University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Sunday, February 25
Lafayette, La.
1:00 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
4-3
3
vs
0
Rice
3-4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Rice
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
Louisiana
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
1
X
3
7
0
Fluno Sets The Tone As Cajuns Blank Rice, 3-0
2/25/2024 4:30:00 PM | Baseball
Higgs, DeBarge each homer as Louisiana salvages final game of series
LAFAYETTE – Carson Fluno and two relievers combined on a two-hit shutout while Conor Higgs and Kyle DeBarge each homered in leading Louisiana to a 3-0 victory over Rice in the final game of a three-game series on Sunday before an announced crowd of 3,736 at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park.
Â
Lee Amedee and Mason Zambo each recorded a pair of hits – their first of the season – while Andrew Herrmann and Matthew Holzhammer combined to fan six batters over the final 4.0 innings for the first combined two-hitter for Louisiana (4-3) since four pitchers combined to blank Southeastern Louisiana, 2-0, on March 22, 2023.
Â
Rice, which was shutout for the first time in the series since a 2-0 Louisiana victory on April 5, 2011, fell to 3-4 overall.
Â
"Pitching and defense carried us and it's always got to start with the guy on the bump," Louisiana head coach Matt Deggs said. "We needed to get a really good start and we got that today, and we needed to play really good defense and we were able to defend it today.
Â
"And that carries over into your offense and we were able to do enough to get us to the finish line. We're still a work in progress, working to get better. Rice is much improved. They threw three quality arms at us (Parker Smith, Davion Hickson, J.D. McCracken). I thought we pitched it well all weekend and pitched it great today."
Â
Fluno (1-0) pitched 5.0 innings and struck out six batters while tossing a perfect game until Pierce Gallo's leadoff single in the fifth. The right-hander set the tone early with 12 first-pitch strikes in facing 16 batters, one over the minimum.
Â
Louisiana broke open a scoreless contest in the third inning as Zambo, who was 2-for-3, belted his first of two doubles in the game with a shot into the right-field corner off Rice starter Ryland Urbanczyk (0-1).
Â
Two batters later, Zambo would give Louisiana a 1-0 lead when he scored on DeBarge's grounder to second. Three pitches later, the Ragin' Cajuns increased their lead to 2-0 as Higgs launched his first home run of the season – a 386-foot blast down the right-field line.
Â
Rice had a chance to cut into the deficit in the seventh after Kyte McDonald hit a leadoff double off Herrmann and moved to third on a one-out wild pitch. But Herrmann, who fanned four batters in 2.0 innings, got Gallo looking at a called third strike before fanning Treyton Rank to end the threat.
Â
DeBarge capped off the scoring for Louisiana after belting his first home run of the season – a 388-foot drive to left field – for a 3-0 lead.
Â
Holzhammer pitched the final 2.0 innings and struck out a pair of batters to earn his first career save. John Taylor added a double for the Ragin' Cajuns, who finished with seven hits with five going for extra bases.
Â
Louisiana will close out its four-game homestand on Wednesday (February 28) when it hosts Northwestern State. Fans can listen to the game in the Lafayette area on KFTE-FM (105.1) and worldwide on the Varsity Network app.
Â
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).
Â
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.
Â
For the latest updates on Ragin' Cajuns baseball, follow on Facebook (RaginCajunsBaseball), Twitter (@RaginCajunsBSB) and Instagram (@RaginCajunsBSB) or check RaginCajuns.com.
Â
Â
Lee Amedee and Mason Zambo each recorded a pair of hits – their first of the season – while Andrew Herrmann and Matthew Holzhammer combined to fan six batters over the final 4.0 innings for the first combined two-hitter for Louisiana (4-3) since four pitchers combined to blank Southeastern Louisiana, 2-0, on March 22, 2023.
Â
Rice, which was shutout for the first time in the series since a 2-0 Louisiana victory on April 5, 2011, fell to 3-4 overall.
Â
"Pitching and defense carried us and it's always got to start with the guy on the bump," Louisiana head coach Matt Deggs said. "We needed to get a really good start and we got that today, and we needed to play really good defense and we were able to defend it today.
Â
"And that carries over into your offense and we were able to do enough to get us to the finish line. We're still a work in progress, working to get better. Rice is much improved. They threw three quality arms at us (Parker Smith, Davion Hickson, J.D. McCracken). I thought we pitched it well all weekend and pitched it great today."
Â
Fluno (1-0) pitched 5.0 innings and struck out six batters while tossing a perfect game until Pierce Gallo's leadoff single in the fifth. The right-hander set the tone early with 12 first-pitch strikes in facing 16 batters, one over the minimum.
Â
Louisiana broke open a scoreless contest in the third inning as Zambo, who was 2-for-3, belted his first of two doubles in the game with a shot into the right-field corner off Rice starter Ryland Urbanczyk (0-1).
Â
Two batters later, Zambo would give Louisiana a 1-0 lead when he scored on DeBarge's grounder to second. Three pitches later, the Ragin' Cajuns increased their lead to 2-0 as Higgs launched his first home run of the season – a 386-foot blast down the right-field line.
Â
Rice had a chance to cut into the deficit in the seventh after Kyte McDonald hit a leadoff double off Herrmann and moved to third on a one-out wild pitch. But Herrmann, who fanned four batters in 2.0 innings, got Gallo looking at a called third strike before fanning Treyton Rank to end the threat.
Â
DeBarge capped off the scoring for Louisiana after belting his first home run of the season – a 388-foot drive to left field – for a 3-0 lead.
Â
Holzhammer pitched the final 2.0 innings and struck out a pair of batters to earn his first career save. John Taylor added a double for the Ragin' Cajuns, who finished with seven hits with five going for extra bases.
Â
Louisiana will close out its four-game homestand on Wednesday (February 28) when it hosts Northwestern State. Fans can listen to the game in the Lafayette area on KFTE-FM (105.1) and worldwide on the Varsity Network app.
Â
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).
Â
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.
Â
For the latest updates on Ragin' Cajuns baseball, follow on Facebook (RaginCajunsBaseball), Twitter (@RaginCajunsBSB) and Instagram (@RaginCajunsBSB) or check RaginCajuns.com.
Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Fluno, Carson (1-0)
L: Ryland Urbanczyk (0-1)
S: Holzhammer, Matthew (1)
Batting:
2B: Kyte McDonald 1
Batting:
2B: Taylor, John 1 ; Zambo, Mason 2
HR: DeBarge, Kyle 1 ; Higgs, Conor 1
RBI: DeBarge, Kyle 2 ; Higgs, Conor 1
Base Running:
RUNS: DeBarge, Kyle 1 ; Higgs, Conor 1 ; Zambo, Mason 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
IF
/ BaseballIF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
IF
/ BaseballIF
/ BaseballMatt Deggs Media Availability (May 12, 2025)
Monday, May 12
Matt Deggs Media Availability (May 4, 2025)
Monday, May 05
Beyond The Bases - Louisiana Baseball - Episode 4
Friday, May 02
Matt Deggs Media Availability (April 28, 2025)
Monday, April 28
