University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Thursday, April 2
Harrisonburg, Va.
6:00 p.m. ET
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
19-11, 4-6
5
at
4
James Madison
13-15, 4-6
1st innning1
2nd innning2
3rd innning3
4th innning4
5th innning5
6th innning6
7th innning7
8th innning8
9th innning9
RunsR
HitsH
ErrorsE
Louisiana
1
0
3
1
0
0
0
0
0
5
9
0
James Madison
1
0
0
3
0
0
0
0
0
4
7
0
Bullpen Shines As Louisiana Tops James Madison, 5-4
4/2/2026 10:37:00 PM | Baseball
Amedee, LaSalle belt homers as Louisiana claims SBC series opener for first time this season
HARRISONBURG, Va. – Lee Amedee and Steven Spalitta each collected three hits, and Louisiana's bullpen shut down James Madison after the fourth inning to lift the Ragin' Cajuns to a 5-4 Sun Belt Conference win Thursday night at Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park.
Amedee and Donovan LaSalle both homered for Louisiana (19-11, 4-6 SBC), which secured its first win in a Sun Belt series opener this season and its first opening-game victory since a 5-4 win over Dallas Baptist on March 6.
Parker Smith (1-2) escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fourth inning, allowing just one inherited runner to score. He combined with Ty Roman and Cody Brasch to hold James Madison (13-15, 4-6 SBC) scoreless over the final five innings. Smith allowed two hits over 3.1 innings to earn his first win of the season.
Louisiana, which won its fourth straight game over JMU and first in Harrisonburg, struck first in the opening inning on Amedee's third home run of the season. James Madison answered in the bottom half of the frame with a solo homer by Clay Thompson against starter Sawyer Pruitt.
The Cajuns took the lead for good in the third inning against Dukes starter Max Kuhle (0-2). Colt Brown walked and moved to second on a single by Rigoberto Hernandez before advancing to third on Amedee's flare to left field. Spalitta followed with a gap shot to right-center, clearing the bases and giving Louisiana a 4-1 advantage.
LaSalle extended the lead to 5-1 with a solo home run in the fourth, his team-high fifth of the season.
James Madison responded in the bottom half, chasing Pruitt after loading the bases with no outs. Pruitt walked two batters and hit another before issuing a bases-loaded walk. Smith entered and limited the damage, striking out Ike Schmidly and allowing only one more run on a force play before retiring the side.
Smith faced the minimum in both the fifth and sixth innings, aided by double plays in each frame. In the seventh, Thompson singled with one out, prompting a pitching change to Roman. After an intentional walk and another free pass loaded the bases, Roman induced a groundout from Keegan Haesler to end the threat.
Brasch closed out the final two innings for his fourth save, striking out six. He fanned Ryan Gocio and pinch-hitter Jackson Tone after allowing a bloop single in the ninth.
Louisiana finished with nine hits, including four for extra bases. Thompson and Cameron Aycock each recorded two hits for James Madison, which totaled seven hits.
The teams continue the series on Friday, with first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. CT. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with fans able to listen locally on KPEL-FM (96.5) and worldwide on the Varsity Network app.
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.
Amedee and Donovan LaSalle both homered for Louisiana (19-11, 4-6 SBC), which secured its first win in a Sun Belt series opener this season and its first opening-game victory since a 5-4 win over Dallas Baptist on March 6.
Parker Smith (1-2) escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fourth inning, allowing just one inherited runner to score. He combined with Ty Roman and Cody Brasch to hold James Madison (13-15, 4-6 SBC) scoreless over the final five innings. Smith allowed two hits over 3.1 innings to earn his first win of the season.
Louisiana, which won its fourth straight game over JMU and first in Harrisonburg, struck first in the opening inning on Amedee's third home run of the season. James Madison answered in the bottom half of the frame with a solo homer by Clay Thompson against starter Sawyer Pruitt.
The Cajuns took the lead for good in the third inning against Dukes starter Max Kuhle (0-2). Colt Brown walked and moved to second on a single by Rigoberto Hernandez before advancing to third on Amedee's flare to left field. Spalitta followed with a gap shot to right-center, clearing the bases and giving Louisiana a 4-1 advantage.
LaSalle extended the lead to 5-1 with a solo home run in the fourth, his team-high fifth of the season.
James Madison responded in the bottom half, chasing Pruitt after loading the bases with no outs. Pruitt walked two batters and hit another before issuing a bases-loaded walk. Smith entered and limited the damage, striking out Ike Schmidly and allowing only one more run on a force play before retiring the side.
Smith faced the minimum in both the fifth and sixth innings, aided by double plays in each frame. In the seventh, Thompson singled with one out, prompting a pitching change to Roman. After an intentional walk and another free pass loaded the bases, Roman induced a groundout from Keegan Haesler to end the threat.
Brasch closed out the final two innings for his fourth save, striking out six. He fanned Ryan Gocio and pinch-hitter Jackson Tone after allowing a bloop single in the ninth.
Louisiana finished with nine hits, including four for extra bases. Thompson and Cameron Aycock each recorded two hits for James Madison, which totaled seven hits.
The teams continue the series on Friday, with first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. CT. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with fans able to listen locally on KPEL-FM (96.5) and worldwide on the Varsity Network app.
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: Smith, Parker (1-2)
L: Max Kuhle (0-2)
S: Brasch, Cody (4)
Batting:
2B: Spalitta, Steven 1 ; Lewis, Noah 1
HR: Amedee, Lee 1 ; LaSalle, Donovan 1
RBI: Amedee, Lee 1 ; Spalitta, Steven 3 ; LaSalle, Donovan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brown, Colt 1 ; Hernandez, Rigoberto 1 ; Amedee, Lee 2 ; LaSalle, Donovan 1
SB: Markle, Drew 1
CS: Spalitta, Steven 1 ; LaSalle, Donovan 1
Batting:
HR: Clay Thompson 1
RBI: Kyle Langley 1 ; Clay Thompson 2 ; Jack Anderson 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Clay Thompson 1 ; Ryan Gocio 1 ; Wyatt Campbell 1 ; Cameron Aycock 1
SB: Clay Thompson 1 ; Reece Moody 1
HBP: Ryan Gocio 1 ; Jack Anderson 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
3
RBI
3
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP/C
/ BaseballIF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
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