The Louisiana Ragin Cajuns headed into Thursday night’s contest in a must-win situation against the App State Mountaineers. They secured a spot in the Sun Belt Conference Semifinals on Saturday with a 7-2 win that was highlighted by a late grand slam.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After Connor Cooke sat the Mountaineers down in order, Drake Osborn wasted little time putting the Cajuns on the board, sending the second pitch he saw out to left field for a solo shot to take an early lead.
App State teased getting on the board in the third after a pair of singles from Peyton Idol and Bailey Welch but Kendall McGowan was unable to drive a run across after a groundout. Tyler Robertson helped Louisiana increase their lead in the bottom from with a well-hit double to left-center field, scoring CJ Willis. Brennan Breaux gave the Cajuns a 3-0 lead right after with a sac fly that got Drake Osborn across home plate.
The Mountaineers fought back in the top of the fifth after a two-out, two-run single from Luke Drumheller made it a 3-2 ballgame. After that, the Cajuns bullpen stepped up, five of the next seven batters headed into the eighth inning.
App State had runners at first and second with two outs in the top of the eighth, but Spencer Arrighetti stopped the rally with a strikeout by Phillip Cole. Ben Fitzgerald gave Louisiana some much-needed breathing room in the bottom of the frame with a thunderous grand slam, making it a 7-2 contest.
BIG NUMBER: 3
The Cajuns defense has been inconsistent all season long and it was another rough night with three errors on the evening. Most games when you have three or more errors, it results in a loss..
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Ben Fitzgerald
The Cajuns headed into the eighth needing some insurance runs and Fitzgerald came up huge with a grand slam to seal the win for the vermilion and white.
NEXT UP: Saturday vs Georgia Southern; First Pitch at 4 pm