University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Wednesday, February 26
Lafayette, La.
6 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
5-4
9
vs
7
Southeastern Louisiana
7-3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Southeastern La.
0
0
1
0
2
0
2
2
0
7
8
2
Louisiana
1
3
1
0
1
3
0
0
X
9
11
0
Hess Sets Tone; Cajuns Respond With 9-7 Win Over SLU
2/26/2025 10:51:00 PM | Baseball
Stelly drives in three, Higgs belts second homer; Cajuns head west to face UC Irvine
LAFAYETTE – Tate Hess struck out a career-high seven batters to earn his first collegiate victory and Louisiana scored in five of the first six innings in defeating in-state foe Southeastern Louisiana, 9-7, on Wednesday at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park.
Caleb Stelly went 3-for-4 with a pair of triples while Conor Higgs' belted his second home run of the season as Louisiana (5-4) produced 11 hits and claimed its third straight win over SLU (7-2).
Hess (1-1), in his first career start for the Ragin' Cajuns, scattered a pair of third-inning hits and a run in 4.0 innings of action. The right-hander retired the first six batters he faced before Lakin Polk's leadoff infield single in the third. Ryan Brome's two-out RBI double to right scored former Cajun Ben Robichaux, but Hess would fan T.J. Salvaggio to end the inning.
Louisiana scored a run in the first on Stelly's RBI single to left to plate Drew Markle for a 1-0 lead before Connor Cuff's RBI double opened a three-run frame in the second. Markle added an RBI single to drive in Sam Ardoin and the Ragin' Cajuns would execute a double steal with Cuff scoring from third for a 4-0 lead.
Stelly led off the third inning with a triple to center off SLU starter Luke Barbier (1-1) and scored two batters later on Higgs' RBI grounder to second.
After the Lions cut the deficit to 5-3 in the fifth, Higgs would connect for a solo home run off SLU reliever Chase Ambrose for a 6-3 advantage.
Stelly, who became the first Louisiana player to record two triples in a game since Heath Hood against South Alabama in the 2022 Sun Belt Conference Championships, would drive in Cuff and Casey Artigues with a triple off the wall in right field and score when Lee Amedee lined an RBI double just inside first base.
Brome and Salvaggio had two hits each to lead SLU, which entered the game ranked 14th in the country in batting average (.348) and second nationally in home runs (17). Brome belted his fifth homer of the season in the eighth with a two-out blast to right.
Barbier allowed four earned runs and scattered five hits in 2.0 innings for SLU with Kaleb Howell – the fourth pitcher used by the Lions – pitched 2.0 hitless innings of relief.
Louisiana returns to action beginning Friday when it travels to the West Coast for a three-game series at UC Irvine. The series, the first of seven straight games for Louisiana against 2024 NCAA Regional participants, will start on Friday at 8 p.m. CT before resuming at 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Baseball season and single-game tickets are available for purchase online at RaginCajuns.com/tickets or by calling the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at (337) 482-GoUL (4685). Fans can also support the baseball student athletes, and invest in the program's future, through the Krewe Allons NIL Collective (click here).
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.
Caleb Stelly went 3-for-4 with a pair of triples while Conor Higgs' belted his second home run of the season as Louisiana (5-4) produced 11 hits and claimed its third straight win over SLU (7-2).
Hess (1-1), in his first career start for the Ragin' Cajuns, scattered a pair of third-inning hits and a run in 4.0 innings of action. The right-hander retired the first six batters he faced before Lakin Polk's leadoff infield single in the third. Ryan Brome's two-out RBI double to right scored former Cajun Ben Robichaux, but Hess would fan T.J. Salvaggio to end the inning.
Louisiana scored a run in the first on Stelly's RBI single to left to plate Drew Markle for a 1-0 lead before Connor Cuff's RBI double opened a three-run frame in the second. Markle added an RBI single to drive in Sam Ardoin and the Ragin' Cajuns would execute a double steal with Cuff scoring from third for a 4-0 lead.
Stelly led off the third inning with a triple to center off SLU starter Luke Barbier (1-1) and scored two batters later on Higgs' RBI grounder to second.
After the Lions cut the deficit to 5-3 in the fifth, Higgs would connect for a solo home run off SLU reliever Chase Ambrose for a 6-3 advantage.
Stelly, who became the first Louisiana player to record two triples in a game since Heath Hood against South Alabama in the 2022 Sun Belt Conference Championships, would drive in Cuff and Casey Artigues with a triple off the wall in right field and score when Lee Amedee lined an RBI double just inside first base.
Brome and Salvaggio had two hits each to lead SLU, which entered the game ranked 14th in the country in batting average (.348) and second nationally in home runs (17). Brome belted his fifth homer of the season in the eighth with a two-out blast to right.
Barbier allowed four earned runs and scattered five hits in 2.0 innings for SLU with Kaleb Howell – the fourth pitcher used by the Lions – pitched 2.0 hitless innings of relief.
Louisiana returns to action beginning Friday when it travels to the West Coast for a three-game series at UC Irvine. The series, the first of seven straight games for Louisiana against 2024 NCAA Regional participants, will start on Friday at 8 p.m. CT before resuming at 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Baseball season and single-game tickets are available for purchase online at RaginCajuns.com/tickets or by calling the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at (337) 482-GoUL (4685). Fans can also support the baseball student athletes, and invest in the program's future, through the Krewe Allons NIL Collective (click here).
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: Hess, Tate (1-1)
L: Barbier, Luke (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Brome, Ryan 1
HR: Brome, Ryan 1
RBI: Brome, Ryan 3 ; Salvaggio, TJ 2 ; Hall, Jude 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brome, Ryan 3 ; Woods, Peyton 1 ; Robichaux, Ben 1 ; Watts, Dane 2
HBP: Hall, Jude 1 ; Watts, Dane 1
Batting:
2B: Amedee, Lee 1 ; Cuff, Connor 1
3B: Stelly, Caleb 2
HR: Higgs, Conor 1
RBI: Markle, Drew 1 ; Stelly, Caleb 3 ; Amedee, Lee 1 ; Higgs, Conor 2 ; Cuff, Connor 1
SH: Markle, Drew 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Markle, Drew 1 ; Artigues, Casey 1 ; Stelly, Caleb 2 ; Higgs, Conor 1 ; Torres, Jose 1 ; Ardoin, Sam 1 ; Cuff, Connor 2
SB: Markle, Drew 2 ; Cuff, Connor 1
CS: Amedee, Lee 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
3
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
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IF
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