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Baseball: Moore relieved to get it done for UL in win over UNOTim Buckley, The Advertiser, April 25, 2018
A double-squeeze in the seventh inning gave UL the lead it needed. But it would have meant nothing if senior reliever Dylan Moore hadn’t shut down the University of New Orleans like he did Wednesday night. Moore pitched 4.0 scoreless innings with just one hit allowed to finish the Ragin’ Cajuns’ 8-6 win on M.L. “Tigueâ€Â Moore Field at Russo Park — giving UL, which trailed 5-1 in the fourth, its largest comeback victory of 2018. “I’ve been battling my own things this season,â€Â Moore (2-3) said, “but getting out there and giving the team a chance to win when they really needed it — that’s all you can ask for.â€Â More: From Stoelke to Moore and more, crazy for Cajun closers It was especially satisfying for Moore, who is the Sun Belt Conference’s all-time saves leader but has been struggling this year due to a shoulder tear that dates to last season. “I haven’t quite figured out this year, I guess,â€Â Moore said. “I had some arm issues and everything, but I’m working through it, so I’m hoping to finish up strong. “Luckily I got some early contact, some early outs, and I was able to stretch my pitch count into four innings,â€Â he added. “A lot of times I haven’t been able to do that this year, but I was glad to able to do it when we really, really needed it.â€Â Moore, who threw 53 pitches, retired the side in order in the sixth and seventh, allowed only a single in the eighth and got a popup to end it after walking a man with two outs in the ninth. Related: UL surges past Louisiana Tech to split series “He was really good tonight,â€Â UL coach Tony Robichaux said, “and I was so glad for him. “He’s watched other guys go out and become closers and everything. (But) … he’s put in time and worked as hard as he could and waited for his moment again. “Tonight he had command of every pitch. He had good velocity — 86-to-87 (miles per hour),â€Â Robichaux added. “His changeup was good; his slider was down; his elevated fastball was up when he needed it to be up.â€Â It was much like the good ol’ days for Moore, a product of Hughes Springs High in Texas who plans to attend law school at the University of Texas. “I just want to come up here every day and give it my all,â€Â he said, “regardless of if I’m sweeping the sandpit and doing the mound or whatever it is. “You only have a limited time out there, and that’s how I look at it. I know my days are counting down as a baseball player. “I can’t thank this university enough for (putting) me in this position,â€Â Moore added, “and Coach Robe for teaching me how to work while I wait — which is something I heard a lot, but I never had to do.â€Â Related: White Sox, Robichaux update ex-Cajun Farquhar’s status WHAT HAPPENEDDown 6-5 in the seventh, UL went ahead when Daniel Lahare and Hayden Cantrelle both scored on a suicide squeeze bunt by Gavin Bourgeois. Lahare scored first, and Cantrelle followed after UNO catcher Beau Bratton threw out Bourgeois at first. “It’s not the first time we did it this year,â€Â Bourgeois said. “It’s worked for us a couple times.â€Â Lahare, for one, wasn’t surprised it worked again. “He’s amazing bunter, an amazing hitter in general,â€Â Lahare said of Bourgeois, “and when he put it down I knew the catcher was going to throw it to first and we were going to get two runs.â€Â Kennon Fontenot later doubled and scored on Zach LaFleur’s sac fly for a Cajun insurance run in the eighth. UNO leadoff hitter Pearce Howard reached with a single and a two-base error in right, and Owen Magee followed with a sacrifice fly to give the Privateers a quick 1-0 lead in the first. But UL tied it as Cantrelle doubled and later scored when Bourgeois hit into a fielder’s choice. Related: Feelings for UL’s Harris in win were ‘amazing, incredible’ UNO manufactured a run to take a 2-1 lead in the second. UL starter Grant Cox put the side down in order in the third, but UNO made it 3-1 when Cody Ducote led off the fourth with a solo homer. Reliever Williams struck out the first two batters he faced, but Howard’s two-run single made it 5-1 UNO. UL got three back in the bottom of the fourth, when LaFleur’s two-out triple scored Hunter Kasuls, Kole McKinnon singled in LaFleur and Jonathan Windham singled in McKinnon. Williams walked in a run as UNO went up 6-4 in the fifth, and Bourgeois doubled in Cantrelle to make it 6-5 in the bottom of the inning. BY THE NUMBERSBourgeois’ four RBI were a career high. … Fontenot extended his streak of consecutive games reaching base to 23. … Announced paid attendance: 4,633. WHAT’S NEXTUL visits Georgia State for a three-game Sun Belt series that opens Friday night in Atlanta. More: Lee goes from starter to closer for Cajuns
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