Baseball: Cajuns Baseball Rallies In Eighth To Defeat Texas State In Winner’s Game Bracket

Box Score

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The 17th-ranked Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns baseball team rallied for three runs in the eighth to defeat fifth-seeded Texas State 4-2 in a winner’s bracket game on Friday at the Sun Belt Conference Tournament hosted at Bobcat Ballpark.
 
"I thought the hitters did a great job of coming back and executing late in the game when we needed it," head coach Tony Robichaux said. "(Nick) Lee came out there and matched for us and kept us in the game till we could break through. We knew this was going to be a tough one, and the guys kept grinding till we were able to find a way to break through."
 
The win is the eighth straight for the Ragin’ Cajuns (39-19) and moves the squad into the driver’s seat in their bracket at the SBC tournament. Louisiana will face the winner of the Texas State/Arkansas State elimination game tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. and would need just one victory to advance to the championship game for the fourth time in as many years.
 
The Cajuns outhit the Bobcats (31-27) 8-6 in the contest led by Stefan Trosclair and Hunter Kasuls who each had a pair of hits. Nick Perez led Texas State offensively going 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.
 
Nick Lee, the SBC Freshman of the Year, (7-1) claimed his seventh win of the season in his seventh quality start of the year. Lee limited the Bobcats to two runs scattering five hits in seven innings of work. The right-hander struck out three and allowed just one free pass.
 
Sophomore Dylan Moore moved one save back of tying his own season record registering his 12th save of the year in the contest. Moore tossed two scoreless innings in relief to close out the contest.
 
Bobcats starter Cory Geisler (4-3) was also strong on the mound holding the Ragin’ Cajuns to three runs (two earned) on six hits in 7.2 innings. Geisler struck out five and had one walk.
 
Texas State took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third on an RBI double to left field by Perez scoring Derek Scheible.
 
The Bobcats extended the lead to 2-0 in the fifth on ball hit to right field by Jonathan Ortega scoring Luke Sherley from third base. Sherley was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and then moved to third on a Perez single through the left side of the infield.
 
Louisiana broke through in the scoring column in the top of the eighth. Kasuls and Brian Mills opened the frame with back-to-back singles. In the next at bat, Kasuls came around to score from second base on a throwing error by Geisler on a Joe Robbins sacrifice bunt to make the score 2-1.
 
Trosclair pulled the Cajuns even at 2-all later in the inning on a bunt single that got past Geisler to the right side of the infield to score Mills. Brenn Conrad gave the Ragin’ Cajuns the lead for good on a safety squeeze bunt that brought home Robbins to put Louisiana up 3-2.
 
The Cajuns added an insurance run in the top of the ninth when Nick Thurman scored on a wild pitch by reliever Pasquale Mazzoccoli.
 
Moore got Anthony Pagano to fly out to centerfield with two outs in the ninth to close out the game and keep the Ragin’ Cajuns in the winner’s bracket.
 
The Saturday contest will be broadcast on ESPN3.com with Matt Stewart and John Gregory calling the action. Fans can also listen live on News Talk 96.5 KPEL-FM with Jay Walker and Jeff Schneider on the call. Live stats are available on SunBeltSports.org.
 
For updates and info on Ragin’ Cajuns baseball, follow the squad on twitter @CajunsBaseball or check RaginCajuns.com.