Baseball Drops Road Series to FIU, Avoids Sweep
MIAMI ? Louisiana?s Ragin? Cajuns duked it out the FIU Golden Panthers in a back-and-forth slugfest Saturday night in Miami, succumbing to two big innings to fall by a score of 11-7. The Cajuns are now 10-12-1 and 4-6 in Sun Belt Conference games, and are now assured of a series loss in the fourth conference series of the year.
FIU scored six in the fifth and four in the seventh to sink the Cajuns, adding an insurance run in the eighth in the midst of three lead changes throughout the game. Louisiana put up two big innings of their own with a pair of three run frames in the first and the sixth, but it was not enough to overcome three errors and shaky pitching.
The Ragin? Cajuns pitching staff allowed a season-high 16 hits in the game, and the three defensive errors matched a season high and accounted for two runs.
Despite the loss, the Cajuns showed signs of life in the lineup, tagging FIU starting pitcher Tom Ebert, the Sun Belt?s ERA leader at 0.61 and third in the nation coming into the game, for two earned runs, doubling his total for the year and elevating his ERA to 1.80.
Travis Whipple smashed his second and third home runs of the year in the first and seventh innings, to finish at 2-for-5 with three RBIs. Greg Fontenot was the only other Cajun with more than one basehit, finishing 2-for-4, now 5-for-8 on the weekend. Will Long started for the first time this season after making his first appearance of the year as a ninth inning-pinch hitter on Friday. Kyle Olasin drove in one RBI on his 21st birthday in his 1-for-4 night.
Thad Griffen and Chad Keefer each added an RBI to the mix.
Louisiana starting pitcher Zach Osborne retired the first six batters he faced, and allowed just one hit through the first three innings. The FIU hitters figured Osborne out in the fifth, though, and stuck him with five runs on four doubles to tie the game. Osborne finished 5 1/3 innings, allowing five runs, four earned, on six hits. Michael Cook relieved him in the sixth and gave up a double to score Osborne?s last baserunner. Cook lasted 1 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits and a strikeout.
Matt Lackie entered in the seventh and failed to retire an out, allowing two runs on three hits. Justin Robichaux took over for Lackie and gave up an RBI bunt single, but then forced three consecutive groundouts to end the inning. He was the last pitcher for the Cajuns, and after giving up a home run in the eighth, finished the game having thrown two innings, allowing one run on two hits, one walk and one strikeout.
Kyle Olasin was the first Cajun to cross the plate in the game, scoring from second when FIU first baseman Tim Jobe let a grounder off the bat of Les Smith get past him. With Smith on board, Matt Goulas drove a home run over the left field wall to give the Cajuns another two quick runs.
Olasin got his turn to drive a run in during the second inning, when he hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Greg Fontenot.
FIU finally got through to Osborne in the fifth inning, striking for four runs on four doubles to tie the score, assisted by a fielding error by Long at short. Michael Cook came in to try and stem the tide, but allowed two more hits to score two more runs, one charged to Osborne, before ending the inning on a fly out to Travis Whipple that nearly left the park. FIU?s six-run inning launched them back into a 6-4 lead heading to the sixth.
The Panthers? lead was short lived, as the Cajuns scored three in the sixth to wrestle the advantage back. Travis Whipple led off with his second home run of the game, to bring the Cajuns back within one at 6-5. Scott Hawkins became the tying run when he was sacrificed in by Chad Keefer, and the Cajuns went back ahead when Will Long scored from second on a Thad Griffen single through the left side.
Matt Lackie relieved Cook in the seventh with runners on first and second, and gave up a two-RBI triple against his first batter faced in Tim Jobe, relinquishing the lead back to FIU. Jobe scored in the next at bat on an RBI single into right from designated hitter Mike Martinez to make it a two-run lead at 9-7. Lackie left in favor of Justin Robichaux,
Robichaux came on with runners on first and second, and the first batter he faced bunted down the third base line. The throw from Chad Keefer went wide of Fontenot covering at first and allowed another run home to make it 10-7 Panthers. Robichaux went on to force three consecutive groundouts to finally end the inning after four runs on six hits and one error.
The Cajuns looked poised to make a comeback in the top of the eighth with the bases loaded and two down, Matt Goulas at the plate. But it was for naught, the potential rally ending before it began on a Goulas pop-up to second base.
Robichaux gave up a solo home run to catcher Steven Stropp in the bottom of the eighth to make the score 11-7, where it would finish.
The FIU series concludes today, March 29, at 10:30 a.m. Central time.
UL Press
Quote
Originally Posted by CajunRed
