His options were to go with Joe Zimmermann, a frequent UL weekend starter, or with a lefty, Jordan Harrison.

Tony Robichaux debated Saturday night, and couldn’t quite decide. So he told both to be ready.

Robichaux wound up giving the ball to Harrison on Sunday, and afterward was happy he did.

Harrison pitched a complete-game one-hitter, giving the Ragin’ Cajuns a 2-1 victory over Western Kentucky that was decided only after Brian Bowman’s RBI-single to right in the ninth inning scored shortstop Ryan Leonards on a terrifically close play at the plate.

The win in front of 1,252 at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field gave UL a 2-1 edge in the Sun Belt Conference series and marked the second straight victory for 15-16 UL, which snapped an eight-game losing streak Saturday with its 1-0 decision over the Hilltoppers (13-19, 5-7).

"We’ve been going through a little rut," Bowman said, "and any win, any way we can get it, is good.

"And the way we’ve been playing — it’s an amazing feeling. It feels like the team is coming together, and hopefully we can ride this in."

Bowman’s sacrifice fly that scored Daniel Nichols in the third stood up as Saturday’s game-winner.

This one started with WKU’s Ryan Huck homering to right in the second.

It was the only hit allowed by Harrison, who struck out a personal season-high and Cajun pitcher season-high 11 — the first time anyone from UL hit double-digit strikeouts since Zach Osborne fanned 11 against Middle Tennessee in April 2011.

Sunday’s outing also was the first complete-game, one-hitter by a UL pitcher since Osborne’s against Troy in April 2010.

"I left that one pitch up, and (Huck) hit it out," said Harrison, who threw 120 pitches while improving to 2-1. "But I kept the ball down, for the most part."

"He only made one mistake, and we were calling the pitches, so that one wasn’t really on him," added Robichaux, whose club also improved to 5-7 in Sun Belt play. "He did a great job of recovering and moving forward after the home run."

The junior transfer from North Central Texas College retired the side in order in the ninth, and struck out the last batter he faced — Ryan Hutchison, who hit a deep homer in Western Kentucky’s win Friday.

Yet Harrison actually threw several pitches Saturday night warming up for possible relief work that never materialized, leaving him quite sore Sunday.

"My arm was just hanging before the first inning. It felt bad," he said after his first Sun Belt start. "And then, by the fourth, it kind of went numb. I don’t know what happened. I guess the Ibuprofen set in."

Pain, though, didn’t stop Harrison from answering the call by Robichaux, who ultimately was inspired by what he saw from another lefty, starter Chris Griffitt, in Saturday’s win.

"I told (Zimmermann and Harrison) when we left the clubhouse (Saturday) to stay emotionally prepared — that ‘We are going to look at the numbers and make a decision in the morning,’ " the Cajuns coach said. "(Sunday) morning we looked at it and told Zim we’re going to go with the lefty, and (Zimmermann) said, ‘Coach, do what you’ve got to do to win.’

"I appreciate that "» and Jordan (Harrison) took it from there. Sometimes you make decisions that work out; sometimes you make some that don’t. This one worked."

Huck’s homer held up until the sixth, when designated hitter Tyler Frederick’s single scored Dylan Butler from third.

Harrison got out of the seventh, eighth and ninth while facing four batters or fewer in each half-inning, setting the stage for Bowman and Leonards.

Leonards used a slow, two-out grounder to beat the throw of shortstop Steve Hodgins, then stole second.

Bowman — 0-for-4 at the time — promptly singled Ross Hammonds’ 2-0 offering to shallow right, allowing Leonards to head for home.

"It wasn’t pretty," Bowman said, "but I snuck it in the right place."

Hilltoppers catcher Devin Kelly thought he tagged out a sliding Leonards, but home-plate ump Steve Dew didn’t.

"Coach Bab (third-base coach Anthony Babineaux) was waving me," Leonards said, "so I figured, ‘That’s it; this is the ball game if I get there.’

"I think I got in there. "» I knew I touched the plate," the Notre Dame High product added. "I don’t think he touched me. I couldn’t really tell how close it was. But, from (Kelly’s) reaction, it must have been pretty close."

Lagniappe

Fifth-year senior Bowman stole his 17th base of 2012, matching his 2010 high. The Lafayette High product is now 49-of-58 on steal attempts in 138 career games. "» Adam Todd, making his third straight start over injured catcher Chris Sinclair, had a seventh-inning single for his first hit. "» Freshman Logan Preston started at third for injured Tyler Girouard.

UP NEXT

UL visits Southern on Tuesday night, then plays host to Florida International in a three-game Sun Belt Conference series starting Friday night.