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Baseball: Harrison Delivers Walk-off Win In 14 Innings Against ULM – another SBC series sweep
LAFAYETTE, La. – Junior Seth Harrison delivered a 14th inning walk-off win with a bases loaded single to right to defeat ULM 6-5 in the regular season finale at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field on Saturday. The Ragin’ Cajuns baseball team has now won 12 straight contests against the Warhawks.
“We didn’t get spooked today especially with a lot of young arms coming out of the bullpen,” head coach Tony Robichaux said. “The guys just grinded it out. That’s what they are, they are grinders. Harrison went to work early and got something above his thigh on a sinkerballer and got the ball deep enough to win the ballgame for us.”
The win gives the Cajuns (49-7, 26-4 Sun Belt) their eighth sweep of the season and the sixth in conference play. It also ties the squad for the school record in wins, which has been achieved three times previously with the last 49-win season coming in 2000. Louisiana also sets a new Sun Belt Conference record for regular season wins and fewest losses in conference play.
Louisiana will finish the regular season with at least five more wins than any other team in the country. The Ragin’ Cajuns also finished the regular season with an 18-1 record against in-state opponents.
Offensively, the Cajuns were outhit for the sixth time in a win this season, 14-13. Michael Strentz led the way going 3-for-6 with a home run and scored twice, while ULM’s Keelin Rasch was 5-for-7 with three doubles.
After giving up four runs and nine hits in the first six innings, Chris Griffitt, Reagan Bazar, Harrison, Riley Cooper, Chris Charpentier and Martin Anderson combined to limit the Warhawks to one run on five hits in the final eight innings.
Anderson became the Ragin’ Cajuns 12th pitcher to register a victory throwing a scoreless 14th inning with a strikeout.
Tyler Bray was saddled with the loss for ULM (22-34, 11-19 Sun Belt) despite holding the Cajuns to one run in a career-best 7.1 innings in relief.
The Warhawks claimed an early lead on an RBI double by Chet Simoneaux to right field in the top of the first.
An inning later, Louisiana overtook the lead on back-to-back sac flies by Chase Compton and Blake Trahan to make the score 2-1. The Cajuns got an infield single by Greg Davis and bunt singles by Ryan Wilson and Strentz to load the bases to start the inning.
In the bottom of the third, Jace Conrad doubled home Harrison for his 53rd RBI of the season. Harrison led off the inning with a single. Following a stolen base by Conrad, Davis drove in the second run of the inning on a sac fly to center to give the Cajuns a 4-1 edge. With the sac fly, Davis became the 10th Louisiana player to record 20-plus RBI this season.
Jacob Stockton cut into the lead in the top of the fourth on a RBI double down the left field line.
Strentz would get the run back in the bottom half of the fourth as he crushed his ninth home run of the season well over the fence in left to make the score 5-2.
The Warhawks pulled within a run after RBI doubles by Rasch in the fifth and Ross Moore in the sixth.
Neither team would plate a run until the ninth inning when pinch runner Vincent Dellacono came home to score on a Harrison wild pitch.
Harrison would redeem himself in the bottom of the 14th inning sending a single down the left field line with the bases loaded to score Strentz and end the contest. Strentz led off the inning with a single to center and then moved to third after Trahan was intentionally walked and Leonards was hit by a pitch. The single gives Harrison his 57th RBI of the season as he is three away from becoming the first player to reach 60-plus RBI since Jonathan Lucroy posted 68 in 2007.
The Ragin’ Cajuns return to action on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. in Mobile, Ala. as the team opens play in the conference tournament against eighth-seeded ULM.
— Ragin’ Cajuns —
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Jeff Schneider Cox Communications Athletics Center Office: (337) 482-6332
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