Baseball: Farquhar and Hawkins Power Cajuns Past UALR
Chris Whitehead, Sports Information –
Danny Farquhar worked eight strong innings and Scott Hawkins hit two homeruns
as the Cajuns downed Arkansas-Little Rock by a final score of 13-3.
LAFAYETTE-Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns baseball team took one step closer to
their second Sun Belt Conference championship in the last three years as they
downed Arkansas-Little Rock on Friday night by a score of 13-3 at
M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field.
The Ragin’ Cajuns improved to 36-13 overall and 19-6 in Sun Belt play, while
UALR fell to 20-27 and 8-16 in the conference.
The Cajuns got a career outing from starting pitcher Danny Farquhar (5-3).
The sophomore from Pembroke Pines, Fla. worked a career high 8.0 innings,
while striking out a career high 12 batters. Farquhar allowed two runs on
four hits while issuing just a pair of walks.
Offensively, the Cajuns collected 16 hits, including seven extra base hits.
UL mustered three homeruns, a triple and three doubles. Four different
Cajuns batters collected three hits apiece.
Scott Hawkins finished the night 3-for-4 with a pair of homers. The multi-
homerun night was the first for the sophomore in his career. Hawkins drove
in three runs, while scoring three runs.
Matt Hicks collected three hits in five plate appearances for the Cajuns.
The sophomore hit his sixth homerun of the season while adding his first
career triple. Hicks finished the night with three RBI and a pair of runs
scored.
Jonathan Lucroy was a perfect 3-for-3 on the night with a run scored, a
sacrifice fly and a walk.
Rounding out the multi-hit game for the Cajuns was Matt Casbon. The senior
from Lafayette hit his second double of the year on his way to a 3-for-5
night. He added a run and an RBI.
Arkansas-Little Rock was the first to scratch the scoreboard in the first
inning. The leadoff batter worked the count full before drawing a free
pass. Farquhar struck out the next two batters, but proceeded to hit the
next two batters with pitches to load the bases. UALR got an RBI single to
centerfield to score the first run of the game. Farquhar struck out the next
batter to end the top half of the inning, but the Cajuns trailed 1-0.
The Cajuns answered in the bottom of the second. Hawkins started the inning
off with a solo homerun to left field. The homer was his team-leading 14th
of the season. The run would be the only run the Cajuns would get, but it
tied the score at one apiece.
UL added a run in the bottom of the third inning. With one out, Hicks hit
his sixth homerun of the season to give the Cajuns a 2-1 edge.
In the sixth inning, the Trojans tied the score at 2-2. A leadoff double
started the inning off for UALR. A one out single scored the runner and
knotted the score.
With the score tied at 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Lucroy led off
the inning with a walk. He was erased on a fielder’s choice. Hawkins walked
to give UL a pair of baserunners. A double to right centerfield by Kolin
Hatfield plated the first run of the inning. Casbon followed with an RBI
single through the left side of the infield. Hatfield advanced to third on
the play and came around to score on a fielding error by UALR. Three runs
would be all the Cajuns would get in the inning, but after six full innings
of play, UL led 5-2.
The Cajuns extended their lead in the bottom of the seventh inning with three
more runs. With two outs, Lucroy singled up the middle of the infield.
Jefferies Tatford followed with an RBI double down the right field line.
Hawkins stepped to the plate and swung at the first pitch he saw. The
sophomore crushed his second homerun of the night putting the Cajuns on top 8-
2.
The runs kept coming in the bottom of the eighth. Casbon led off the inning
with a double to left centerfield. A William Long single gave the Cajuns
runners at the corners. Josh Logan plated the first run of the inning with
an RBI single, and Hicks cleared the bases with his first career triple.
Devon Bourque continued the inning with his team-leading 39th walk of the
season. A sacrifice fly by Lucroy plated Hicks from third. The Cajuns
scored another run as Hatfield reached on a fielding error and on the same
play, Tatford scored on a throwing error. The Ragin’ Cajuns finished the
inning with five runs on five hits and two errors to take a 13-2 lead.
Arkansas-Little Rock would get one run back in the ninth inning. With one
out, UALR got a single up the middle. The runner stole second base to move
into scoring position and a groundout moved the runner to third. A double
scored the runner, but Matt Pilgreen struck out the final batter of the game
to seal the 13-3 final.
The Ragin’ Cajuns and Trojans will play game two of the three-game Sun Belt
Conference series on Saturday afternoon a 2:05 p.m.
