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Baseball: Moody Becomes Career Wins Leader, Helping Cajuns Earn DH Split Saturday Moody Sets Record in DH Split
Courtesy RaginCajuns.com Moody earned his 27th career victory Louisiana’s 4-2 game two win MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Louisiana senior pitcher Hunter Moody (Clinton, La.) would not be denied in his second crack at school history as the left-hander became the school’s career wins leader Saturday to help the Ragin’ Cajuns earn a doubleheader split at Reese Smith Field. Moody (5-2) was victorious for the 27th time in his storied Cajuns career, passing Andy Gros and Scott Dohmann for the all-time lead. Moody made an attempt to become the first Cajuns pitcher this season to toss a complete game, however, the senior was shelled for a single on his first pitch of the ninth inning. Moody allowed two runs on eight hits with five strikeouts in eight innings of work. The lead-off single resulted in Moody’s exit in favor of fellow senior Buddy Glass (Clermont, Fla.). Glass earned his first career save forcing the Blue Raiders to hit into a game-ending double play. After just three hits in game one, Louisiana (13-15, 6-8 Sun Belt) exploded for 10 hits, while Middle Tennessee (13-13-1, 6-7 Sun Belt) managed just eight. Game 1 (Middle Tennessee 2, Louisiana 1) Six different Blue Raiders recorded a hit with Tyler Burnett going 2-for-3. Middle Tennessee starting pitcher Bryce Brentz was handed the difficult no-decision, lasting six innings before leaving the game with an undisclosed injury. Brentz allowed one run on two hits with five strikeouts. Langdon Stanley (2-0) was touched for one hit in three shutout innings to solidify the victory. Junior Danny Farquhar (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) posted a spectacular performance on the mound before suffering the hard-luck loss. Farquhar (3-4) allowed two runs – one earned – on seven hits in eight innings of work, striking out seven. Brentz fanned the first five batters he faced before the Cajuns were able to reach base. Tyler Benzel (Groveland, Fla.) and Nolan Gisclair (Marrero, La.) recorded back-to-back two-out singles in the second inning, setting the table for the Cajuns to take an early lead. However, Brentz struck out Thad Griffen (Lake Charles, La.) to silence the Louisiana scoring threat. The Cajuns didn’t need a hit to manufacture the game’s first run as the visitors took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning. With one out, Josh Logan (Magee, Miss.) drew a walk before advancing to second on a balk. Logan stole his team-leading 11th base, swiping third. Matt Goulas (New Iberia, La.) followed with a RBI sacrifice fly to left, plating Logan for a 1-0 lead. Middle Tennessee took advantage of timely hitting and a passed ball to knot the game at 1-1 in the fifth inning. Zach Hudson laced a one-out double to right-center field and later moved to third on a Burnett infield single. Two batters later, Hudson scored from third on a passed ball charged to Griffen. Farquhar worked his way out of trouble in the sixth, keeping the Blue Raiders off the scoreboard. Middle Tennessee used back-to-back one-out hits to put both runners in scoring position, but Farquhar retired the next two Blue Raiders to end the inning. The Blue Raiders again stranded two runners in the seventh as Middle Tennessee was unable to push across the go-ahead run. Middle Tennessee didn’t waste a second opportunity to take the lead in the eighth, scoring the go-ahead run on Dean’s RBI single down the right field line for a 2-1 Blue Raiders lead.
Game 2 (Louisiana 4, Middle Tennessee 2) Hawkins finished 2-for-4 with three RBI, while Chance Harst (Lafayette, La.) rapped out a career-high three hits, going 3-for-4. Gisclair and Benzel each added two hits as well. Middle Tennessee opened the scoring in the bottom of the third inning, striking first to take a 1-0 lead. Blake McDade delivered a one-out, bases-loaded RBI single to right field to score Burnett for the one-run lead. The Blue Raiders added to their lead, 2-0, in the fourth. Hudson drilled a RBI double over Logan’s head in center field which allowed Brentz to score for the two-run advantage. With two runners on, Louisiana squandered an opportunity to cut into Middle Tennessee’s two-run lead as the Blaine LaFleur (Opelousas, La.) hit into a 5-4-3 double play to end the fifth. In the bottom of the fifth, Moody moved past Scott Dohmann into fifth place on the school’s career strikeouts list recording his 246th punch-out. The Cajuns overcame their offensive shortcomings in the sixth using three runs on four hits to take a 3-2 lead. Logan reached on a one-out walk and was followed with Goulas’ single to left-center field. Hawkins then single-handedly helped Moody’s historical chase in the sixth inning as the All-American delivered a three-run home run that landed in the upper level concourse of Floyd Stadium. Louisiana got an insurance run in the seventh as LaFleur scored on a Brad Robinson wild pitch for a 4-2 lead. Louisiana and Middle Tennessee will square off in the rubber match of the three-game Sun Belt series Sunday at Reese Smith Field beginning at Noon. Louisiana 4, Middle Tennessee 2 (Apr 05, 2008 at Murfreesboro, Tenn.) (Game 2) -www.RaginCajuns.com- Chris Yandle
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