Baseball: Win over UNO includes costly Cajun loss

Tim Buckley, The Advertiser, March 1, 2016

 

UL shortstop Joe Robbins makes a throw against the University of New Orleans on Tuesday night.(Photo: LEE CELANO/THE ADVERTISER)

 

 

UL got the win over the University of New Orleans on Tuesday night behind five double plays, big blasts from Ishmael Edwards and Joe Robbins, and pinch-hitter Dylon Poncho’s go-ahead single in a four-run, come-from-behind seventh inning.

But en route to their 7-4 victory in front of an announced 4,212 at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field, the No. 16-ranked Ragin’ Cajuns sustained one rather large loss.

Starting center Kyle Clement, a preseason All-Sun Belt Conference selection, was hit by a pitch in the second inning, breaking his ulna, one of two forearm bones. Clement is expected to have his arm in a cast for about a month, coach Tony Robichaux said, and it remains to be seen when he’ll return.

The senior was UL’s leading hitter by average last season, and he was hitting .429 with three doubles and five RBI before Tuesday.

“We hope he can come back,” said Robichaux, whose Cajuns visit McNeese State tonight. “And we’ve got to hold on for him until he does come back.”

UL opened Tuesday with the same infield it used for Sunday night’s 4-2 win over nationally ranked Rice in Houston, going with Joe Robbins at shortstop, Brenn Conrad at third base, Stefan Trosclair at second and Alex Pinero at first.

UNO got to Cajuns true freshman Hogan Harris early on his first career start, taking a 1-0 lead in the first on Dakota Dean’s RBI, bases-loaded double-play groundout, which followed two singles and a walk.

Harris benefitted from a second UL double play in the second inning, but Jay Robinson led off the third with a double and later scored in a fielder’s choice.

Making a pre-planned abbreviated appearance, Harris was relieved for the fourth by Will Bacon.

Bacon pitched a scoreless fourth, escaped the fifth with UL’s third double play, threw a scoreless sixth and another double play in the seventh.

UL loaded the bases with no outs in the fifth as Pinero reached on an error, Nick Thurman walked and Edwards safely bunted.

Pinero scored on Robbins’ sacrifice fly to right, but the Cajuns stranded two.

The Privateers went up 4-1 in the seventh, when Robinson’s hit-and-run triple to right off of Bacon scored Chaz Boyer and Ryan Calloway singled in Boyer.

The Cajuns answered with back-to-back solo homers by Edwards and Robbins, though, making it 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh and chasing UNO starter Bryan Warzek after 114 pitches.

“Hitting’s contagious,” Robichaux said. “Usually when one guy hits one on the nose, it’s momentum. And they couldn’t stop our momentum.”

“That was the turning point,” said Edwards, who nailed a fastball. “Back-to-back home runs; then good at-bats, good at-bats. You can’t beat that, and once that happened it was all on our side and we just rode with it.”

Edwards’ homer was the juco-transfer’s first as a Cajun, while Robbins now has an extra-base hit in four straight games and six of his last seven.

Robbins, though, was more impressed with UL’s defense.

“The home runs were nice. … They put us close,” he said. “But the double plays kept us in the game.”

UL tied it with Conrad scoring on Derek Herrington’s single.

“Huge,” Robbins said of Herrington, who was inserted in center, stepping up in Clement’s absence.

“He’s had only three, maybe four, at-bats this season, and for him to come up and get that big hit it’s huge for us.”

The Cajuns took a 5-4 lead later in the inning, when when pinch-hitter Dylon Poncho singled in Herrington from second.

“Poncho knows where his barrel,” Robichaux said of the true freshman.

“We have found a place yet for him defensively, but now with Clem (Clement) out for a while – which is unfortunate; that’s a lot of thump out of lineup – somebody’s gonna have to step up and we’re gonna have to continue to pitch and play defense and keep the score down.”

Conrad’s ricochet single up the middle scored Robbins in the eighth, making it 6-4 UL, and Trosclair tripled in Conrad to give the Cajuns a three-run lead.

With Reagan Bazar throwing a no-hit, scoreless eighth that featured yet another double play and closer Dylan Moore striking out two in the ninth for his first save of the season, UL wrapped up its business.

Bacon (1-0) got the win.

“Hogan (Harris) did what he was supposed to do: Never let the game get away from him,” Robichaux said. “Bacon came in, and never let the game get away from him. And (we) just kept trying to play good defense. … We pitched and played defense. That’s all we can do now.

“Offensively,” he added, “we got loosened up as the game went on – and then swung the bat with a lot more arrogance.”

  No. 16 UL (5-3) at MCNEESE STATE (3-4)

   WHAT: Non-conference midweek game

   WHERE: Cowboy Diamond (2,000); Lake Charles

   WHEN: 6 p.m. Wednesday

   RADIO: 1420 AM with Jay Walker

   TV: None

   CAJUN PITCHER: Sophomore RHP Evan Guillory (0-1, 6.23 ERA)

   ABOUT THE OPPONENT: Southland Conference-member McNeese State dropped the last two games of last weekend’s three-game non-conference series at Texas-San Antonio. … UL leads the all-time series 91-63. … The Cajuns split with the Cowboys last season, losing 5-4 in 17 innings at home and winning 6-5 in Lake Charles.