Baseball: Cajuns beat Texas State despite recording only one hit

Tim Buckley, The Advertiser, April 28, 2014

After falling to Texas State on Saturday night, the last thing that mattered to the UL baseball team Sunday was how it won.

Just that it did.

So when the No. 2-ranked Ragin’ Cajuns beat the Bobcats 2-0 despite having just one hit in front of 3,621 at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field, no one really fretted over the particulars.

Or, for that matter, a one-hour-and-45-minute lightning delay both teams endured.

"I just told the guys, ‘You can measure a lot of things, but you can’t measure heart.’ And these guys have tons of heart. They just keep coming," said UL associate head coach Anthony Babineaux, who assumed head coach Tony Robichaux’s usual duties Sunday because Robichaux was suspended for allegedly bumping an umpire in Saturday’s 10-3 loss.

"They don’t care that we got one hit; they care that we won the game, and that we came out and competed to the best of our ability," Babineaux added. "And that was good enough."

It was, allowing UL to take the three-game Sun Belt Conference series 2-1 while improving to 39-6 overall and 18-3 in SBC play.

It was the 11th victory in 11 weekend series this season for the Cajuns, who visit Southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday night and play host to the Lions on Wednesday night.

UL, which handed Texas State (24-20, 12-9) its first shutout loss of the season, hasn’t lost back-to-back games this season.

"That’s the name of our game," outfielder-pitcher Ryan Wilson said. "We always bounce back. We respond all the time. That’s just what we do."

Wilson moved from right field to the mound after the delay and allowed just one hit in his 3.0 innings for his third save this season and second of the weekend.

"I felt really good," Wilson said. "I felt normal."

Wilson retired 9-of-12 batters, and – with the bases loaded in the ninth – ended things by using a two-seam fastball to the inside corner to strike out Cory Geisler looking on an 0-2 count.

"There’s not much you can do with that pitch when it’s executed perfectly," Babineaux said. "And that’s what Scoob (Wilson) did."

Starters Cody Boutte of UL and Lucas Humpal of Texas State went at it for four-and-half scoreless innings before the Cajuns scored in the bottom of the fifth.

"Just an unbelieavable performance by Cody Boutte, coming out, setting the tone and just throwing up zero after zero after zero," Babineaux said. "And that’s what we needed."

It was tough luck, though, for the Bobcats in the fifth.

With two outs, Humpal hit Chase Compton with a pitch and Compton advanced when Michael Strentz reached on shortstop Garrett Mattlage’s throwing error. Strentz stole second, Blake Trahan walked to load the bases and Humpal walked Wilson to score Compton with the unearned run.

It was still 1-0 in the bottom of the sixth when lightning flashed at 2:48 p.m., instigating the delay.

UL had men on first and second – Jace Conrad was hit by a pitch, Tyler Girouard reached on an error – with one out at the time.

Humpal had allowed only one hit, a Girouard bunt single in the second, to that point.

He was replaced by Dylan Bein, who promptly walked Dylan Butler and – with the bases loaded – allowed Compton a run-scoring sacrifice squeeze bunt.

With Boutte now having allowed just one earned run in his last 25 innings and none in his last 13, and Wilson not allowing a run in his five combined innings Friday and Sunday, the second run wasn’t even needed.

On this day, just one run on one hit was plenty – and the Cajuns weren’t bothered a bit by that.

"A win’s a win," Wilson said. "We’ll take anything we can get."

The Cajuns didn’t care, either, how long they had to wait for it.

"This group of guys is just happy-go-lucky," Babineaux said. "They would have stayed here until midnight to get this done if they would have had to."

LAGNIAPPE: A few Cajuns were recently added to midseason watch lists: shortstop Blake Trahan (Brooks Wallace Award, top shortstop in the country), and Wilson and Carson Baranik (Diamond Sports, nation’s top pitcher). … Trahan’s 15-game hit streak ended. But he pushed his streak of games reaching base to 21 with a walk. … Usual starting third baseman Ryan Leonards was available but didn’t play due to a minor foot injury. … With Leonards sitting, usual designated hitter Girouard started at third, usual right fielder Butler was the DH and Wilson stepped into right.