After a closely played affair to open the series, Louisiana and Old Dominion returned to Russo Park for a beautiful Saturday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
After an efficient first inning that concluded with a diving third out from Maddox Mandino, Louisiana came to bat looking to get the offense going early. John Taylor reached on a push bunt to extend his hitting streak to 11 games while the senior has safely reached base in the last 22 games. Later in the inning, Duncan Pastore got under a pitch, hitting it just 89mph off the bat. but the wind carried it over the left field wall for a two-run home run and an early 2-0 lead for the Cajuns.
In the bottom of the fourth, after a walk by Pastore and a single by Lee Amedee put a pair on, Connor Higgs lined a double into right field to score a run and put two runners in scoring position. Then on a pitch that got away from the catcher, Amedee took off for home and looked to dodge the tag, but the umpires upheld the call upon review to end the inning.
In the fifth, Kyle Debarge hit an RBI single into no man’s land to score a run and increase the Cajuns’ lead to 4-0. Pastore followed that with a two-run double to give Louisiana a 6-0 lead. Lee Amedee continued the scoring with an RBI double that scored Pastore from first and made it 7-0. The Cajuns weren’t done in the inning, scoring their fifth run of the frame on an RBI double by Higgs to make it an 8-0 game. Louisiana made it a 10-0 lead on a two-run single from Jose Torres to continue the dominant inning.
Old Dominion broke up the no hitter in the top of the sixth with a double by Steven Meier, who came into score on a wild pitch two batters later.
The Cajuns got the run back on back-to-back doubles from Taylor and DeBarge to make it an 11-1 contest. Lee Amedee got another RBI, scoring DeBarge to make it 12-1. Caleb Stelly joined the RBI party, lining a single into right field for another run in the sixth inning.
Louisiana closed the door in the seventh and sent the fans home happy with a 13-1 seven inning victory.
BIG NUMBER: 10
Louisiana scored 7 runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth to run away with the game on Saturday afternoon and clinch the series.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Duncan Pastore
Pastore went 2-4 with a two run home run to get the Cajuns rolling early. He finished the game with four runs batted in.
UP NEXT: Louisiana will go for the sweep Sunday against Old Dominion. First pitch from Russo Park is set for 11am.