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LOUISIANA La. - Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns baseball team completed the three-game sweep of Sun Belt Conference foe South Alabama on Sunday afternoon by a score of 10-6 at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field.
The Cajuns improved to 14-3 on the season including a 3-0 start in the Sun Belt. The 3-0 start in the conference is the first time the Cajuns have opened the conference season with a sweep since UL swept then-member of the Sun Belt Louisiana Tech in 2000.
The three-game sweep was first time since 2000 that the Cajuns swept the Jaguars.
The Cajuns collected 16 hits in the game en route to scoring 10 runs. The Ragin’ Cajuns belted three homeruns in the game.
Jonathan Lucroy, who was 5-for-5 in the game, led all Cajuns batters in the game. He finished the game with a homerun and a double. Lucroy scored four runs in the game and drove in a run.
Lucroy tied a school record with five hits in the game. It was only the 18th time in school history a batter has collected five hits in a game and the second time for Lucroy. The five hits was the first time since Jameson Parker went 5-for-5 at Louisiana-Monroe on April 11, 2006. Lucroy last collected five hits at New Orleans during his freshman campaign. He was 5-for-6 against the Privateers on April 16, 2005.
Coming close to the five hit mark was Jefferies Tatford. The senior from Lafayette finished the day 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles. He scored two runs and drove in two more.
Scott Hawkins was the only other player to collect multiple hits. Hawkins finished the game 3-for-4 with a run scored and three RBI.
Starting pitcher Hunter Moody (2-1) earned the win. The southpaw tossed 7.2 innings. Moody surrendered six runs, but just one earned run, to pick up the victory. He fanned six batters without issuing a free pass on the day.
Danny Farquhar finished out the game for the Cajuns. The sophomore collected two strikeouts in just 1.1 innings of work, while facing the minimum.
The Cajuns got the bats going in the first inning. Xavier Alexander led off the inning with a bunt single. The speedy Alexander just beat the throw to first to extend his team-leading hitting streak to 15 games. With one out, Lucroy doubled to right centerfield to give the Cajuns a pair of runners in scoring position. Tatford singled through the left side of the infield, plating both Alexander and Lucroy. Hawkins followed with a single to give the Cajuns runners on the corners. A walk by Tim Santiago loaded the bases with just one out. The Ragin’ Cajuns plated the final run of the inning as Kolin Hatfield reached base on a fielder’s choice.
In the third inning, Lucroy led off the inning with a single to left field. A double by Tatford gave the Cajuns runners on second and third. A sacrifice fly by Hawkins plated Lucroy and gave UL a 4-0 lead after three innings.
The Cajuns added an insurance run in the fourth inning. With one out, Justin Robichaux and Devon Bourque had back-to-back singles to give the Ragin’ Cajuns a pair of base runners. A groundout moved the runners up a base and a wild pitch brought Robichaux home from third base.
South Alabama cut into the Cajuns’ lead in the fifth inning. A solo homerun by Jeff Cunningham was the first run of the game for the Jaguars.
The Ragin’ Cajuns got the run back in the bottom of the inning. The Cajuns loaded the bases as Lucroy, Tatford and Hawkins all singled to start the inning. For the second inning in a row, a wild pitch plated a runner. The Cajuns were unable to plate another runner despite the fact that UL loaded the bases for a second time in the inning with a Santiago walk.
In the top of the sixth inning, the Jaguars added another run. A single to right field started the inning. Following an out, the runner moved to third base as a failed pick off attempt got away from the Cajuns. A single plated the runner and left the score 6-2.
The Cajuns broke the game open in the bottom of the sixth inning. With one out, Nolan Gisclair hit his fourth homerun of the season and Lucroy followed with his third homer of the year.
The consecutive homeruns were the first time this season the Cajuns went back-to-back. The last time the Cajuns went back-to-back was in the 2006 Sun Belt Conference Tournament as Lucroy and Tatford homered one after the other against Middle Tennessee on May 26.
Tatford continued the sixth inning with a double down the right field line. He came around to score as Hawkins belted his fourth homerun of the season and second homer of the series to centerfield. After six full innings, the Cajuns led 10-2.
In the eighth inning, South Alabama cut into the Cajuns lead. After striking out the first batter of the inning, Moody surrendered an infield single to the next batter. The hit dropped in after Moody and Santiago collided both going for the ball. A fly ball recorded the second out of the inning. A Louisiana error extended the inning and gave USA a pair of baserunners. A double down the left field line scored the first runner of the inning. Cunningham hit his second homerun of the day to cut the UL lead to 10-6.
The homerun was Cunningham’s second of the game and his fourth of the series. Cunningham has six homeruns against the Cajuns in the last four games, dating back to May 26, 2006 in the SBC Tournament.
Farquhar entered the game and retired the final four batters of the game and secured the win for the Cajuns.
Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns baseball team hits the road for four consecutive road games. The Cajuns head to Houston, Texas for a midweek contest with the University of Houston on Tuesday, March 13. Gametime for the game with the Cougars is slated for 7:00 p.m.
The Cajuns then head to Murfreesboro, Tenn., for their first road conference series of the season. UL will take on Middle Tennessee in a three-game Sun Belt series on Friday, March 16 through Sunday, March 18. Game one of the series is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. The Cajuns and Blue Raiders will continue the series on Saturday afternoon at 4:00 p.m., before concluding the series on Sunday with a 1:00 p.m. contest.
<center><span title=" Chris Whitehead "><b>LOUISIANA SI</span>
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