Caleb Kellogg opened his relief effort with a strikeout of Justin Guidry for the final out of the seventh inning then held Middle Tennessee hitless over the final two innings to preserve a 4-3 victory for Louisiana on Senior Day at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field Sunday afternoon.

Because of that effort – his second save in as many days – the Ragin’ Cajuns (29-23, 16-11 Sun Belt) captured the weekend series with the Blue Raiders (17-35, 8-19 Sun Belt) and move into a tie for third place in the Sun Belt standings with Florida Atlantic.

The game marked the Cajuns’ home finale and final appearance at "The Tigue" for a class of 13 seniors who were honored in pregame ceremonies. UL ended the season 20-8 at "The Tigue" marking the 12^th time in 17 seasons under Tony Robichaux that the program reached 20 wins at the facility.

Louisiana will wrap up regular season play Thursday-Saturday, May 19-21 in Monroe with a three-game set against La.-Monroe at Warhawk Field. The Warhawks (23-27, 8-19 Sun Belt) took the season’s first series claiming 2-of-3 at "The Tigue" March 18-20.

Kellogg’s task wasn’t an easy chore. He relieved starter T.J. Geith after a bases loaded single by Hank LaRue plated two runs for MT cutting the Cajuns lead to 4-3.

Guidry, who entered the day hitting .359, stepped to the plate with runners on first and second and already had homered in the series. Kellogg stayed ahead notching strikes on the first two offerings then blew it by Guidry for the final strike that ended the seventh inning.

Kellogg worked around a leadoff walk and sacrifice bunt in the eighth inning by getting Matthew Drake to foul out to catcher Chris Sinclair and Ryan Ford to line out to Alex Fuselier in center field.

In the ninth Kellogg sat down the Blue Raiders in order to put the finishing touches on his fifth save and Geith’s sixth victory of the season.

Fuselier snapped a two-game hitless streak and registered his first hit of the series with a ground rule double down the left field line in the second inning that produced two runs upping the Cajuns lead to 3-0. He finished with a game-high two RBI.

UL added the decisive run in the fifth inning with Fuselier registering the tally. The Cajuns center fielder drew a walk off of MT starting pitcher Eric Gilley, stole second and rounded third base on a Greg Fontenot single up the middle.

That sequence ended the day for Gilley who gave way to Drake and Paul Mittura who kept the Cajuns off the scoreboard the final four innings.

Geith had scattered six hits over the first six innings, but managed to hold the visitors to one run and was never threatened until the seventh inning.

Geith plunked Drake to open the seventh and Ford followed with a single. Back-to-back outs were recorded, but the inning stayed alive after Geith walked Jay Thomas on four pitches loading the bases.

LaRue delivered a bouncer up the middle of the infield to score two and make Geith and the Cajuns feel pressure for the first time in the game.

Kellogg was called on and because he continued his dominance on the mound at "The Tigue" the Cajuns walked off the field winners. With Sunday’s effort, Kellogg finished his rookie campaign at the facility allowing just eight hits over 16 innings while holding opponents to a .145 average.

BASES NOTED: In his 15^th and final start at "The Tigue" T.J. Geith worked 6 2/3 innings and struck out seven as he finished with a 7-2 mark the facility in his two seasons with the Cajuns…The Cajuns improved to 32-26 overall vs. MT which includes a 23-10 mark in regular season Sun Belt games…Louisiana has won eight of the past nine meetings at "The Tigue" with the Blue Raiders…UL kept alive hopes of repeating as Sun Belt champions, but would need to sweep La.-Monroe and have South Alabama sweep Troy next weekend to accomplish the task…Mike Petello went 0-for-3 and had his team-best, 14-game hitting streak snapped…Current Cajuns Joey Satriano and Josh Bailey sang the national anthem prior to first pitch…Former Cajuns standout Corey Coles, who had a six-year run in the minors after his playing days at UL, received his bachelor’s degree during the pregame ceremonies…Current Cajuns receiving their degrees were Randall Bulliard, Mike Petello, Jordan Poirrier, Joey Satriano, Trask Switzenberg and student manager Cody Junot…Head Coach Tony Robichaux’s wife, Colleen, accepted their son Justin’s degree…The 13-member senior class that played their final game at "The Tigue" included: Josh Bailey, Randall Bulliard, Michael Cook, Greg Fontenot, T.J. Geith, Matt Goulas, Taylor Hubbell, Lance Marvel, Ryland Parker, Mike Petello, Jordan Poirrier, Joey Satriano and Trask Switzenberg.

— Ragin’ Cajuns —

Athletic Network Footnote: Click here for ragincajuns.com photo gallery of the May 15th game.