Baseball: Hot-Hitting Louisiana Fends Off McNeese State for 16-10 Victory – Hosts Loyola Marymount
The two teams combined for 26 runs on 24 hits in the Wednesday-night thriller
LAKE CHARLES, La. – Louisiana baseball found itself in a wild one on Wednesday night, needing 16 runs, 13 hits and seven pitchers to escape Lake Charles with an exhilarating 16-10 victory over in-state foe McNeese State.
Louisiana’s (5-7) 16 runs were the most the team has scored since plating 19 against Little Rock on May 23, 2018, while it was the first time the team has allowed 10 runs in a win since allowing 16 in that same game.
The Ragin’ Cajuns are now on a four-game winning streak since last Saturday and have won five-straight against the Cowboys dating back to 2017, while they are now 2-1 against in-state opponents.
Five different players notched multi-hit games on Wednesday, paced by a 3-for-6 effort by Brennan Breaux that included a clutch three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning. He finished the game with five total RBI, the most since Hunter Kasuls had nine against Little Rock and the first five-RBI game since Steven Sensley on April 14, 2017.
Handsome Monica and Orynn Veillon each mashed homers against the Cowboys and combined for four hits and eight RBI. Monica now has four home runs on the season and currently holds a five-game hitting streak, while Veillon hit his second of the season. Kasuls and Jonathan Windham both went 2-for-3 at the plate.
Freshman Blake Schultz (2-0) earned the victory for Louisiana, pitching 5.0 innings of one-run, two-hit baseball and striking out three Cowboys. Michael Leaumont came in during the bottom of the eighth inning to get two outs before sitting down McNeese State in order in the ninth to secure his second save of the season.
Louisiana got off to a quick start in Lake Charles, with Daniel Lahare reaching on a walk and then advancing to third on a Breaux single. Lahare was then brought home during the next at bat when a flyout to right by Monica was hit just deep enough to allow the senior to score and put Louisiana up, 1-0.
The lead was doubled in the next inning when Windham hit a bloop single between the McNeese State second baseman and right fielder, allowing Hayden Cantrelle to easily score from third base.
Veillon then made his mark in the game with a statement shot over the left-center field wall, scoring Monica and Kasuls, who had each reached on hits earlier in the inning, to put the Ragin’ Cajuns ahead, 5-0.
McNeese State pulled a run back in the bottom of the third when a sharply hit double off the bat of Shane Selman scored Reid Bourque to pull McNeese within 5-1 through three innings.
Veillon struck again in the top of the fifth, scoring Monica from second base via a sharply hit single through the left side to extend the lead to 6-1.
The Ragin’ Cajuns nearly doubled the lead in the top of sixth frame, plating five runs on four hits. Monica highlighted the sixth with a three-run bomb over the scoreboard, while Breaux pushed across two runs with a single.
McNeese State stormed back in the bottom of the sixth, scoring eight runs on four hits and five walks to cut the Louisiana lead to 11-9.
After a Ragin’ Cajun run in the top of the seventh and a Cowboys run in the bottom of the eighth sent the game to the final frame with the score at 12-10, Louisiana’s offense came back to life with four runs after Cantrelle avoided a tag at home to score and Breaux sent a ball over the fence to score three more to secure the victory.
Louisiana returns to M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park on Friday when its welcomes Loyola Marymount for a three-game series. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m.
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Louisiana Hosts Loyola Marymount This Weekend. * * * * * * * * * *
LAFAYETTE – Louisiana baseball will put its four-game winning streak on the line this weekend when it welcomes Loyola Marymount to M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field at Russo Park for its final non-conference series.
First pitch on Friday is set for 6:30 p.m., while Saturday’s game is slated for 2 p.m. and Sunday’s finale is scheduled to begin at noon. All three games can be streamed live on the Ragin’ Cajuns Digital Network.
The Ragin’ Cajuns (5-7) have won four of their last five contests, including Wednesday’s 16-10 thriller on the road at McNeese State. In that game, Louisiana hit three massive home runs and tacked on two doubles to produce a season-high run total.
Senior Handsome Monica was the creator of one of those homers and added a double for his fifth multi-hit game of the season. Monica, who boasts the third-highest batting average on the team (.314), has put together a five-game hitting streak and currently leads the team with 11 RBI.
Hunter Kasuls continues to lead the team offensively with 14 hits in 39 at bats, while Brennan Breaux, who smashed a pivotal three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning at McNeese, is hitting .318 (14-for-44) and has scored seven runs and produced seven RBI.
Louisiana will go with Gunner Leger (0-1) on the mound on Friday, with Dalton Horton (1-0) pitching Saturday and Austin Perrin (0-1) getting the call on Sunday. Loyola Marymount’s starters remain TBA.
The two programs will be facing off for the first time when they meet up on Friday. Louisiana has had limited exposure to teams from the West Coast Conference and is 0-4 against current members.
SEASON TICKETS AVAILABLE
Single game and season tickets for the 2019 season are on sale now and can be purchased here.
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Josh Brunner
Director of Athletics Communications
Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns®
201 Reinhardt Drive
Lafayette, LA 70506
mobile: 205-568-6559
email: josh.brunner@louisiana.edu
twitter: @JoshBrunnerSID
