MOBILE, Ala. – South Alabama hit three solo home runs, while Louisiana was unable to sustain an early two-run lead as the Jaguars snapped the Ragin' Cajuns' seven-game series winning streak 9-2 Saturday at Stanky Field.

Louisiana (19-19, 9-11 Sun Belt) will get a second crack at its second-ever series win at South Alabama (22-17, 9-8 Sun Belt) on Sunday.

Preseason Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Year Danny Farquhar (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) took his third straight loss Saturday afternoon. Farquhar (3-6) allowed five runs on six hits with four strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings falling to 1-3 on the road in Sun Belt play. Senior Brent Solich (Lakewood Ranch, Fla.) was touched for four runs on four hits through 3 1/3 innings.

South Alabama's Lance Baxter (3-4), a late change for the scratched Kevin Nabors because of illness, held the Cajuns to two runs on five hits through a season-high seven innings.

Six of South Alabama's 12 runs through the first two games of the series have come via solo home runs. Ryan Bohanan finished 3-for-4 with a solo home run, while Ray Kruml went 2-for-5 with a solo inside-the-park homer.

William Long (Valrico, Fla.) was the lone multi-hit Cajun, going 2-for-3 with a run. Scott Hawkins (Collierville, Tenn.) added a solo home run.

It didn't take long for the Ragin' Cajuns to flex their offensive muscle. With two outs already on the scoreboard, Hawkins crushed Baxter's first offering over the two-tiered wall in left-center field to give the Cajuns a 1-0 lead.

Hawkins' solo shot was his 10th four-bagger of the season increasing his career total to 32 bombs.

Louisiana's defense helped Farquhar preserve the early shutout bid in the second. With two on and two out, Josh Logan (Magee, Miss.) made an outstanding diving grab to record the third out which kept the Jaguars from scoring the possible tying and go-ahead runs.

The Cajuns tacked on a second run in the top of the third to take a 2-0 lead. Long, the only Cajun starter without hit Friday night, led off with a single to right-center. Logan followed with a perfectly-placed bunt single past the charging second baseman. Nolan Gisclair (Marrero, La.) then moved the runners to second and third with a sacrifice bunt.

After Baxter intentionally walked Hawkins to load the bases, Long scored on a Chance Harst (Lafayette, La.) RBI fielder's choice before ending the inning.

Back-to-back home runs by Jake Overstreet and Kruml evened the game at 2-2 in the third. Kruml's shot to right-center was an inside-the-park homer after the right fielder Gisclair crashed into the wall trying to make the catch. With visibly Gisclair shaken up on the play, Kruml was able to round the bases for the Jags' second straight homer.

South Alabama took its first lead of the series, 3-2, in the fourth on Bohanan's massive solo home run to right field to lead off the inning.

Despite two Jaguars errors in the fifth, the Cajuns were unable to push across the tying run as they stranded two runners on Harst's inning-ending strikeout.

David Doss widened the Jaguars' lead to three runs, 5-2, on a two-RBI single to left-center in the bottom of the fifth. Doss' two-run hit was the first runs not scored via a home run by South Alabama.

In the eighth, two singles and a Solich throwing error on a sacrifice bunt resulted in an 8-2 South Alabama lead. Later in the inning, miscommunication between Jordan Poirrier (Reserve, La.) and Gisclair allowed for the ball hit by Clint Toomey to fall in shallow right field. Toomey's bloop RBI double gave the Jaguars a commanding 9-2 lead.

Louisiana and South Alabama concludes their three-game Sun Belt Conference set with Sunday's series finale at 1 p.m.

RaginCajuns.com

Chris Yandle