The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns were looking to break out the brooms and complete the series sweep on Sunday afternoon, but the Arkansas State Red Wolves were able to sneak away with a 16-11 win.
How It Happened
The Cajuns struggled early on in the contest with Chipper Menard loading the bases. John Hoskyn cleared the bases with a double that went off the wall for a double to give Arkansas State the early 3-0 lead.
CJ Willis put Louisiana on the board in the bottom of the fourth with a solo shot. Things kept rolling for the vermilion and white with Connor Kimple, Ben Fitzgerald, and Tyler Robertson going back-to-back-to-back to take a 4-3 lead.
Sky-Lar Culver tied things up in the top of the fifth with a groundout that scored Ben Klutts. Jake Gish made it a 6-4 lead later in the inning with a two-run single out to left field.
The Red Wolves continued to pull away with a sac fly by Culver in the top of the sixth, but the Cajuns tied it up with a three-run homer from Fitzgerald in the bottom frame. However, Arkansas State responded with a four-run seventh inning capped off by a towering three-run shot from Tyler Duncan to go up 11-7.
The Cajuns started to claw back in the bottom of the seventh with a pair of home runs from Nick Hagedorn and Carson Roccaforte, but another four-run inning sealed Louisiana’s fate.
Big Number: 402
Both pitching staffs will be spending some time recuperating from Sunday’s contest with a whopping 402 pitches between the two teams. This was a very unusual ballgame with plenty of twists and turns.
Player of the Game: Ben Fitzgerald
Fitzgerald was phenomenal at the dish, going 4-for-5 with five RBIs and two home runs. It may have been a losing effort, but he was a key part of this team keeping it competitive.
Next Up: Friday vs South Alabama; First Pitch at 6:30 pm