JONESBORO, Ark. - Micah Cockrell closed the door on Arkansas State's Indians Saturday with his arm. Sunday, he kicked the door in with his bat.

Cockrell, whose relief effort Saturday helped give Louisiana's Ragin' Cajun baseball team a split of its Sun Belt Conference series with ASU, laced a grand-slam home run in the second inning Sunday, helping power the Cajuns to an 8-5 win and a 2-1 series victory.

Cockrell's slam, the Cajuns' fourth of the year, provided the visitors with a 4-1 edge and gave them the lead for good thanks to solid pitching and a second straight day of errorless defense.

And with Cockrell providing the offense, it became Thad Montgomery's turn to post a close-out relief effort. Montgomery pitched the final three and two-thirds innings, giving up only a two-out walk in the eighth inning for his second save.

"He really pitched big down the stretch," said Cajun coach Tony Robichaux, whose team won its second straight league series and is tied for the Sun Belt lead.

"Our bullpen did a good job for us today. They kept getting outs in a situation where we needed to get outs."

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