) will start on the mound for Louisiana (3-2) with Rice (2-3) countering with southpaw J.D. McCracken (0-0, 1.69 ERA)
Rice capitalized on three walks in the first inning to load the bases on Louisiana starter Jack Martinez (0-1) before Garza lifted a fly ball to left-center to drive in Treyton Rank for a 1-0 lead.
The Owls then laced three straight hits in the third inning after Martinez fanned Jack Riedel for the first out of the frame. Pierce Gallo singled to right before Nathan Becker hit an opposite-field single through the left side and Garza singled up the middle to score Gallo for a 2-0 lead.
That was enough for Smith (1-1) who scattered four hits and struck out five in his second appearance of the season. The right-hander was aided by a pair of double plays as he got Kyle DeBarge and Josh Alexander to ground out after the Cajuns put runners on base.
Louisiana cut the score in half in the sixth beginning with Jose Torres' one-out, bunt single up the third-base line. Caleb Stelly then followed with a bloop single down the right-field line to put runners on the corner before Luke Yuhasz's fly ball to right scored Torres.
Louisiana threatened in the eighth inning after Davion Hickson relieved Smith to begin the frame. Pinch-hitter Lee Amedee was hit by a pitch with one out before pinch-hitter Trey LaFleur singled to right-center field. Hickson then got a pair of ground balls to get out of the inning after getting Stelly to ground out to second and Yuhasz to third.
Becker and Ben Royo had two hits each to lead Rice at the plate while Hickson pitched the final 2.0 innings to earn his first save.
Yuhasz went 2-for-3 at the plate to lead the Ragin' Cajuns, who were held to five hits to tie a season-low.
Martinez scattered four hits and struck out a season-high four batters in 3.0 innings for the Ragin' Cajuns. David Christie pitched 3.0 innings of scoreless relief for Louisiana with Steven Cash fanning six batters in 2.0 innings of work. Blake McGehee pitched a hitless ninth inning for Louisiana.
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: Parker Smith (1-1)
L: Martinez, Jack (0-1)
S: Davion Hickson (1)
Batting:
2B: Nathan Becker 1
RBI: Manny Garza 2
SH: Treyton Rank 1
SF: Manny Garza 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Treyton Rank 1 ; Pierce Gallo 1
SB: Ben Royo 1
HBP: Kyte McDonald 1
Batting:
RBI: Yuhasz, Luke 1
SF: Yuhasz, Luke 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Torres, Jose 1
SB: Stelly, Caleb 1
HBP: Taylor, John 1 ; Amedee, Lee 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
1
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
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IF
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LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
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IF
/ BaseballIF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballC
/ BaseballRHP/OF
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