Baseball: Fontenot’s blast, hot bats help UL beat Coastal Carolina

Tim Buckley, The Advertiser, May 5, 2018

The bats would start to come around.

UL coach Tony Robichaux was confident they would.

It took some time. But after March turned to April, they did. And now that April has turned to May, they were a difference-maker as UL beat No. 15 Coastal Carolina 12-6 Friday night on M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field at Russo Park.

The Cajuns collected 10 hits, one of them Kennon Fontenot’s three-run homer during a five-run fifth inning that tied three others for UL’s highest-scoring inning of the season.

More: Cajuns utility man Fontenot plays with ‘no fear of failure’

“It just goes to show you: It’s the same team, but when you play with confidence versus not playing with confidence you’re a different player,” said Robichaux, whose Cajuns now have double-digit hits in four of their last seven games.

Where did that collective confidence come from?

“The wear and tear from the first half,” Robichaux said.

That’s one thing.

Another?

“Trying to keep them together, getting them to truly understand you either win or learn,” Robichaux said. “We’ve had to grow along the way.

“I wish we could find a way to get out of the gates (faster). We do have to find a way to take care of that next year; you know — not get going April 1.”

More: UL’s exam weeks test is 2016 CWS-winner Coastal Carolina

Since that magic date — no April Fool’s joke here — UL has had 10 games in 20 with six or more runs.

In the season’s first 27 games, UL had just four such outings.

“I can’t really pinpoint when it was,” said Fontenot, who went 2-for-4 with four RBI and one run scored while playing Friday as the Cajuns’ designated hitter. “But, you know, one guy started getting hot.

“Then that … stuff’s contagious. It just started going down the order, and now everyone’s swinging it well, finding barrels. It’s good to watch.”

Also nice to see from the Cajuns’ perspective, and also a huge difference-maker: starting pitcher Colten Schmidt struck out nine and allowed just four hits with one walk issued in his 8.0 innings of work.

“He did something tonight that was difficult,” Robichaux said. “He just made it look easy.”

More: Lefty Schmidt moves into UL’s Friday-night starter spot

And that made things easier on Cajun hitters like Fontenot.

“Every time Schmidt takes the mound,” Fontenot said, “you know he’s gonna go seven, eight, nine — give you a good, strong start and not give up many runs.

“You just want to go out there and give him what you can. If it’s 10 or 12 like we did tonight, or it’s four or five, you know he’s gonna work with what you give him and he’s gonna do his best.”

WHAT HAPPENED

After Schmidt retired the side in order in the top of the first, Gavin Bourgeois singled Hayden Cantrelle from second and UL led 1-0.

Bourgeois later advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored himself on Fontenot’s single. Before the inning was done, Hunter Kasuls would score before Fontenot was tagged out on a double-steal and the Cajuns were up 3-0.

Coastal put one on the board in the top of the fourth, when Zach Biermann hit a one-out solo homer to right.

But UL answered with its five-run fifth as Tyler Stover scored when Cantrelle reached on an error, Daniel Lahare scored on Bourgeois’ sacrifice fly and — immediately after a pitching change — Fontenot delivered his three-run shot to left.

Coastal left men stranded on first and third in the sixth, and Kasuls’ bases-loaded, two-run single in the bottom of the inning made it 10-1 Cajuns.

The Chanticleers stranded another man in the seventh.

Bourgeois’ triple scored Lahare and put UL ahead 11-1 in the eighth, and Bourgeois later came across on Kasuls’ sac fly.

Freshman Michael Leaumont came in to work the ninth for UL, but Coastal put up five runs on him to make things interesting before closer Nick Lee entered for the game’s final three outs.

More: Lee goes from starter to closer for Cajuns

“We’ve got to be better there,” Robichaux said.

“These guys score in bunches. But the good thing is Nick (Lee) recovers so well. We always want him up on Friday so we can use him again on Sunday anyway, and he was very efficient his inning, so it’s all good.”

BY THE NUMBERS

Fontenot’s four RBI tied his career high. … Schmidt’s nine strikeouts were one off his career best. … Announced paid attendance was 5,008.

UP NEXT

UL and Coastal Carolina play the middle outing of their three-game series at 6 p.m. Saturday.

UL vs. COASTAL CAROLINA

WHAT: Middle outing of three-game Sun Belt Conference college baseball weekend series

WHEN: 6 p.m. Saturday

WHERE: M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field at Russo Park

RECORDS: UL 27-20, 13-9 in the Sun Belt; Coastal Carolina 31-15, 17-5

TV: None

STREAMING: RaginCajuns.com with Dan McDonald

RADIO: KPEL 96.5 FM with Jay Walker and Brad Topham

PITCHING MATCHUP: Junior LHP Hogan Harris (2-1, 2.82 ERA) vs. junior RHP Jason Bilous (6-1, 3.24)