The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns baseball team went 2-0 against Texas State on Saturday, maneuvering through the Sun Belt bracket. Those two wins over the Bobcats advanced the Vermilion and White to the championship game on Sunday vs Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles made it to the game by beating Troy earlier on Sunday morning.
Southern Miss piled up an insurmountable lead after a handful of innings. The offensive production was too much for Louisiana to overcome as they lost 11-7, missing out on earning their 40th win of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Louisiana was the visiting team in the championship, and the team three-up-three-down through the first two innings.
Andrew Herrmann was the Cajuns’ starting pitcher, but had a less-than-stellar first inning on the mound. Seth Smith hit a leadoff home run over the right-field wall, and Joey Urban followed with a single to center field before Herrmann forced Kyle Morrison to pop up in the infield, then struck out Davis Gillespie for two quick outs. Matthew Russo was the second Golden Eagle batter to go yard in the inning, smashing the baseball over right-center field to put Southern Miss up 3-0.
Cajuns skipper Matt Deggs made a pitching change from Herrmann to Hayden Pearson to begin the second inning, yet it didn’t get any better for Louisiana. Tucker Stockman reached first on a bad throw, off Donovan LaSalle’s glove. Ty Long and Smith went back-to-back with bunts, but Long reached base as Southern Miss had two runners in scoring position with one out. Urban’s RBI single up the middle extended his team’s lead before he stole second, setting up a two-RBI double into the corner of right field. That hit put the Cajuns in a six-run hole.
LaSalle did his best at the top of the third to cut into the Golden Eagles’ lead when he hit a solo home run deep in left field with one out. Steven Spalitta and Blaze Rodriguez then struck out to end the inning.
Pearson gave up two more runs at the bottom of the third as Drey Barrett singled before a pair of outs were recorded. After that, Long hit an RBI double and Smith sent Long home with a single into left field. Those hits put the Golden Eagles ahead 8-1.
The Cajuns made another pitching change in the fourth, going from Pearson to Garrett Carter to begin the inning. Carter gave up a double to Russo and walked Barrett before both runners advanced on a wild pitch. Higdon drove in both with an RBI single up the middle, and that was enough for coach Deggs to bring in JR Tollet for Carter with one out and a runner on first. Higdon bit off more than he could chew by trying to steal third after stealing second. Tollet got the Cajuns out of the inning by forcing Long into a ground out.
The Golden Eagles were on their third pitcher going into the fifth, bringing in Logan Pratt to replace McCarty English. After two outs to begin the frame, Pratt walked Blaze Rodriguez and hit Noah Lewis and Lee Amedee with pitches, loading the bases. That was enough for JW Armistead to come in and strike out Colt Brown to get Southern Miss out of the jam.
Southern Miss took an 11-1 lead at the bottom of the fifth when Gillespie hit an RBI to bring home Morrison. That run was matched by Louisiana at the top of the seventh when Rodriguez hit an RBI single into left field, scoring LaSalle from second base.
The Cajuns threatened to score in the eighth with Drew Markle getting to third base after hitting a double and advancing on a LaSalle flyout. Spalitta’s fly out in left field left two on base, and the team needed nine runs to keep themselves in the game late.
Louisiana managed to score two runs in the ninth when Rodriguez drew a walk to lead off the inning, and Amedee hit a two-run homer over the right field wall with one out. The Cajuns didn’t stop there, as Mark Collins hit a three-run blast, scoring Colt Brown and Markle in the process. Brown previously walked, and Markle hit his second double of the game.
The five runs prompted USM to take out Och for Teague Brodhead. LaSalle and Spalitta kept the game alive and put runners on the corners with two outs, but Rodriguez lined out in right field, finalizing an 11-7 ball game where the Vermilion and White lost and became runner-ups in the 2026 Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
BIG NUMBER: 5
Southern Miss scored at least one run through the first five innings. In each of the first four innings, the Golden Eagles scored at least two runs to build up to a double-digit lead and eventual victory over Louisiana.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Seth Smith
Smith was one of five Golden Eagles batters to record multiple hits in Sunday’s game. Southern Miss’s leadoff man finished the day with 3/4 from the plate with two RBI, and a home run as the Cajuns fell 11-7.
UP NEXT: The Ragin’ Cajuns baseball team will wait to hear their name called on Monday for the selection show. That’ll decide where they will go and when they will return to the diamond for regional play. You can find out the information on espnsouthwestlouisiana.com.