Baseball: Bowman Breaks Tie in Eighth as UL Collects Fourth Straight Win

Contact: Matt Hebert

Box Score
 
Brian Bowman’s bases-loaded bunt single broke a 4-all tie in the bottom of the eighth inning and completed a comeback for the Ragin’ Cajuns baseball team which picked up a 6-4 victory over Alcorn State Tuesday evening at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field.
 
The win extended Louisiana’s current winning streak to four games, improving the season record to 5-3.
 
Caleb Kellogg struck out the side in the top of the ninth to put the finishing touches on two scoreless frames which earned him the victory and wrapped up a 4-0 homestand for Louisiana.
 
The Cajuns now head to San Antonio, Texas for the UTSA Classic at Wolff Stadium, home of the minor league baseball team San Antonio Missions, Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. Louisiana will take on Gonzaga on Friday, Kansas on Saturday and UTSA on Sunday.
 
UL entered the bottom of the eighth inning trailing 4-3 after Alcorn State (1-5) used a three-run sixth and dropped fly ball in the seventh to grab the lead.
 
A leadoff single by Daniel Nichols and back-to-back, one-out walks by Chris Sinclair and Jace Conrad loaded the bases off Alcorn reliever Cedric Pomerlee. Nichols scored the equalizer after a Pomerlee wild pitch and Tyler Girouard drew a walk to reload the bases.
 
The Braves called in Ryan Fuentes from the bullpen and he was greeted by Bowman’s bunt which scored Sinclair with the go-ahead tally. Fuentes walked Ryan Leonards and UL had a two-run cushion heading to the ninth.
 
Nichols and Sinclair each collected two-hit games and each scored two runs. Chase Compton’s single in the first inning stretched his hitting streak to seven games.
 
Louisiana was victorious for the fifth time in as many meetings with Alcorn State. The two clubs met at “The Tigue” for the third straight season.
 
The Cajuns broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the second after Nichols led off with a double down the left field line, stole third and scored on a throwing error by Braves catcher Edgardo Salas.
 
UL manufactured an additional run in the third. Bowman led off with a walk, stole second and crossed home plate following back-to-back ground outs to second base from Leonards and Compton.
 
Four stranded baserunners over the next two innings kept the Cajuns from extending their lead. On a bases loaded wild pitch in the bottom of the fifth, Leonards was tagged out at home attempting to score.
 
The Cajuns pitching staff cruised through the first five innings as Jordan Harrison, Kendall Mayer and Henri Faucheux held the Braves scoreless and to three hits.
 
In Faucheux’s second inning of work the first four Braves batters reached base allowing the visitors to pull into a 2-all tie. An RBI double from Rodney Warren and RBI single by Antolin Morales produced Alcorn’s runs.
 
Cord Cockrell relieved Faucheux with two runners on and no outs, and kept the damage to a minimum allowing only a sacrifice fly to Eduardo Gonzalez which put Alcorn ahead 3-2.
 
Louisiana forged a 3-all tie in the bottom of the sixth inning as a wild pitch placed Sinclair into scoring position for a two-out RBI single to center field from Girouard.
 
Alcorn benefitted from a dropped fly ball in center field by Bowman in the top of the seventh to reclaim the lead.

RaginCajuns.com