NEW ORLEANS - It was painful to watch.
Like swallowing sour milk, or grinding fingernails on a blackboard.
Except when those things happen, you can usually do something about it.
Kevin Ardoin's misery continues.
The guy that was the unquestioned leader of the Ragin' Cajun pitching staff ... the bell-cow ... the go-to guy ... has become a walking question mark.
A pitcher who was a 12th-round selection of the Texas Rangers in last year's pro draft, one who was close to taking his talents to the next level, is now a disaster waiting to happen.
Nobody can figure out what's happened to the pitcher who was 10-1 when May began. He's now 10-5, and Friday was the culmination of a month that has shattered his confidence.
Five Alabama batters came to the plate in his 16th start of the season Friday, and his most important. Four of them scored before Louisiana head coach Tony Robichaux mercifully went to the Turchin Stadium mound to end his NCAA Regional misery.
Ardoin had a 1.88 ERA going into May. Since then, it's 13.50.
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Dan McDonald