• Box Score

LAFAYETTE – The Ragin’ Cajuns baseball team recorded a trio of two-run innings to erase an early deficit and pick up a 9-6 victory over UTSA which gave head coach Tony Robichaux his 900^th career victory here Saturday afternoon at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field.

Athletic Network Footnote: Mark Your Calendar   
Baseball Alumni Weekend is April 19-21, 2013 when the Cajuns play FAU. More details later on www.athleticnetwork.net   

Seth Harrison (four runs) and Michael Strentz (three RBI) charged the Cajuns offense in their comeback and starting pitcher Cody Boutte retired UTSA in order in four of the five innings that followed the three-run first inning which had given the visitors an early advantage.

After a Tyler Girouard solo home run put Louisiana (6-1) on the scoreboard in the second inning the hosts scored twice in the third, fifth and sixth innings to complete the comeback.

Chase Compton delivered the game-winning hit in the fifth inning when he ripped a double down the left field line to score Harrison and Strentz – who led off the inning with back-to-back base hits – and break a 3-all tie.

UTSA loaded the bases in the seventh inning and used a bases-clearing double from Daniel Rockett off reliever Matt Plitt to cut the Cajuns lead to 7-6.

Matt Hicks held the Roadrunners hitless and retired six of the seven batters he faced to secure the landmark victory for Robichaux and the weekend series victory for Louisiana.

The two squads wrap up the series on Sunday at 1 p.m. Louisiana is scheduled to start right-hander Austin Robichaux (0-0, 1.80 ERA).

All but one Cajun who had a plate appearance registered a hit as Louisiana reached double digits for the third straight game, finishing with 15.

Strentz finished 4-for-5 with a team-high three RBI. Harrison turned in a 3-for-4 performance and his four runs scored were the most by a Cajun this young season.

Boutte pitched 6 2/3 innings and notched a string of 10 consecutive batters retired during the Cajuns’ comeback. His outing marked the longest stint by a Cajuns starting pitcher this season. He was charged with six runs, but only three scored while the New Iberia native was on the mound as Plitt allowed three inherited runners to score on Rockett’s double.  

Brock Hartson was charged with the loss for the Roadrunners after being responsible for five runs (four earned) over four innings of work.

UTSA scored first for the second straight day as R.J. Perucki deposited a three-run home run off of Boutte in the opening frame.

Girouard’s solo shot, his second of the season, began UL’s climb back into the contest. Strentz landed a two-run double in the third inning to score Dex Kjerstad (reached on error) and Harrison (single) and even the score at 3-all.

Boutte settled into his groove in the middle frames retiring all nine batters the Roadrunners sent to the plate.

Hartson, a redshirt freshman, was able to keep the Roadrunners in the game until the Cajuns posted three straight hits at the start of the bottom of the fifth inning. Harrison singled, Strentz doubled and Compton posted his double to score them both for a 5-3 advantage.

The Cajuns took advantage of a two-out error in the sixth inning and Harrison (double) and Strentz (single) delivered run-scoring hits off of UTSA reliever Wesley Cox to extend the lead to 7-3.

After UTSA moved within a run after Rockett’s three-run double, the Cajuns plated single runs in the seventh and eighth to give Hicks breathing room.

BASES NOTED: The Cajuns have out-hit the Roadrunners 35-19 in the series…Freshman Blake Trahan has led the charge with six hits (6-for-9) followed by the trio of Michael Strentz (5-for-8), Seth Harrison (5-for-8) and Dex Kjerstad (5-for-9) with five hits apiece…Louisiana scored five-plus runs of the sixth time in seven outings…The Cajuns picked up their third straight victory, the second three-game win streak of the young season…Adding in Wednesday’s Northwestern State contest the Ragin’ Cajuns are hitting .395 for the week (47-for-119) and have outscored foes 39-15 and out-hit foes 47-30…Tony Robichaux is now the 22^nd active Division I head coach with 900 career victories joining a list of coaches that includes Texas’ Auggie Garrido, Florida State’s Mike Martin, Wichita State’s Gene Stephenson, Rice’s Wayne Graham, Stanford’s Mark Marquess and Miami’s Jim Morris to name a few…Michael Strentz’s four-hit outing makes him the fourth different Cajun with a four-hit game so far this season joining Seth Harrison, Dex Kjerstad and Blake Trahan…Blake Trahan extend his collegiate career-opening hitting streak to six games…The Cajuns performance through the first two games of the UTSA series has raised the season batting average to .336 (entered the weekend hitting .293 as a team)…Louisiana upped its all-time series lead over UTSA to 10-3 (7-0 at “The Tigue”) and remained undefeated in weekend series with the Roadrunners (8-0)…Louisiana looks to make a third sweep of UTSA on Sunday, already owning series sweeps from the 2001 and 2007 season.

LINE SCORE

Louisiana 9, UTSA 6 (Feb 23, 2013 at Lafayette, La.)

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UTSA……………. 300 000 300  –  6  8  3      (5-2)

Louisiana……….. 012 022 11X  –  9 15  0      (6-1)

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Pitchers: UTSA – Hartson, Brock; Cox, Wesley(5); Sims, Matt(7). Louisiana – Boutte, Cody; Plitt, Matt(7); Hicks, Matt(8)

Win-Boutte, Cody (2-0)  Save-Hicks, Matt (2)  Loss-Hartson, Brock (0-1)  T-2:40  A-2040

HR UTSA – Perucki, RJ (2)

HR UL – Girouard, Tyler (2)

Weather: 59, mostly cloudy, N @ 6 MPH

— Ragin’ Cajuns —