Cajuns Demolish Aggies 21-8 Behind Morris’ Career Night

<! Louisiana scored at least three runs in four different innings. UL vs NMSU G1 (Cajuns set school record 27 hits) (Win 21-8) > <blockquote><p align=justify>LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Senior third baseman Dallas Morris became the third player this season to record five hits in a game, going 5-for-6 with a pair of home runs and a team-high five RBI to lead the 19th-ranked Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns to a 21-8 victory over New Mexico State here Friday night at Presley Askew Field.

With the win, Louisiana (40-10, 12-4 Sun Belt) reached 40 wins, which tied the best start in school history after 50 games. Louisiana also broke the school record with 27 hits. The previous record of 26 hits was set against Louisiana Tech on May 3, 1997.

The 40th win also marked the first Cajuns team under head coach Tony Robichaux to reach 40 regular season wins.

New Mexico State (24-21, 9-7 Sun Belt) suffered its first home loss in Sun Belt Conference play (6-1) and just its fifth this season (18-5). The win also gave Louisiana its third win in seven tries in Las Cruces.

Louisiana starting pitcher Kevin Ardoin (10-1) allowed a season-high seven runs on 11 hits, while striking out four batters in 5 2/3 innings to earn his team- and Sun Belt-leading 10th win of the season. Freshmen Hunter Moody and Buddy Glass combined to allow one run on four hits with four strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings of relief.

New Mexico State’s Brian Gausman (2-4) received the loss, allowing eight runs – all in the fourth inning – on nine hits while striking out two batters with a walk.

Louisiana took a quick 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. John Coker led off with a single to right field. Josh Landry then singled to center field, advancing Landry to second. Coker and Landry later advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch by NMSU starting pitcher Dustin Cameron. Coker later scored when Jonathan Lucroy grounded into a 6-4-3 double play.

New Mexico State quickly silenced the Cajuns on Mark Aranda’s two-run home run to right center field in the bottom of the first inning to take a 2-1 lead. Aranda, a two-time Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week recipient, hit his nationally- and conference-leading 19th home run of the season. Aranda had 16 dingers last season.

In the second inning, Ardoin added to his senior season accolades with a pair of milestone strikeouts. His first strikeout in the inning gave him his 100th strikeout of the season, becoming the first Cajuns pitcher since 2002 to record at least 100 strikeouts in a single season. With his second strikeout of the inning, Ardoin passed Andy Gros for second place on the school’s all-time list with his 309th strikeout.

Louisiana added three runs in the second to retake a 4-2 lead. After Micah Cockrell’s lead-off walk, John McCarthy singled to right field, advancing Cockrell to third. Cockrell later scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at two apiece. Justin Morgan singled through the left side, which advanced McCarthy to third. McCarthy later scored on Coker’s RBI ground out to regain a 3-2 Cajuns lead. Landry’s RBI single up the middle scored Morgan to give the Cajuns a two-run advantage.

The Cajuns, however, wouldn’t be able to hold on to a lead for the second time, as the Aggies scored two runs in the third inning to tie the game 4-4. Derek Maytubby scored first on a Brandon Lance sacrifice fly. Emory Davies later scored the equalizer on Xardiel Cotto’s RBI double down the left field line.

Louisiana broke the game open with an eight-run fourth inning, sending 13 batters to the plate, to take a commanding 12-4 lead over the Aggies. McCarthy singled through the right side to lead off the inning. After a Justin Merendino strike out, McCarthy stole second and later advanced to third on Morgan’s single to right field. Coker’s walk loaded the bases for Landry whose two-RBI single up the middle plated McCarthy and Morgan to give the Cajuns a 6-4 lead.

Lucroy followed with a single up the middle to load the bases for the second time in the inning for the Cajuns. Morris and Hawke followed with a pair of RBI singles to increase the Cajuns lead to four runs, 8-4. Cockrell then cleared the bases with an opposite-field grand slam – his second of the season – to give the Cajuns a commanding eight-run lead.

Louisiana plated four runs in the fifth to increase its lead to 12 runs, 16-4. Lucroy drew a one-out walk, followed by Morris’ single to left field. Hawke then doubled down the right field line, scoring Lucroy for a 13-4 Cajuns lead. Cockrell then plated his fifth run of the game with a sacrifice fly to center field.

Merendino and Morgan followed with a pair of RBI singles to give the Cajuns the 12-run advantage.

Morris extended the Cajuns’ lead to 14 runs, 18-4, with an opposite-field two-run home run to right field in the sixth inning. It was Morris’ team-leading ninth home run of the season.

New Mexico State scored three runs in sixth to trim the Cajuns’ lead to 18-7.

In the eighth inning, Morris hit a monster of a home run – his second of the game – to give Louisiana a 21-7 cushion. That home run also gave Morris his fifth hit of the game, which tied the school record for hits in a single game.

Four Cajuns registered at least four hits. Morris went 5-for-6 with two home runs and five RBI. Landry added four RBI, going 4-for-6 with three runs scored. Cockrell also knocked in five RBI – four on his grand slam in the fourth inning. McCarthy and Morgan each added four hits for the Cajuns.

Luke Hopkins went 3-for-5 with three RBI, while Aranda went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run.

Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns will continue its three-game series Saturday against New Mexico State in a scheduled 7:05 p.m. (CST) first pitch. Louisiana’s Austin Faught (9-0, 2.28 ERA) will look for his 10th win of the season when he takes the hill against New Mexico State’s Jason Conner (7-3, 5.86 ERA).

<center><b><i>LOUISIANA SI

<blockquote><p align=justify>LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The game plan for Louisiana's Ragin' Cajun baseball team changed this weekend.

The Cajuns, normally a team that thrives on pitching and defense to go with timely hitting, knew they'd have to swing with more authority at hitting-happy Presley Askew Field to have success in their Sun Belt Conference series at New Mexico State.

Friday night, they accomplished that ... and then some.

The Cajuns rapped out a school-record 27 hits and posted their highest run total on the road this year, rolling to a runaway 21-8 win over the Aggies in the series opener.

"We're better equipped to come in here and play than in previous years," said Cajun coach Tony Robichaux after his squad maintained its hold on first place in the Sun Belt. "Coach (John) Szefc had them ready, we had a good hitting plan and the guys did a good job."

Senior third baseman Dallas Morris, who sat out Wednesday's win over Sam Houston State with a strained groin, got well in a hurry with a five-hit night, tying UL's school record and becoming the third Cajun to get five hits this season.

<center><p><a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050507/SPORTS/505070329/1006">The rest of the story</a><!--

He also had a pair of two-run homers in the sixth and eighth innings and had hits and scored in the fourth and fifth when the Cajuns (40-10, 12-4) scored eight and four runs respectively.

"We knew this was a big series for both teams," Morris said. "We wanted to come out and jump on top early. We were aggressive at the plate. We know this park is a tough place for pitchers, so we had to come out and give a great effort on offense."

A grand-slam homer by shortstop Micah Cockrell capped the big fourth inning, one that snapped a 4-4 tie and built a 12-4 lead. NMSU (24-21, 9-7) never recovered in losing in a home conference game for the first time this year. NMSU had been averaging 16 runs per game in league home games.

"They (UL) did a good job of hitting the ball hard and they're a very sound offensive club," said NMSU coach Rocky Ward. "We haven't been able to stay away from the big inning against the top teams on our schedule."

The early lead made things easy for UL starter Kevin Ardoin (10-1), who worked into the sixth inning and scattered 11 hits while fanning four, walking four and giving up seven runs - not unusual numbers for pitchers out west. His four strikeouts moved him into second place on UL's career list with 309.

"A lot of good pitchers have come out here and died," Robichaux said. "We were fortunate that we were able to stay with real baseball pitching against them, and I'm glad it was them that gave up the big innings."

Hunter Moody pitched a perfect one and one-third innings and Buddy Glass gave up a lone run in the final two innings as the Cajuns recorded their sixth 40-win regular season in school history - their first under Robichaux - and tied their best-ever mark after 50 games.

"Once Dallas had his home run, it let us get Moody out and save him for Sunday," Robichaux said. "That's a pair of freshmen there on the road, in a tough place to pitch, and they're eating up innings in conference play."

The Cajuns got one in the first off starter Dustin Cameron when John Coker scored on Jonathan Lucroy's ground ball, and after NMSU's Mark Aranda had a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning - his nation-leading 19th - UL added three more in the second on four hits.

The Aggies tied it with two runs in the third, but UL had nine hits in the big fourth. Josh Landry had a two-run single, one of his four hits, and Cockrell followed later with his second grand-slam of the year that made a loser of NMSU reliever Brian Gausman (2-4).

UL added four more on four hits in the fifth and Morris provided four of the final five runs with his ninth and 10th homers of the year. Justin Morgan and John McCarthy joined Landry with four hits each as part of the attack that snapped the school mark of 26 hits set against La. Tech in 1997.

The teams play the middle game of the series today at 7:05 p.m. (CDT) with unbeaten UL lefthander Austin Faught (9-0) going against Aggie righthander Jason Conner (7-3).

"We think Austin matches up good against them with all their lefthanders," Robichaux said. "We just have to come back with the same hitting mentality we had tonight."
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nice win we need to keep up the momentum for saturday's night game as well