The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns put on their rally caps on Friday night.
Louisiana entered the ninth inning trailing 6-3 but would plate four runs to take down visiting Maryland 7-6 at M.L. Tigue Field at Russo Park.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Louisiana starting pitcher Ty Roman got into trouble in the very first inning.
Roman gave up a one-out double to Brayden Mart and then a single to Ty Kaunas. After a flyout in foul territory, he would pluck Ryan Costell to load the bases. Roman managed to get Rylan Stockt to strike out swinging to get out of the jam, but he also had thrown 22 pitches in the opening frame.
Roman was unable to avoid damage in the third.
After giving up a leadoff single to Mart, he would walk Kaunas to put two runners on the base paths. After getting the next Terp to strike out, Roman threw a pitch to Costell, who lifted it over the right field wall for a three-run blast.
In the top of the fourth, Roman gave up another long ball as David Mendez hit a two-out solo home run over the left field wall.
Ragin’ Cajuns finally got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth. Lee Amedee got on with a one-out single and advanced to third moments later on a double by Rigoberto Hernandez. Maryland’s Lance Williams walked Drew Markle to load the bases.
Josh Lim came in to pinch hit for Noah Lewis and brought home a run on a groundout.
The Cajuns kept cutting into the Terps’ lead in the sixth.
Steven Spalitta got a one-out single and then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Colt Brown’s single to left field and an ensuing fielding error allowed Spalitta to score. Brown then advanced to third on a wild pitch, and he would score on a single up the middle by Griffin Hebert. That made it a one-run game.
Maryland would strike back at the top of the seventh and did so with two outs. Paul Jones came into pinch hit and launched a pitch from Garret Carter that bounced off the centerfield wall and brought home two runs.
Louisiana had a chance in the bottom of the ninth.
With back-to-back walks, the Ragin’ Cajuns put the first two runners on the base paths. Hernandez then laced a single into left field that loaded the bases. Trip Dobson came into the game as a pinch hitter and drove a single through the left side to bring home a runner.
Maryland brought in Jayson Torre to stop the bleeding and save the win. The Terp reliever plunked pinch hitter Owen Galt, which brought in another a run. Torre then walked Maddox Mandino to tie the game.
Ryan Bailey came in for the Terps and walked Blaze Rodriguez, who brought home the winning run.
BIG NUMBER I: 20
The Terps and the Ragin’ Cajuns both struggled with striking out. Maryland had 11 strikeouts at the plate, three more than they had hits. Louisiana, meanwhile, also had nine strikeouts, which was one more than the hits the Ragin’ Cajuns recorded in the contest.
BIG NUMBER II: 4
Maryland’s bullpen melted down in the ninth inning as the Terps’ pitchers gave up four walks, one hit batter, two singles, and four runs. Maryland did not record a single out in the frame.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: STEVEN SPALITTA
The Ragin’ Cajuns designated hitter was one of two Louisiana players to get more than one hit. Spalitta went 2-for-4 at the plate with one run scored.
UP NEXT: Louisiana (3-2) will take on Maryland in the second game of the weekend series on Saturday. First pitch set for 2 p.m.