After a shocking loss to Northeastern on Monday, the LSU Tigers traveled west to Lafayette to play their in-state rival, the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns, at the Tigue. The Vermilion and White last took two out of three from UC San Diego at home. The Cajuns struck early and often as they came out on top with the 7-2 win over the defending champs. The loss put LSU’s record at 11-3, and the win improved Louisiana’s to 10-3.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
LSU’s first time at the plate featured Derek Curiel getting caught stealing by Louisiana catcher Colt Brown. Brown tested his luck two batters later against Jake Brown, who singled. The throwing error by the catcher advanced Brown to third before Zach Yorke struck out to send it to the middle of the first.
Louisiana jumped out to a 3-0 lead before the end of the opening frame. Drew Markle drew a walk before Lee Amedee hit an RBI double for the first run of the game. Amedee advanced to third on a failed pickoff by the pitcher and scored on Rigoberto Hernandez’s fielder’s choice. Brown singled to put runners on the corners, and Steven Spalitta hit a sacrifice fly to score Hernandez, giving the Cajuns the three-run advantage early.
Gavin Guidry was the Tiger starting pitcher on Wednesday and lasted just 2.1 innings after allowing two hits and three runs compared to just a pair of punch outs. He was taken out for Ethan Plog. Louisiana’s starting pitcher was Cody Brasch, who was replaced in the fourth by Hayden Pearson. In three innings, Brasch allowed just two hits and struck out five.
The Tiger scoring drought ended at the top of the fifth when Trent Caraway hit a two-run home run over the left-field wall. Seth Dardar was the base runner after a Parker Smith pitch hit him. LSU put two more on base with back-to-back hits by Curiel and Brown. They were left stranded, however, as John Pearson, who replaced Tanner Reaves as DH, hit a pop-up to end the inning.
Louisiana added to its lead at the bottom of the fifth as Donovan LaSalle doubled down the first base line to lead off the frame. Markle then brought him home with a bunt that turned into a throwing error by LSU relief pitcher Connor Benge. Following that play, skipper Jay Johnson put Santiago Garcia on the mound and then went to Mavrick Rizy after Garcia faced one batter.
Before Rizy could get out of the fifth, he gave up a single that scored Markle, hit Spalitta with a pitch, and walked Blaze Rodriquez to load the bases. Another wild pitch gave Louisiana another run before the end of the frame. The Vermilion and White were up by four with four innings to go.
Louisiana added another run at the bottom of the seventh. Lachenmayer replaced Rizy ahead of the start of the inning. Amedee led off with a walk and advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Hernandez. Brown reached second base on a fielder’s choice, where Amedee was caught in a rundown. Spalitta then brought Brown home with an RBI single into left-center field. The Cajuns were up 7-2.
Cajuns skipper Matt Deggs made a pitching change to Sawyer Pruitt, and that was all she wrote after that. LSU failed to put up any more runs in the final handful of innings. The only hits for the Tigers were by Curiel in the eighth and Mason Braun in the ninth.
At the top of the ninth, Pruitt secured Louisiana’s 7-2 win with a strikeout against Daniel Harden and got the ball to first base on a Caraway grounder for the final out. The Cajuns improved to 10-3 with the win, and LSU dropped to 11-3 in the loss.
BIG NUMBER: 5,736
It was packed inside the Tigue during a midweek game. On Wednesday, the attendance of 5,736 was the third-largest gathering in Louisiana baseball history and the largest under the current configuration of the park.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Sawyer Pruitt
In four innings on the mound, Sawyer Pruitt continued to have an impressive start to the season. In Wednesday’s win, Pruitt closed the final four innings, allowing just two hits, striking out four, and didn’t give up a run as the Cajuns beat the Tigers 7-2.
UP NEXT: The LSU Tigers will return home for a weekend series vs Sacramento State. Game one’s first pitch is scheduled for 6:30 on Friday, March 6th, and the action can be heard on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette and 104.1 Lake Charles. The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns will go on the road to face Dallas Baptist this weekend. The first pitch for that series’ game one is scheduled for 6:05 PM on Friday at Homer Ballpark in Dallas, Texas.