LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A night after an offensive outburst that produced 12 runs, Louisiana scored in each of the first four innings, while the bullpen slammed door on UALR as the Ragin' Cajuns came from behind to win 7-6 Saturday at Gary Hogan Field.
UALR (4-15, 1-5 Sun Belt) out-hit the Cajuns (8-12, 3-5 Sun Belt) 12-8, marking the second time the Cajuns were victorious when getting out-hit by the opposition.
Although UALR tagged Sun Belt Conference Preseason Pitcher of the Year Danny Farquhar (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) for 12 hits, the junior earned his first victory since opening day. Farquhar (2-3) surrendered six runs – three earned – with four strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings. Justin Robichaux (Crowley, La.) retired the side in the final two innings to nail down his fourth save of the season.
UALR starter Levi Laughlin (2-1) allowed all seven Cajuns runs on eight hits and was eventually dealt the loss. Clay Rominger came on in relief to retire the final eight Cajuns batters he faced.
Senior centerfielder Josh Logan (Magee, Miss.) fell a triple short of the cycle, going 3-for-4 with his first career home run and three RBI. Five other Cajuns recorded a hit on the afternoon.
Three Trojans registered multi-hit performances. Eric Hanlon went 3-for-5 with a run scored, while Robert Taylor and Nick DeSanctis each chipped in two hits.
In a similar start from Friday's blowout, Louisiana hung a two-spot on the Trojans in the first inning for a 2-0 lead. The Cajuns used the long ball to take their first lead of the game, but it came from an unlikely source. Facing a full count, Logan delivered an opposite-field, lead-off home run to right field for a 1-0 cushion. For Logan, it stood as his first career home run.
On the ensuing pitch, Nolan Gisclair (Marrero, La.) was hit by a pitch on his left hand and subsequently left the game prior to UALR's half of the inning. Scott Hawkins (Collierville, Tenn.) then reached on a fielding error by shortstop Nick DeSanctis.
Two batters later, Jordan Poirrier (Reserve, La.) drew a two-out walk to load the bases for Matt Hicks (Houston, Texas) who took the unconventional approach to driving in the lead runner. With a 1-0 count, Laughlin again came in high on a Cajuns batter, this time plunking Hicks on his throwing hand. But, the hit batsman did provide the Cajuns with a 2-0 lead.
UALR took its first lead of the series in its half of the first inning as the Trojans roughed up Farquhar for three runs on three hits. When the dust settled, UALR held a 3-2 lead after the first inning.
Louisiana regained the lead in the second, 4-3, as Logan missed his second career home run in as many innings by mere inches. With two on, Logan drilled a towering two-RBI double to left field that scored Thad Griffen (Lake Charles, La.) and William Long (Valrico, Fla.) for the one-run lead.
The Cajuns added an insurance run in the third inning. Poirrier drove a lead-off double into the left-center field gap and later scored on a Robichaux RBI groundout for a 5-3 lead.
UALR pulled even with the Cajuns in the next half inning as the Trojans scored two runs to tie it at five apiece. A two-base throwing error with two outs by Hicks allowed UALR to clear the bases.
Louisiana broke the five-all tie in the fourth when Hawkins roped a RBI double to right-center field for a 6-5 Cajuns lead. The score stood tied yet again (6-6) after four complete innings after Kody Kroll drove in the tying run on a RBI fielder's choice.
Chance Harst's (Lafayette, La.) RBI single to centerfield in the sixth again gave Farquhar a one-run lead, 7-6.
The Cajuns averted disaster in the bottom of the seventh inning as the Trojans had runners in scoring position with two outs when Gregory Harmon (Crowley, La.) entered the game. Harmon walked the first batter he faced to load the bases before DeSanctis hit a rocket shot back to Harmon who knocked it down. Once Harmon found the ball, he made the throw to first to quell the UALR threat, holding on to the Cajuns' 7-6 lead.
From there, Robichaux closed the door on the Trojans, retiring the final six UALR batters to clinch the Cajuns' first come-from-behind victory of the season.
Louisiana will look for its first Sun Belt Conference series sweep of the season when the Ragin' Cajuns face the UALR Trojans Sunday at Gary Hogan Field. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
RaginCajuns.com
Chris Yandle