Baseball: Clement Ties School Record As Cajuns Complete Sweep Of Bearkats

LAFAYETTE, La. – Senior outfield Kyle Clement tied a school record with five hits as the sixth-ranked Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns baseball team exploded for 13 runs on 17 hits to complete the sweep of Sam Houston State with a 13-3 victory on Sunday at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field.
 
"Out hitters were a little tight I think opening night. We thought they would loosen up as weekend went on, and they really did," head coach Tony Robichaux said. "Over the weekend it was just a great total effort as we were able to pitch, play defense and get timely hitting."
 
Clement is now the 22nd player in program history to post five hits in a contest with his career-high five-hit effort. The senior drove in two runs and scored twice on the day as well.
 
Junior second baseman Brenn Conrad was also perfect on the day for the Cajuns (3-0) going 3-for-3 with two RBI and scored a run.
 
On the mound, freshman Nick Lee went 4.0 innings in his debut allowing two runs on three hits with two walks and three strikeouts in a no decision.
 
"For a freshman I didn’t think he got overwhelmed," Robichaux said. "He’s pitching in front of a big league crowd that he didn’t have a South Beauregard. What you want in that situation is that you don’t want to get overwhelmed first of all. The second thing you want is to stay away from the big inning. What he did a great job of today was to stay away from a big inning."
 
Senior Eric Carter picked up his second career victory after holding the Bearkats (0-3) to one run in 3.0 innings with three strikeouts.
 
Sam Houston starter Cody Brown was handed his first loss of the year after being chased in the third inning having given up three runs (two earned) on five hits.
 
The Ragin’ Cajuns quickly jumped out to a 3-0 edge in the bottom of the first sparked by RBI singles by Conrad and Clement.
 
The Bearkats cut into the Louisiana lead in the top of the third inning on an RBI groundout by Riley McKnight following a double to left by Taylor Beene to make the score 3-1.
 
Sam Houston would pull within a run in the top of the fourth when Robie Rojas singled home Zach Smith with two outs.
 
The Cajuns got a run back in the bottom half of the fourth on a two-out double to left by Stefan Trosclair that scored Joe Robbins from second but saw Conrad get thrown out at the plate.
 
The Bearkats again cut the lead to one run, 4-3, in the fifth on an RBI single up the middle by outfielder Bryce Johnson.
 
Louisiana pulled away though in the bottom half of the fifth inning scoring five runs on four hits and an error to take a 9-3 advantage. Clement got the inning going with an infield single and then scored on a SHSU throwing error.
 
The Ragin’ Cajuns would get RBI singles from Conrad and Clement in the fifth as well as an RBI double by shortstop Brad Antchak.
 
After tacking on a run in the sixth inning, The Cajuns added three more in the seventh on RBI singles by Ishmael Edwards, Jam Williams and Nick Thurman.
 
Chris Charpentier, Nick Zaunbrecher and Reagan Bazar combined to throw two shutout innings to close out the contest.
 
Louisiana returns to action on Wednesday at 6 p.m. as the Cajuns head to Ruston, La. to face Louisiana Tech for the first time since 2008. Following the matchup with the Bulldogs, the squad head to Houston, Texas next weekend for the Shriners College Classic.
 
Fans can purchase tickets for the Shriners College Classic by going to www.astros.com/collegeclassic.
 
For updates and info on Ragin’ Cajuns baseball, follow the squad on twitter @CajunsBaseball or check RaginCajuns.com.