Louisiana overcame a huge comeback as Tulane scored six in the ninth to tie it, only to watch the Cajuns walk it off in the bottom of the ninth on a wild pitch. CJ Willis and Ben Robichaux homered to pace the offense in a wild victory 8-7 over in-state rival Tulane.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Cajuns chose to go with a bullpen game on the mound. That began with JT Etheridge, who gave up a run in the first inning courtesy of a Brady Marget double and two wild pitches. Etheridge went the first two before handing it over to David Christie, who gave the Cajuns three scoreless innings.
Offensively, the Cajuns got things going in the bottom of the third. an RBI single from Max Marusak and the first career homer for Ben Robichaux highlighted the three-run frame. They followed up that inning with another three-run inning in the fifth. CJ Willis hit his first home run in almost two years to give the Cajuns a 6-1 lead. A John Taylor RBI single in the sixth would extend the lead once again, this time to 7-1.
Following David Christie for Louisiana was Blake Marshall, who went an inning and two-thirds, allowing a hit and a couple of walks but no runs. Tommy Ray came into get the final out of the inning and faced a couple of batters in the eighth but handed things over to Brendan Moody to finish the game. Moody had to work out of a bases loaded jam in the eighth but was able to do so without any damage being done.
However, in the ninth, everything would change. It started with a two-run home run by Jackson Linn which cut the lead to 7-3. Then, Tulane strung together some base runners and an RBI single by Adam Ebling got it down to 7-4 with the tying run at the plate. Ben Tate would come in at that point, but Brayden Morrow promptly hit his first home run of the season to tie the game at seven.
In the bottom of the inning, Heath Hood led off with a double off the wall in left field. John Taylor then put down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move Hood to third. Peyton LeJeune then struck out, and Tulane went to the bullpen for Michael Fowler. Fowler inherited a 1-0 count and eventually walked Willis. He then threw a wild pitch that allowed Hood to score from third and win the game for the Cajuns.
BIG NUMBER: 6
The Cajuns allowed six runs in the ninth inning to tie the game. However, they overcame it by scoring on a wild pitch in the bottom half to survive and win 8-7.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: CJ Willis
CJ Willis, who has battled injuries this season, hit his first home run in almost two full years. He drove in three runs and also walked three times, reaching base in every at bat.
UP NEXT: The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns will hit the road for a three game series against Marshall in Huntington, West Virginia beginning on Thursday, April 6th.