Baseball – BOX LUNCH: UL snatches victory over LSU at Alex Box Stadium; see photos

Dramatic 9th-inning homer lifts Cajuns over No. 3 Tigers

Joshua Parrott • jparrott@theadvertiser.com • March 12, 2009

BATON ROUGE – A substantial downpour failed to spoil LSU’s first game against UL in the new Alex Box Stadium.

Heavy rains forced a 58-minute delay in the third inning, but the weather became an afterthought Wednesday for the Cajuns after upsetting the nation’s third-ranked team, 10-9.

UL (6-7-1) powered its way to the program’s first win over a top-three team since beating No. 1 South Carolina, 3-2, in the 2000 NCAA Super Regional with three home runs.

Sophomores Travis Whipple and Thad Griffen both hit their first collegiate homers with three-run shots. Senior Scott Hawkins provided the go-ahead blast with a solo homer off LSU reliever Matty Ott in the top of the ninth.

It was Hawkins’ only hit of the night in five at-bats.

"I just thank God for him throwing that pitch there," Hawkins said of his game-winning homer. "It was in my sweet spot.

"I was lucky to get my barrel on it."

UL’s power display was somewhat of a surprise. LSU (11-3) entered the night with 30 homers this season compared to just six for the Cajuns.

It was UL’s first win over LSU in seven years and helped avenge last year’s 5-3 loss to the Tigers.

"It’s tough, but it’s always tough when you lose," said LSU’s Sean Ochinko, whose two-run homer in the eighth tied the game 9-9. "We battled back real hard, but we still came up a little short."

UL put LSU in an early 3-0 hole with two outs in the top of the first after Whipple smashed Nolan Cain’s 1-0 delivery over the right-field fence.

In the bottom half of the inning, UL starter Alex Fuselier hit the first batter he faced and eventually loaded the bases. The Cajuns managed to escape unscathed as Fuselier got Ochinko to ground into an inning-ending double play.

The teams traded runs in the second before rain delayed the game for nearly an hour going into the third inning. When play resumed, Griffen drilled a three-run blast to left with one out in the third. That gave UL a 7-1 advantage and plenty of momentum.

After Fuselier tripled in the top of the fourth and came around to score on Les Smith’s infield single, LSU added two runs on Tyler Hanover’s RBI double and Ryan Schimpf’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning to make it 8-3.

UL tacked on another run in the top of the fifth on a wild pitch by LSU reliever Daniel Bradshaw. The Tigers pulled closer at 9-7 with two runs apiece in the bottom of the fifth and seventh and tied it 9-9 with Ochinko’s two-run homer off Luke Wagley in the eighth.

After Hawkins’ solo homer in the top of the ninth gave the Cajuns a 10-9 lead, UL reliever Blake Wascom held LSU scoreless in the bottom half of the inning to seal the historic win.

Wagley ended up earning the win, while Wascom got the save. Ott was hit with the loss.

"Blake did a great job to come in in the ninth and shut the door," said Hawkins, whose club continues Sun Belt play at home this weekend against Florida Atlantic. "It (this win) is big for the program, but we need to carry this win into the weekend as we go back into conference play."

Game notes

Even with the loss, LSU still leads the all-time series, 44-22. The teams had split the previous six meetings … Robichaux improved to 12-17 all-time against LSU. That includes a 5-8 mark at UL … LSU coach Paul Mainieri is now 1-1 against the Cajuns … The paid attendance for Wednesday’s game was 9,883. The actual crowd was 6,144 … LSU is now 9-3 at home this season. The Tigers have lost three of their past four games at home. UL moved to 3-4 on the road this year … UL had not hit a homer since Hawkins cranked a two-run bomb against Texas Southern on March 4. That was a stretch of three games … Hawkins’ ninth-inning homer was the 36th in his career. That tied him with Damian Grossie for second in UL history for career homers. Ron Robicheaux holds the program’s record of 39 homers … LSU outfielder Jared Mitchell went 2-for-3 with one RBI. The junior is a graduate of Westgate.

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