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Baseball: UL baptizes renovated park with win over Southern Miss – videos, photos includedTim Buckley, The Advertiser, Mar. 4, 2017 Athletic Network Footnote by Dr. Ed Dugas: Just a few days ago, as UL coach Tony Robichaux described it, loose screws, bolts and iron were everywhere. As late as Friday afternoon, everyone from contractors to the architect and maintenance workers to fellows from the carpentry shop were working on the final touches. In reality, the $16 million renovation project is only about half-done — with suites, a stadium club and a new press box all still under construction. But the Ragin’ Cajuns were able to play their first game anyway Friday night at bigger, better and renamed Russo Park at M.L. “Tigue” Moore, beating Southern Mississippi 3-1 behind the pitching of Gunner Leger, Wyatt Marks and Dylan Moore and the bats of Steven Sensley, Kennon Fontenot and Alex Pinero. “Just a great night for all fans,” said Robichaux, who thanked — among many — UL President Joseph Savoie for the backing to “not just build it, but build it the right way,” as part of the schools $115 million-plus athletic facilities masterplan. “This is why we pushed so hard to do this — to do it for them,” he added, “because now this becomes just a great … place to watch a quality baseball game.” Cajun fans responded with a paid crowd of 5,250 — the third-largest attendance count in stadium history — that exceeded anticipated eventually capacity by 450. The only bigger gates were for two games against LSU, one that drew 7,583 on April 6, 1994, and one that drew 6,236 on March 28, 1989. “It was real fun coming out in front of the fans,” said Sensley, who credited the adrenaline from that for a solo home run to centerfeld that led off the bottom of the second inning and tied the game at 1-1. Cajun pitchers were blown away by what they saw behind the plate they were throwing to, as a massive overhanging roof covered part of what will be the new club and suite areas along with much of a rebuilt grandstand seating section. “When you’re looking (toward the plate), you’re looking at some people getting a hot dog back there,” Leger said. “So it was different at first. But it’s cool.” Leger (2-1) took some extra time behind the mound to soak it all in before throwing 6.0 innings in which he allowed just one run on four hits while striking out eight. “I kind of walked back there and just looked around, kind of to admire it,” he said. “It’s a beautiful stadium.” “It’s incredible. It’s still kind of surreal,” added Moore, who ended the game with men on first and second after a walk and a single but three straight called strikeouts from home plate umpire Travis Hargroder. “I don’t really know if it’s set in yet. I look at it, I’m like, ‘Man, our stadium?’” It is, and the No. 16 Cajuns (5-3) were able to baptize it in style with a tight one against now 7-2 Southern Miss to open their three-game non-conference weekend series against the Golden Eagles of Conference USA. WHAT HAPPENED Southern Miss struck first, with Daniel Keating scoring in the second on Storme Cooper’s sacrifice fly. But Fontenot tripled in Handsome Monica, who had singled, to make it 2-1 later in the second, and Pinero added an insurance run in the seventh when he singled and scored when Brenn Conrad was hit with the bases loaded. Marks did the dirty work between Leger and Moore, throwing two scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth. “I’d much rather have hung 10 and had a breather. But what’s good is they saw a good Division I baseball game,” Robichaux said. “They saw good pitching; they saw good defense; they saw some timely hitting.” THE FIRSTS Some of the firsts at the renovated Tigue … First pitch: a strike thrown to first baseman Dylan Burdeaux by Leger, at 6:09 p.m. “Honestly, I think that umpire was a little shook by the stadium, because that first pitch wasn’t a strike,” Leger said. “But he called it. I think he just didn’t want to make everyone mad. First strikeout: Leger fanned Southern Miss’ second batter, right-fielder Mason Irby First 1-2-3 half-inning: the top of the first, as Leger retired the side in order by getting left-fielder Hunter Slater to ground out to Joe Robbins at third First Cajun at the plate: Conrad First Cajun to strike out: Conrad in the bottom of the first First hit: a single to right by Keating in the top of the second First run: Cooper’s sac fly to right, which scored Keating First Cajun hit, first Cajun run, first Cajun RBI, first homer in the renovated Tigue: all by Sensley, who blasted a fastball down at 6:35 p.m. First win: by Leger, a lefty First save: by righty Moore, his third of the season, at 8:46 p.m. and only after some helpful sage advice from Robichaux “He really just told me to slow down and trust my stuff, not try to do too much with it,” Moore said. PLAYER OF THE GAME Pinero was the only Cajun with more than one hit, going 2-for-4 with the one run scored to push his team-high season batting average to .433. WHAT’S NEXT The Cajuns and Golden Eagles play the middle outing of their three-game series at 2 p.m. Saturday. RAGIN’ CAJUNS BASEBALL WHO: No. 16 UL (5-3) vs. Southern Mississippi (7-2) WHERE: M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field at Russo Park WHEN: 2 p.m. Saturday RADIO: KPEL 96.5 FM with Jay Walker TV: None PITCHING MATCHUP: UL sophomore RHP Nick Lee (2-0, 0.69 ERA) vs. sophomore LHP Kirk McCarty (2-0, 1.46)
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