The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns baseball team opened the 2024 season at home against Wright State. Head coach Matt Deggs’ team got on the board first with a solo shot in the third but then went down 2-1 in the seventh. Louisana rallied in the ninth with a sacrifice walk-off to beat the Raiders 3-2 on Friday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Wright State began with flyouts by Julian Greenwell and Andrew Patrick. Jay Luikart hit a single into center field and Patrick Fultz was walked but Cajuns starting pitcher Jack Martinez struck out Luke Arnold to send us to the bottom of the opening frame.
Leadoff man Kyle DeBarge and Maddox Mandino each grounded out on bunt attempts. Duncan Pastore sent the ball deep into right-center field, got greedy on the turn from second, and was tagged out at third base to end the first inning.
After three-up-three-down in the second and at the top of the third, first blood was drawn. With two outs, the nine-hole hitter Trey LaFleur hit a solo home run over the left-field wall on his first at-bat to give the Cajuns the one-run lead.
At the top of the fourth, Luikart reached second base on a fielding error by Mandino in left field. Fultz’s ground out advanced Luikart to third, then Arnold’s sacrifice fly into right field advanced the senior third baseman home. Josh Alexander’s throw from the outfield was close but the tag by catcher Jose Torres was too late and Luikart’s tying run was confirmed after a review.
Relief pitcher David Christie came in for Martinez at the top of the sixth. Martinez finished the night with a hit and an unearned run allowed. The freshman also had two strikeouts in 67 pitches. Christie made quick work of the Raiders batters in that inning with K’s versus Patrick and Luikart.
Steven Cash was in as pitcher for Louisiana at the top of the seventh but coach Deggs made the switch to Blake McGehee after Patrick struck out swinging and was out at first. Arnold grounded out after the switch but Carson Clark hit a single, then advanced on a wild pitch. Sammy Sass’ RBI double into left field gave Wright State the 2-1 advantage before McGehee struck out Dane Thomas to send it to the seventh inning stretch.
Following three grounders by the Cajuns, LP Langevin came in for McGehee to begin the eighth inning. Gus Gregory hit a single and stole second before Greenwell grounded out and Patrick struck out. Luikart and Fultz were walked to load the bases but Arnold hit the ball right to third base to end the inning.
Garrett Peter relieved Jake Shirk of his duties on the mound at the bottom of the eighth and Conor Higgs hit a double near the first baseline on a 2-2 count. Caleb Stelley came in to pinch-hit for Alexander after Torres struck out and reached second after Higgs got out on a fielder’s choice. Peters walked LaFleur with two outs and Mychal Grogan came in to pitch. DeBarge hit a popped-out to second as two were left stranded.
The Raiders went three-up-three-down as Langevin struck out Clark and Thomas to give Louisiana one last chance on offense. Luikart moved from the right field to the mound at the bottom of the ninth. Mandino was walked, and then Pastore hit a single to shortstop. After Taylor struck out, Luke Yuhasz pinch-hit for Amedee but Mandino and Pastore stole third and second base. Then Mandino tied the game after Yuhasz reached first on a throwing error by Luikart. Higgs intentionally walked and Torres hit the sacrifice fly as Pastore scored the game-winning run from third base.
Lousiana starts the season 1-0 in a 3-2 win over Wright State.
BIG NUMBER: 25
The ball got put into play often on Friday night as the Cajuns hit 15 ground outs compared to 10 for Wright State. There were only three foul-outs for Louisiana while the Raiders had eight.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Jose Torres
Torres had the sacrifice fly that gave the Cajuns baseball team the 3-2 walk-off win over Wright State on opening night.
UP NEXT: Game two between the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns and Wright State Raiders will be played tomorrow, Saturday, February 17th. The first pitch at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.