University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Sunday, May 31
Starkville, Miss.
2:00 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
41-24
8
vs
6
Cincinnati
38-22
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 2 |
| Louisiana | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | X | 8 | 10 | 1 |
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Cajuns Eliminate Cincy, Fall In Regional Final To Mississippi State
6/1/2026 1:07:00 AM | Baseball
Louisiana reaches Regional Final for second time in three years
STARKVILLE, Miss. – No. 25-ranked Louisiana's phenomenal run in the postseason came to an end on Sunday night as No. 17-ranked Mississippi State erupted for 20 hits and scored 11 runs over the final three innings for a 19-5 victory in the NCAA Starkville Regional final at Dudy Noble Field.
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Louisiana (41-25) reached its second regional final in three years earlier in the day after eliminating No. 24-ranked Cincinnati in a back-and-forth contest, 8-6. Mississippi State (43-17) advanced to face the winner of the NCAA Athens Regional in next week's Super Regionals.
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GAME 2 – No. 17 MISSISSIPPI STATE 19, No. 25 LOUISIANA 5
The Bulldogs, the No. 14 overall seed in the 64-team field, scored twice in the first inning on home runs by Gehrig Frei and Jacob Parker before Ryder Woodson added a solo homer in the second.
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Ryan McPherson (4-1) retired the first eight batters before Noah Lewis' solo home run to left put Louisiana on the board.
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Mississippi State then followed with five runs for an 8-1 lead in the fifth before Maddox Mandino scored on a delayed double steal in the bottom half of the inning and Colt Brown belted a solo home run to center in the sixth.
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Louisiana added a pair of runs in the seventh when Blaze Rodriguez, named to the All-Tournament team, reached on an RBI bunt single to drive in Mandino before Lee Amedee singled through the left side to drive in Lewis.
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Lewis finished 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored to lead Louisiana, which finished with 13 hits and capped a stretch of 11 games in 13 days. Drew Markle added three hits for the Cajuns while Mandino and Rodriguez had two apiece.
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Sawyer Pruitt (7-5) was charged with the loss for Louisiana after allowing three runs with three strikeouts in 1.1 innings pitched. McPherson scattered five hits and struck out seven in 5.0 innings to lead Mississippi State.
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GAME 1 – No. 25 LOUISIANA 8, No. 24 CINCINNATI 6
Donovan LaSalle had three hits, including a pair of home runs, while Markle and Brown each hit solo shots as Louisiana overcame a pair of deficits to eliminate the Bearcats (38-22).
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Trailing 2-0 after Enzo Infelise's two-run single to left in the first, Markle opened the second inning with a solo homer off starter Connor Blue (4-2) before LaSalle scored on a fielder's choice and Mark Collins followed with an RBI single to give Louisiana a 3-2 lead.
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LaSalle belted his first home run of the day – a two-run blast to center – to give Louisiana a 5-2 lead in the third inning before the Bearcats scored four runs over the next three frames to take a 6-5 lead in the sixth.
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Louisiana tied the game in the bottom of the sixth when LaSalle hit his 13th home run of the season to nearly the same spot as his previous homer, before Rodriguez's RBI single off Cincinnati reliever Chad Brown drove in Lewis to helped the Cajuns regain the lead.
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Colt Brown added an insurance run for the Ragin' Cajuns when he lifted a solo homer to left.
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Herrmann tossed 98 pitches in 5.0 innings for Louisiana, scattering six hits and striking out eight. Tyler Papenbrock (4-0) pitched the final 4.0 innings with four strikeouts to earn the win.
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Blue allowed eight hits and six earned runs in 5.2 innings for the Bearcats. Infelise had three hits to lead Cincinnati. Â
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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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Louisiana (41-25) reached its second regional final in three years earlier in the day after eliminating No. 24-ranked Cincinnati in a back-and-forth contest, 8-6. Mississippi State (43-17) advanced to face the winner of the NCAA Athens Regional in next week's Super Regionals.
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GAME 2 – No. 17 MISSISSIPPI STATE 19, No. 25 LOUISIANA 5
The Bulldogs, the No. 14 overall seed in the 64-team field, scored twice in the first inning on home runs by Gehrig Frei and Jacob Parker before Ryder Woodson added a solo homer in the second.
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Ryan McPherson (4-1) retired the first eight batters before Noah Lewis' solo home run to left put Louisiana on the board.
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Mississippi State then followed with five runs for an 8-1 lead in the fifth before Maddox Mandino scored on a delayed double steal in the bottom half of the inning and Colt Brown belted a solo home run to center in the sixth.
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Louisiana added a pair of runs in the seventh when Blaze Rodriguez, named to the All-Tournament team, reached on an RBI bunt single to drive in Mandino before Lee Amedee singled through the left side to drive in Lewis.
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Lewis finished 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored to lead Louisiana, which finished with 13 hits and capped a stretch of 11 games in 13 days. Drew Markle added three hits for the Cajuns while Mandino and Rodriguez had two apiece.
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Sawyer Pruitt (7-5) was charged with the loss for Louisiana after allowing three runs with three strikeouts in 1.1 innings pitched. McPherson scattered five hits and struck out seven in 5.0 innings to lead Mississippi State.
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GAME 1 – No. 25 LOUISIANA 8, No. 24 CINCINNATI 6
Donovan LaSalle had three hits, including a pair of home runs, while Markle and Brown each hit solo shots as Louisiana overcame a pair of deficits to eliminate the Bearcats (38-22).
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Trailing 2-0 after Enzo Infelise's two-run single to left in the first, Markle opened the second inning with a solo homer off starter Connor Blue (4-2) before LaSalle scored on a fielder's choice and Mark Collins followed with an RBI single to give Louisiana a 3-2 lead.
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LaSalle belted his first home run of the day – a two-run blast to center – to give Louisiana a 5-2 lead in the third inning before the Bearcats scored four runs over the next three frames to take a 6-5 lead in the sixth.
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Louisiana tied the game in the bottom of the sixth when LaSalle hit his 13th home run of the season to nearly the same spot as his previous homer, before Rodriguez's RBI single off Cincinnati reliever Chad Brown drove in Lewis to helped the Cajuns regain the lead.
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Colt Brown added an insurance run for the Ragin' Cajuns when he lifted a solo homer to left.
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Herrmann tossed 98 pitches in 5.0 innings for Louisiana, scattering six hits and striking out eight. Tyler Papenbrock (4-0) pitched the final 4.0 innings with four strikeouts to earn the win.
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Blue allowed eight hits and six earned runs in 5.2 innings for the Bearcats. Infelise had three hits to lead Cincinnati. Â
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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.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Papenbrock, Tyler (4-0)
L: Connor Blue (4-2)
Batting:
HR: Cal Sefcik 1
RBI: Derrick Pitts 1 ; Enzo Infelise 2 ; Cal Sefcik 2 ; Charlie Niehaus 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Derrick Pitts 1 ; Quinton Coats 1 ; Enzo Infelise 2 ; Cal Sefcik 1 ; Jackson Smith 1
SB: Charlie Niehaus 2
Batting:
HR: Brown, Colt 1 ; Markle, Drew 1 ; LaSalle, Donovan 2
RBI: Rodriguez, Blaze 2 ; Collins, Mark 1 ; Brown, Colt 1 ; Markle, Drew 1 ; LaSalle, Donovan 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Brown, Colt 1 ; Markle, Drew 2 ; LaSalle, Donovan 3 ; Mandino, Maddox 1 ; Lewis, Noah 1
HBP: Amedee, Lee 1 ; Mandino, Maddox 1
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Game Leaders
1b/rf
AB
4
R
3
H
3
RBI
3
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
2
dh
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Baseball
RHP/C
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
OF/LHP
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
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