Review: The 2002 UL Baseball Post Season

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LOUISIANA BR - Louisiana hurler Justin Gabriel threw a 109-pitch, complete game effort and the Ragin Cajuns gave the Green Wave a heavy dose of small ball as the Tulane University baseball team dropped a hard-fought 6-3 decision in the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional opener Friday evening at Alex Box Stadium.

Third baseman Anthony Giarratano, rightfielder Bryan Stelmack, second baseman Turner Brumby and shortstop Tommy Manzella each had two hits, and Manzella and Stelmack each hit home runs to lead the Green Wave offense, but it was not enough to overcome Gabriel's (10-4) performance from the mound, rightfiedler Corey Coles 3-for-4 showing at the plate and four bunt singles by the Cajuns.

With the loss, Tulane falls to 36-25 on the year and will have to fight through the loser's bracket to advance in the NCAA Tournament. The Green Wave will battle Southern on Saturday morning at 11, as the Jaguars dropped the day's first game to top-seeded LSU 5-4. The winner of the Tulane/Southern game will take on the loser of the 3 p.m. game which features LSU and UL-Lafayette at 7:30 p.m with the victor of that contest advancing to the championship game on Sunday at 1 p.m.

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05-31-2002

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Cajuns play small ball to top Green Wave
Brady Aymond
Posted on June 1, 2002
BATON ROUGE - "How does a team that hits only .265 win 37 games?"

That question came up more than once going into this weekend's NCAA sub-regional tournament at Alex Box Stadium. Friday night, Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns supplied the answer - small ball.

The Cajuns used four bunt singles, three stolen bases, two sacrifice bunts and a whole bunch of aggressive base-running in moving to 38-21 on the year and into the winner's bracket of the sub-regional with a 6-3 win over Tulane Friday night.

"That's their game and they played it perfect tonight," Tulane coach Rick Jones said. "They put pressure on you and they do a pretty good job of forcing you into mistakes. We've played them a lot in my nine years here, so it's not a surprise. That's just what they do and they do it well."

The Cajuns entered the NCAA baseball tournament with the third worst hitting team among the field of 64. The only two below the Cajuns were Harvard (20-25) and Navy (22-24), the only two teams in the field with losing records.

"We are not a big power hitting club," UL Lafayette coach Tony Robicheaux said. "We like to try to put the ball in play and put the pressure on the defense. I notice that a lot of teams don't bunt anymore, therefore not a lot of teams don't defense the bunt very well. We try to do anything we can to get the runner to second or third. When you get them to third and you can score a run on an out, that's great. We aren't going to get a ton of hits, so we'll take them any way we can."

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Cajuns go back to basics to defeat Green Wave
06/01/02

By Fred Robinson
Staff writer/The Times-Picayune

BATON ROUGE -- Louisiana, doing whatever it needed to score runs Friday night, knocked Tulane into the losers bracket of the NCAA regional with a 6-3 win over the Green Wave at Alex Box Stadium.

While Tulane was using the long ball to stay in the game early, the Ragin' Cajuns were manufacturing runs with singles and stolen bases and moving runners into scoring position with bunts. They kept the pressure on the Wave by executing the basics.

"That's the way they play the game, and they do a good job at it," Wave coach Rick Jones said. "We just came up short. We swung the bats well enough to win, we played defense well enough to win. We just had those in-between balls."

The Cajuns (38-21) had 13 hits, 11 off Tulane starter Nick Bourgeois (10-3). Four of ULL's hits were bunt singles. A bunt or a stolen base played a part in ULL's first four runs.

Bourgeois left after giving up a leadoff single to Brad Saloom in the eighth. He allowed five runs, four earned.

Tulane's offense consisted of two home runs, a solo shot by shortstop Tommy Manzella and a two-run blast by Bryan Stelmack. Other than that, only three Tulane runners reached second base, and one, Anthony Giarratano, was picked off.

The Green Wave (35-26) meets Southern (45-9) at 11 a.m. today. Southern lost to LSU 5-4 in the day's first game.

The Wave scored its runs in the first four innings off ULL's Justin Gabriel, then he buckled down and held the Wave scoreless the rest of the way. Tulane's No. 1 through No. 4 hitters were 1-for-16 against Gabriel (10-4).

"We just couldn't get anything to fall against their ace," Jones said.

Gabriel, who had one strikeout, gave the Cajuns exactly what they were looking for.

"We were playing a good ballclub, and we needed Gabriel to step up and pitch big," ULL coach Tony Robichaux said. "Gabe gave us an opportunity where we didn't have to score a lot of runs."

The victory was ULL's third this season against Tulane.

The Cajuns ended their scoring in the eighth with a pair of runs, the last of which scored on one of the Wave's three errors.

ULL got a homer from Dallas Morris in the third, then took the lead for good in the fifth on four consecutive singles. Justin Bourque's leadoff single was followed by a bunt single by Jason Wilson, the Cajuns' second of the game.

But with no outs, the Cajuns nearly ran themselves out of the inning. Corey Coles' bouncer to the right side of second base hit Wilson. The interference kept the runners from advancing, and Bourque was later thrown out trying to steal third. But with two outs, Saloom singled to right to drive home Coles.

Tulane tied the score at 1 in the second on Manzella's homer and at 3 in the third on Stelmack's homer to left.

First baseman James Jurries started the fourth inning with a single to left. A balk by Gabriel and a groundout to second by Michael Aubrey advanced Jurries to third. With two outs, Stelmack hit a 2-0 pitch from Gabriel off the light pole in left field for a two-run homer.

Stelmack, Giarratano, Turner Brumby and Manzella had eight of the Wave's nine hits.

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June 01, 2002

BATON ROUGE, La. - Louisiana’s Andy Gros fired his second complete game shutout against LSU this season, scattering seven hits as the Ragin Cajuns advanced to the championship round of the Baton Rouge regional with a 5-0 victory in front of a stunned crowd at Alex Box Stadium.

LSU (41-20) must regroup immediately to play an elimination game against archrival Tulane (36-26), who eliminated Southern 10-2 earlier on Saturday. The winner of the night game must defeat the Cajuns (39-21) twice to advance to the super regional.

The championship round is slated for 1 p.m. Sunday, with a second game if necessary scheduled for 5 p.m.

The shutout was just the third suffered by LSU in 203 post-season games, with the other two coming on consecutive days in the 1992 South I Regional to Ohio State (5-0) and Cal State Fullerton (11-0).

Gros also allowed the Tigers just seven hits in his shutout win on March 19 in Lafayette, as Louisiana has allowed LSU just one run in winning all three meetings between the clubs in 2002. The Cajuns are the first team to shut out LSU twice in the same season since Ole Miss blanked the Tigers in the final two games of 1982.

LSU’s only real threats of the game came in the fifth and sixth, when the Tigers advanced runners to third base each time, only to have the rallies end, first on a Wally Pontiff fly ball in the fifth and on J.C. Holt’s line drive in the sixth.

The early innings shaped up as the expected pitching duel between Gros and LSU ace Lane Mestepey, who entered this game with a streak of 23 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings at home and had allowed just five runs in his previous 42 innings, retired the first 10 batters he faced until he yielded a one-out home run in the fourth to Justin Bourque to break the scoreless tie.

The Cajuns would strand a runner at third in the fifth, but in the sixth, they would score another run with the help of a Pontiff error, as he misplayed Dallas Morris’ ground ball. Morris would eventually score on Corey Coles’ two-out bunt single that neither Pontiff nor Mestepey could field.

A one-out home run by Bryan Sneed put the game out of reach for the Cajuns, but Louisiana would add runs in the eighth and ninth, scoring in the eighth on an RBI single by Coles that plated Bourque, who doubled two batters earlier, and in the ninth, the Cajuns got an unearned run when Rocky Scelfo misplayed Phillip Hawke’s ground ball, scoring Chase Lambin from second.

Mestepey took his first loss since May 4 at Tennessee to drop to 11-4 on the year despite walking none and striking out sixth in his eighth complete game of the year.

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[Turbine]

Both LSU and Tulane need three straight wins to advance to a Super Regional.

Andy Gros was MASTERFUL.

[Cajun97]

Great game from all but especially Andy Gros and Corey Coles. Way to go guys, keep it up. I hope we still have some pitching left.

GEAUX CAJUNS!!!!

[NewsCopy]

Morgan City native shuts out LSU

Advertiser-Dan McDonald

BATON ROUGE - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajun baseball team counted on - and expected - a big performance from Andy Gros.

They might not have expected left-handed hitters Justin Bourque and Bryan Sneed to come up with key offensive plays, especially against LSU southpaw ace Lane Mestepey.

But, after all, this is a team that makes a living with the unexpected.

The efforts of that trio have now put the Cajuns into the driver's seat in the NCAA Regional tournament at LSU's Alex Box Stadium.

Gros twirled yet another soft-toss masterpiece at the Tigers, posting his second shutout over LSU this year, and Bourque and Sneed had home runs that helped power a 5-0 victory over the top-seeded Tigers Saturday afternoon.

That win puts UL (39-21) one win away from its third regional championship in three tries. The survivor of Saturday evening's LSU-Tulane elimination game has to beat the Cajuns twice today to claim the crown and a Super Regional berth.

"We haven't won anything yet,' said UL head coach Tony Robichaux. "Neither of those teams are going to just go away. Our work is a long way from being done.'

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UL becomes first state school to win at LSU in NCAA baseball postseason UL 5, LSU 0

BATON ROUGE -- The scene was so foreign, so strange, that it didn't seem real.

After the game, Louisiana huddled calmly as the LSU Tigers and their fans looked on in amazement.

The Ragin' Cajuns, behind the taunting changeup of starter Andy Gros, had just beaten the Tigers 5-0 Saturday afternoon, which earned them a trip to the championship game of the regional today at 1 p.m. With a win today, Louisiana Là will advance to a super regional.

Saturday's victory marked the first time an LSU team was defeated at home by a Louisiana school in the postseason, and it extends the growing rivalry between the two teams.

"We don't get along because we have to play them all the time," said Justin Gabriel, who got the win for UL against Tulane on Friday night. "We aren't going to let them push us around."

Gabriel acknowledged that LSU has seemed to one-up the Cajuns in the past. It has seemed that if UL makes a regional, LSU hosts it. And in 2000 when UL finally made the College World Series, "they (the Tigers) win it," Gabriel said.

ULL is also in search of respect -- it wants to call itself the University of Louisiana, and it wants to be a school on even footing with Louisiana State University. For the Ragin' Cajuns, Saturday's win is an important step in that direction.

The game was emotional from the start. When LSU third baseman Wally Pontiff batted in the first, he was hit by Gros' pitch. Pontiff took several steps toward the mound before jogging to first.

That sent UL coach Tony Robichaux out of the dugout, furious at Pontiff and the umpires. The Alex Box crowd took exception to Robichaux's actions, which prompted them to roar loudly. The umpires conferred with LSU coach Smoke Laval, and six minutes after Pontiff was hit, play resumed.

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By Wright Thompson
Staff writer/The Times-Picayune

June 2nd, 2002, 04:48 pm #9

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UL Lafayette doubles up Tulane, one game away from Super Regional

Cajuns play small ball to beat Green Wave

BATON ROUGE - It was a textbook example of playing the "small game,' and Justin Gabriel made it stand up for Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns here Friday night.

The Cajuns stole early and bunted late, generally bedeviling Tulane's Green Wave with both, and Gabriel shut down the Wave offense over the final five innings as UL posted a 6-3 victory in the NCAA Regional baseball tournament Friday at LSU's Alex Box Stadium.

UL (38-21), improving to 7-0 in regional play since the NCAA went to the four-team regional format, advances to today's winners' bracket finals today at 3 p.m. against LSU's Tigers, who took a 5-4 win over Southern in Friday's opening game.

Gabriel (10-4) won a battle with Tulane's Nick Bourgeois (10-3) in a matchup of two pitchers with College World Series experience. He allowed three runs on a pair of homers in the third and fourth innings, but gave up only one hit over the next four frames.

Meanwhile, the Cajuns stole three bases in the first three innings, every one of them contributing to runs, and then got four bunt singles in the last five innings along with a squeeze bunt that provided one of two insurance runs in the eighth inning.

"We did a great job of trying to stay aggressive and getting the bunting game in,' said Cajun head coach Tony Robichaux. "And Gabriel gave us the opportunity to do that. We thought he would step up and pitch a great game.'

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June 3rd, 2002, 04:28 am #10

Turbine

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What a season! Thanks

Well it's over. I just want to say thanks, team, it has been a fantastic bounce back season.

Louisiana accomplished what no other team in the country could accomplish after losing two pitchers Martinez and Ramon in the starting rotation.

We got a brief reminder in body if not in style of what we lost when Templet made an appearance against LSU in the rubber match.

I can say with confidence that this coaching staff did their best work ever, and it sure is nice to see a coach stand up for his players the way Robe did to close out the season.

2002 What a season !

Now LSU better show this was no fluke and get to Eaux Mah Haux or I will be upset.

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[NewsCopy]

Cajuns play small ball to beat Green Wave

BATON ROUGE - It was a textbook example of playing the "small game,' and Justin Gabriel made it stand up for Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns here Friday night.

The Cajuns stole early and bunted late, generally bedeviling Tulane's Green Wave with both, and Gabriel shut down the Wave offense over the final five innings as UL posted a 6-3 victory in the NCAA Regional baseball tournament Friday at LSU's Alex Box Stadium.

UL (38-21), improving to 7-0 in regional play since the NCAA went to the four-team regional format, advances to today's winners' bracket finals today at 3 p.m. against LSU's Tigers, who took a 5-4 win over Southern in Friday's opening game.

Gabriel (10-4) won a battle with Tulane's Nick Bourgeois (10-3) in a matchup of two pitchers with College World Series experience. He allowed three runs on a pair of homers in the third and fourth innings, but gave up only one hit over the next four frames.

Meanwhile, the Cajuns stole three bases in the first three innings, every one of them contributing to runs, and then got four bunt singles in the last five innings along with a squeeze bunt that provided one of two insurance runs in the eighth inning.

"We did a great job of trying to stay aggressive and getting the bunting game in,' said Cajun head coach Tony Robichaux. "And Gabriel gave us the opportunity to do that. We thought he would step up and pitch a great game.'

The rest of the story

[Turbine]

Well it's over. I just want to say thanks, team, it has been a fantastic bounce back season.

Louisiana accomplished what no other team in the country could accomplish after losing two pitchers Martinez and Ramon in the starting rotation.

We got a brief reminder in body if not in style of what we lost when Templet made an appearance against LSU in the rubber match.

I can say with confidence that this coaching staff did their best work ever, and it sure is nice to see a coach stand up for his players the way Robe did to close out the season.

2002 What a season !

Now LSU better show this was no fluke and get to Eaux Mah Haux or I will be upset.