University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Saturday, March 1
Irvine, Calif.
3 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
5-6
6
at
9
UC Irvine
7-3
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 1 |
| UC Irvine | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | X | 9 | 13 | 2 |
Home Run Barrage Not Enough For Cajuns Against UC Irvine, 9-6
3/1/2025 6:51:00 PM | Baseball
IRVINE, Calif.  – A pair of home runs from Conor Higgs, along with homers from Drew Markle, Caleb Stelly and Jose Torres were not enough as the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns fell behind 7-0 early and dropped a 9-6 contest to No. 20-ranked UC Irvine Saturday afternoon at Cicerone Field at Anteater Ballpark.
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Zach Crandall, the No. 9 hitter in the lineup for UC Irvine (7-3), went 3-for-4 at the plate and drove in a pair of runs as the Anteaters scored five runs in the first inning and led 7-0 after four.
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Colin Yeaman, Anthony Martinez, Jacob McCombs and Zach Fjelstad had two hits each as UC Irvine, ranked No. 20 by Baseball America, recorded 12 hits. Jack Ross (2-1) earned the win after pitching 5.1 innings with six strikeouts, while Max Martin pitched the ninth inning for his second save.
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The three-game series concludes on Sunday at 3 p.m. CT. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with fans being aired in the Lafayette area on KPEL-FM (96.5) and worldwide on the Varsity Network app.
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Louisiana (5-6) began its comeback in the fifth after Sam Ardoin reached on a one-out error and eventually scored on Brooks' Wright sacrifice bunt. The Ragin' Cajuns turned the momentum beginning in the sixth inning when Stelly hit a leadoff homer off Ross.
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Higgs and Torres then followed with back-to-back homers for Louisiana to cut the deficit to 7-4 before reliever David Butler would help get UCI out of the threat. The Anteaters would get a run back in the bottom half of the inning when Crandall lifted a two-out RBI double which scored Landon Gaz.
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Markle's home run in the seventh, his second of the weekend, would get Louisiana to within 8-5 and Higgs would belt his second homer in the eighth with a leadoff blast to center-field off reliever Ryder Brooks.
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UC Irvine knocked out Louisiana starter Blake McGehee (1-2) early in the second inning with seven hits, a pair of walks and a hit batter. Riley Marcotte posted career-bests for Louisiana with 3.0 innings of relief with four strikeouts. James Trimble pitched a scoreless inning of relief for the Ragin' Cajuns with Matt Gaither fanning two batters and JR Tollett one.
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Markle, Stelly and Higgs had two hits each to lead Louisiana, which finished with nine for the game.
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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).
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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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For the latest updates on Ragin' Cajuns baseball, follow on Facebook (RaginCajunsBaseball), Twitter (@RaginCajunsBSB) and Instagram (@RaginCajunsBSB) or check RaginCajuns.com.
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Zach Crandall, the No. 9 hitter in the lineup for UC Irvine (7-3), went 3-for-4 at the plate and drove in a pair of runs as the Anteaters scored five runs in the first inning and led 7-0 after four.
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Colin Yeaman, Anthony Martinez, Jacob McCombs and Zach Fjelstad had two hits each as UC Irvine, ranked No. 20 by Baseball America, recorded 12 hits. Jack Ross (2-1) earned the win after pitching 5.1 innings with six strikeouts, while Max Martin pitched the ninth inning for his second save.
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The three-game series concludes on Sunday at 3 p.m. CT. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with fans being aired in the Lafayette area on KPEL-FM (96.5) and worldwide on the Varsity Network app.
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Louisiana (5-6) began its comeback in the fifth after Sam Ardoin reached on a one-out error and eventually scored on Brooks' Wright sacrifice bunt. The Ragin' Cajuns turned the momentum beginning in the sixth inning when Stelly hit a leadoff homer off Ross.
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Higgs and Torres then followed with back-to-back homers for Louisiana to cut the deficit to 7-4 before reliever David Butler would help get UCI out of the threat. The Anteaters would get a run back in the bottom half of the inning when Crandall lifted a two-out RBI double which scored Landon Gaz.
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Markle's home run in the seventh, his second of the weekend, would get Louisiana to within 8-5 and Higgs would belt his second homer in the eighth with a leadoff blast to center-field off reliever Ryder Brooks.
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UC Irvine knocked out Louisiana starter Blake McGehee (1-2) early in the second inning with seven hits, a pair of walks and a hit batter. Riley Marcotte posted career-bests for Louisiana with 3.0 innings of relief with four strikeouts. James Trimble pitched a scoreless inning of relief for the Ragin' Cajuns with Matt Gaither fanning two batters and JR Tollett one.
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Markle, Stelly and Higgs had two hits each to lead Louisiana, which finished with nine for the game.
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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).
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.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ross, Jack (2-1)
L: McGehee, Blake (1-2)
S: Martin, Max (2)
Batting:
HR: Markle, Drew 1 ; Stelly, Caleb 1 ; Higgs, Conor 2 ; Torres, Jose 1
RBI: Wright, Brooks 1 ; Markle, Drew 1 ; Stelly, Caleb 1 ; Higgs, Conor 2 ; Torres, Jose 1
SH: Wright, Brooks 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Markle, Drew 1 ; Stelly, Caleb 1 ; Higgs, Conor 2 ; Torres, Jose 1 ; Ardoin, Sam 1
HBP: Higgs, Conor 1
Batting:
2B: Yeaman, Colin 1 ; McCombs, Jacob 2 ; Crandall, Zach 1
3B: Fjelstad, Zach 1
HR: Fjelstad, Zach 1
RBI: Martinez, Anthony 1 ; McCombs, Jacob 1 ; Felsch, Rowan 2 ; Fjelstad, Zach 1 ; Gaz, Landon 1 ; Crandall, Zach 2
SF: Felsch, Rowan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Yeaman, Colin 1 ; Martinez, Anthony 1 ; Call, Chase 2 ; McCombs, Jacob 2 ; Fjelstad, Zach 2 ; Gaz, Landon 1
CS: Felsch, Rowan 1
HBP: Call, Chase 1 ; Gaz, Landon 2
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
dh/p
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballIF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
RHP
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